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SUNDAY. AUGUST 18, 1963
MEDFOHD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON
A yJlomnieinrii off YSdcdv in the Cold woo Cliiinnicitie
: (Editor's Nola: For three
. decades ,. Henry Shapiro,
chief of the United Press
International bureau in
Moscow and dean of west
ern correspondents in the
. Soviet capital, has watched
the ebb and flow of Kremlin
polities-at home and on the
international scene. In this
dispatch, drawing on his
personal experiences and
observations, he analyzes
the current "thaw" in the
cold war.)
By HENRY SHAPIRO
United Press International
Moscow - (UPD - "Peace,"
said a prominent American
diplomat, "It's wonderful."
And a , Russian military
band played the Gershwin
tune, ,"Love Walked Right
, In." . ;
, ' The occasion was the Krem
lin ceremonial signing of the
partial nuclear test ban agree
ment between the Anglo
American allies and the Soviet
Union. .
This diplomat's experience
In Soviet affairs, like my own,
has covered some 30 years of
American-Soviet history. He
was far from convinced that
the millenium had arrived or
that a period of sweetness and
light was guaranteed. But he
was acknowledging what was
apparent:
Moment of Thaw
It was a moment of thaw
in the murky climate of the
cold war which at times in the
past 18 years reached such
points of danger that wona
war seemed inescapaoie.
Whether the thaw will de
velop into a spring flood re
mains to be seen in the course
of the succeeding months
when East and West will be
discussing the melancholy
realities of a profoundly di
vided world.
It does not take much to
change the attitude of the Rus
sian man -in -the -street from
hostility to friendliness to
ward Americans. The hostil
ity, in spite of years of bitter
propaganda warfare, has been
only skin-deep.
Although as an American
I am a, citizen of the Soviet
Union's number one antagon
ist and as a journalist a mem
ber o a much suspected and
distrusted profession here, my
life in .this country has been
in serious danger only once
in the past 30 years-and then
not for reasons of hatred, but
the reverse.' y
Happened In 1945
It happened on May 9, 1945,
-when Stalin's voice suddenly
boomed from a thousand
loudspeakers on Moscow's
principal thoroughfares an
nouncing the victorious end
of the war.
Within minutes hundreds of
: thousands of Russians appear
ed on the streets and began
to surge towards Red Square,
the traditional Russian center
for popular demonstrations.
. When I appeared on the
square dressed In an Ameri
can war correspondent's uni
form somebody in the crowd
shouted, "Vot Amerlkanets" -There
goes an American.
A dozen arms seized me
and tossed me into the air
three times while others shout
ed "Long live Soviet-American
Friendship" and "Long
Live Peace."
- I was pressed, squeezed and
man-handled as I joined the
throng which suddenly chang
ed course and marched toward
the American embassy on
Makhovaya Square, five min
utes from Lenin's tomb. I
was grateful to be back on
my own feet, and In one piece.
Wanted Ambassador -,
At the embassy a one-armed
soldier shouted, "We want the
American ambassador, echo
ed by hundreds of voices of
men, women and children.
In the absence of Ambassa
dor Averell Harriman, the
charge d'affaires, George Ken
nan, appeared on the embassy
balcony and, addressing the
crowd in flawless Russian,
hailed the victory and urged.
"Now let us work for peace."
It looked then as if the suc
cessful wartime coalition, con
trary to all lessons of history,
might become a permanent
alliance for peace and prog
ress. But only two years later,
after the breakdown ot the
Moscow conference of foreign
ministers of 1947, the cold war
was on full blast. In 1952, the
gentle and scholarly Kennan,
who had returned to Moscow
as ambassador, was declared
persona non-grata and not al
lowed to remain in the Soviet
Union. ' ...--:
Bitter Campaign
In the bitter anli-Americnn
propaganda campaign that fol
lowed, Harriman became one
of the principal targets of ridi
cule and hnte, a favored sub
ject for cartoonists' carica
tures of ' a "warmongering
American imperialist."
It was more than Ironic
poetic justice for Harriman
to return to Moscow last
month as President Kennedy's
special envoy and help to suc
cessfully negotiate the first
major East-West accord since
the Austrian treaty of 1955.;
The changing mood was best
jTeflected in a photograph,
taken last week, showing a
happy and beaming Khrush
chev and Harriman in a bear
like embrace.
On May 9, 1945, in the glow
-'ir---1.- -'-- -
i - t v M"-i , . ; v ' ' 'i i -. i
SIGN TREATY U.S. .Secretary of- Slate Dean Rusk, So-
vict Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. and British Foreign
Secretary Lord Home, left; to right, seated, are shown in
Aug. 8 picture signing the nuclear lest ban treaty, the first.
major .East-West agreement, in almost eight years. Behind .'
of a victorious Conclusion to
war, I witnessed a rare, gen
uinely ; spontaneous,; popular
demonstration and. it, was
pro-American. But in the suc
ceeding years there wero at
least four other demonstm
tlons .outside-the American
embassy -- all angrily: hostile.
The. worst were on, the oc-
casion of the landing of U.S.
Marines In the Lebanon, and
the time of .the- Bay of Pigs
invasion. ' , !
Mais At Embassy .,, , !
In those riots thousands .of
Russians massed, in front of
the American ombassy'beeak
lng windows,, disfiguring the
walls with ink bottlcs.'-and
shouting ..such,' slogans ;:, as
Down, with " American Imr
perlalism,": and '.'Shame; lo
the American warmongers'.','
In the angriest 'clashes only
last minute' -intervention- hv
regular Red Arrny troops prol
tected the embassy from'mnb
Invasion and bodily injury to
diplomatlc personnel. ''. !
Yet as I mingled with'-the
street crowds during the Lobr
anon demonstration I detected
more sorrow - than : anger
among the demonstrators. One
remark I '! overheard came
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from a middle-aged woman
who said, "You cannot blame
the American ambassador
(Llewellyn Thompson) who
loves his children.' as much as
we do and he believes in
peace.'.'-"' ,'
The strange truth is that
during the worst years of the
long Stalin era nightmare few
individual Americans resident
here were subjected to per
sonal indignities. I live in a
large apartment house inhab
ited entirely by Russians. Dur
ing the Stalinist period many
of my neighbors stopped talk
ing to me, except to greet me
politely but coldly when we
came, face - to face. But no
children threw: stones at, ray
car or apartment windows, no
one bothered me in. the . streets.
Directed Politely ., ..
Vjsiting foreigners,-looking
for my.apartmnnt on. a small
obscure street in mid-Moscow
were always directed politely
hy children .on.', the street or
by neighbors to my door. :
, The enormous reservoir of
good will for foreigners gen
erally and 'particularly for
Americans was never drained
here even by cold war bitter
ness'. '- ' ' ''.' .-.
J
:'125Ll'fc L'L::::p'ku "tin Tetix
the three, left to right, "re Sen. George Aiken; R-Vt.; Sen.
William Fulbnght, D-Ark.; Sen. Hubert Humphrey, D-Minn.:
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson; UN Secre-.
tary-General U Thanl; and Soviet Premier Nikita.S. Khru-,
shehev. (UPI) .":-.'.'.''
Nevertheless the wartime
comradeship and cordiality
cannot be easily restored un
less "the first swallow"-the
nuclear treaty -results in sub
Chamber Action Results
In Refund to Resident
. Action by the Medford
Chamber of Commerce helped
secure a refund amounting to
more than $140 for a , Jack
son county resident, who had
been "duped" into a sales or
der :for magazines, the cham
ber has reported.
.The customer, who com
plained to the chamber of
commerce, said the sales crew
member promised return of
an amount signed for by the
customer as soon as results
of the competitive sales pro
gram were calculated. .
.The., chamber- called the
matter' In trie attention- of
Central Registry, , a, self-pol
icing organization of maga
zine publishers and circula
tion companies in New York
City. The circulation compa
ny Involved promptly return
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j t t i i j ' ' -J -z.:- - 1 . 7" . k ' ' , ""r J
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stantial East-West agreements
on wider fronts.' There is
every indication - both sides
hope this, is the real begin
ning. " ; '.- ' . . ; . ':, .
ed the check to the attorney
representing the complaining
party and dismissed the crew
manager.
Don McNeil, manager of the
Medford Chamber, of Com
merce, in reporting the case,
issued a warning to local resi
dents who wish to buy mag
azines from traveling sales
crews, urging them to check
the chamber to determine
whether or not the company
is a member of Central Reg
istry. : . -i : . -'. ; I.-.
If they are not members
of Central. Registry, :he'. em
phasized, i "there is no re
course." ' .. i
There are local people, he
added, who make their living
through the sale of magazine
subscriptions, and their names
are in the telephone book. ;
' -
. .
j' C
I have seldom seen a more
beaming and cheerful Nikita
Khrushchev -than when the
Soviet Premier emerged from
a , Kremlin side room, on
"treaty day"' heading a ; pa
rade of about 100 Soviet, Brit
ish and American leaders into
the Kremlin's magnificent St.
Catherine hall to witness the
ceremonial signing.- '.
Escorts His Guests , :
Bathed in kleighlights, with
cameras whirring and 80 So
viet and foreign correspond
ents . watching, - Khrushchev
escorted his guests to the mid
dle of the vaulted hall to take
their places behind a rectangu
lar table covered by a cream
colored velvet tablecloth.
As Khrushchev, President
Leonid Brezhnev, six Ameri
can senators , and high rank
ing members of the American
and' British delegations stood
in front of the malachite and
marble . walls, host ' Foreign
Minister Andrei Gromyko
showed his opposite numbers,
U.S.' Secretary of State Dean
Rusk and Britain's Foreign
Secretary Lord Home, to their
velvet'and gold framed'ehairs.
. After, the signing, the gath
ering broke into applause -led
by Khrushchev - when
the smiling ministers rose
from the table to shake hands
with each other, with Khrush
chev, -. with U.N. ' Secretary
General U Thant and others.
Then, the 5 feet; 4 inch
Khrushchev led his " guests
past a Jong, oak, pannoled
corridor to the adjoining mag
nificent St. George's hall for
a diplomatic reception..
Procession la Applauded
- About 2,000 diplomats and
a cross section of representa
tives of Soviet society, poli
ticians and marshals, writers
and. scientists and leaders of
the Russian Orthodox church,
Moslem and Jewish religions
applauded the procession, as
it moved past tables groaning
with delicacies to the end of
the ballroom.
They walked lo the tune of
George Gershwin's . "Love
Walked Right In," played by
a 100-man military band.
There were more and end
less toasts to peace and friend
ship, broad smiles and strong
handshakes and mutual con
gratulations. In the course of my Mos
cow . years I have attended
dozens of brilliant and gay
Kremlin receptions. But with
the exception of the welcom
ing parties for the Soviet- as
tronauts I have never seen
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such conviviality especially
between leaders of the East
ern and Western worlds. ' -
Conspiciously missing from
the celebrations were .the Chi
nese, North Korean arid North
Vietnamese ambassadors.
The spirit of detente is in
the air and seems to be grow
ing almost in direct - propor
tion to the deterioration of
Soviet relations with Commu
nist China. What the future
may bring 1 cannot say, but
I've never seen the cold war
warmer. -. ;
if I 1
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