WEDNESDAY.
"Everyone In Southern Oregon
Danfta Th Mail TVIKuna"
Published Dally except Saturday by
MEDFORD PRINTING CO.
S3 North Fir St, Ph. 772-614,1
ROBERT W RUHl. Editor
HiMB GREY Advertising Manager
ERIC V. ALLEN JR.. Mm. Editor
EARL H ADAMS, City Editor
rU1UUAM Talia UAilnr
RICHARD JEWETt, SporU Editor
OLIVE STAROHEH Women's Edltoi
DALE ERICKSON. CirculaUon Mgr
An Independent Newspapel
Entered ai tecond class matter at
Hedford. Oregon, tinner aci oi
March 3. 1897
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Bf Mall In Advance.
Dally and Sunday 1 year $18.00
Dallv and Sunday 6 moa. 10 00
Dailv and Sunday 3 moa. 5 00
Sunday Only One year $5.00
StnglB Copy (Mailed! 200
nv Carrier And Motor Route.
;jally and Sunday 1 year $21.00
rally and Sunday 1 mo. 1.75
Rtinrisv Onlv 1 ma. 500
Carrier and Vendora Copy 10c
Official Paper of City of Medtord
Official Paper ol Jackson County
United Presa International
Full Lease Wire
U. P. 1. Telephoto Newsplcturea
MEMBER Or AUDIT BUREAU
OF CIRCULATIONS
Advertising Representative:
NWT.SnW ROBERTS & ASSOC
ATES Of'icea In New York, Chi.
caeo. Detroit, San Francisco, Loi
Angeles, acaiue, r u u .
Denver.
NEWSFAM
SHIRS
ASSOCIATION
NATION A I
EDITORIAL
Member California Newspaper
Publishers AssoclaUon
Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from th (lies of The
Mall Tribunal 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 yean ago.
10 YEARS AGO
Dec. 11, 1953 (Friday)
Low bids totalling almost $1,
000,000 on two Jackson County
highway projects received in
Portland by State Highway Com
mission. Dale Smith, a Central Point
4-H club member, has purchased
a Galloway bull and two Gallo
way heifers; the animals arc
among the first of the breed to
be Introduced into Jackson
County.
20 YEARS AGO
Doc. 11, 1043 (Saturday)
Charles B. Warner resigns as
executive head of Crater Lake
Council, Boy Scouts of America,
after serving one year in )od.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudee Pot" column: "The lull
in Dan Cupid's business has
nicked up, and Christinas win
see many couples looking
preachers in the eye."
30 YEARS AGO
Dec. 11, 1933 (Monday)
Mcdford school superintendent
reports city schools now have
enough money for full school
year following passage of sales
tax; schools started year with
only enough money for 4Vi
months.
A. E. Reamcs nominated as
director of University of Ore
gon alumni association (or state.
40 YEARS AGO
Dec. 11, 1923 (Tuesday)
George Hunt introduced by
W. H. Gore as new member of
Medford RotBry Club; Mayor
George L. Baker of Portland
featured speaker.
Joseph M. Schaffncr of Hart,
Schallner and Marx clothing
company, guest of W. F. Isaacs,
Mcdford.
50 YEARS AGO
Dec. II. 1913 (Thursday)
Many signatures reported for
chnrlm omnnHmnnl hnllintf Krtl-
arics of mayor and couneilmcn
and lor recall ot three members
of city council.
C. E. Whisler, Mcdford, cloct
cd president of State Horticul
ture, Society; Mcdford chosen as
site of 1914 convention.
What's Your I.Q.?
Nine or ten correct il superior;
seven or eight Is excellent; five or
six Ii good.
1. Was the mimeograph In'
vented by Thomas A. Edison
Henry Ford, or John Hays Ham'
mono?
2. Do licks have four, six, or
eight legs.'
3. How many stars arc worn
as tho insignia of a General of
the Army.'
4. What country controls the
Sea of Azov.'
5. In which city was the first
United States Government mint
established?
6. Was Percy Bysshc Shelley
a famous Swedish, English, or
French poet?
7. Trees ntver stop growing
as long as they live; true or
false?
8. What breed of cat is tail'
less?
9. Would an invidious remark
be most likely to provoke laugh
ter, resentment, or indifference?
10. What state does Henry M
Jackson represent In the U.S.
ben ale:
Answers.: I. Thomas A. Kdl
son. 2. Eight. 3. Five. 4. Soviet
Russia. J. Philadelphia. Pa. 0.
English. 7. True. I. Manx. 9
Itr-sr nlnirnt. 10, Washington.
4 A
DECEMBER U. 196J
Liberal and Conservative
Elsewhere on this page today, Columnist
Frank Jenkins discusses "liberal" and "conserva
tive," as used to describe politics.
The debate over the meaning of the two
words is ancient. And, as Jenkins points oat,
the actual meaning changes according to time
and place. The words themselves are useful only
insofar as they describe relatively well-known
positions in the political spectrum. And they only
add to the confusion when they are mis-used
or mis-applied as is often the case.
Many people who consider themselves to be
conservatives actually are radicals. They do not
call for the conservation of the existing order,
but for the overthrow of institutions long sanc
tioned by political usefulness.
PORMER Gov. Charles A. Sprague, writing in
the Oregon Statesman of Salem, in the light
of the nation's recent tragedy and the reassess
ment and reexamination' which resulted from it,
thinks that "This ought to be a good time to re
lax on our categories of liberal and conservative."
He added:
"Too often we have made selections and decisions on
how we classified persons. And we have been suspicious
of the intelligence or the loyalty of those whom we though
were in the 'wrong' category. Thoughtful Americans have
not been tolerant enough of those with whose views they
have been in disagreement. The rejection has been quick
and often shallow. After more thorough study they might
change their minds on men and measures.
"We should not want or expect the erasing of differ
ences or the cessation of debate and of argument. And de
cisions should still be based on sound principles rather
than mere expediency."
PERHAPS, as Governor Sprague suggests, it
is time to relax a
ing. But the words do
if only to describe very
Nor do we find the
exclusive. President Johnson has claimed to be
both liberal and conservative, and maybe he is.
If we have a sense of history and continuity
and tradition, and hold to those things which are
good, while at the same
change if change is called
fully claim to be both
in outlook?
To be otherwise is
trapped in a pattern of thought and attitude,
and to be unrealistic about the facts of politi
cal and social life. E.A.
Slow Poke Congress
It is becoming increasingly evident that
something is going to have to be done about
Congress.
And Congress is the
anything.
Is it too much to ask that the national leg
islature reform itself? It has on past occasions,
but tne cnanges nave seldom been radical.
The Sacramento Bee, in summing up the rec
ord of the present session, said :
"Congress stalled, buck passed, was quick with the
promise and miserably slow on performance, and failed by
a country mile of meeting the imaginative challenge of
the lilliOs.
"True, it applauded President Johnson more than 30
times during his brief address, but it also applauded Pres
ident Kennedy liberally during both of his State of the
Union messages, then got down to (lie serious business of
obstructing him wherever it seemed he wanted to
move the na'.ion forward."
rpi-IE MOST difficult, and most vicious, of the
Congressional maladies is the seniority sys
tem, whereby simple old age and a "safe" con
stituency add up to powerful committee chair
manships.
In what other form
we find a Byrd in command of finances, an
Eastland in command of
a Smith in command oi
It's little wonder the
most dead center when
ruled by crotchety and
built-in biases. But it is
jority either cannot or
essary changes.
WHILE the changes
" it is
possible that
ultimately make the internal changes nossible.
One is the reapportionment being imposed on !
a number of states. This
ciiange iii representation in state legislatures,
which in turn would permit the redrawing of
Congressional district boundaries, and a result
ing greater representation of city dwellers.
The other is the movement to get Negroes
registered to vote, particularly in the South. In
many cases where Negroes are now virtually dis-i
pnfvnni.hisi.rl. tliov will
--,
er ii ami wnen iney are registered in sutncieiu
numbers. And this too will result in some fresh
new faces in Congress.
MEANWHILE, Congress has enacted only two
A"A or three major bills so far this year. U has
not yet even acted on many appropriation meas
ure, forcing federal agencies to operate on a
nionth-by-month basis, thus not allowing plan-
nintr sihnuil
It has sta led on the tas cut bill: it has stalled j
011 Civil Klghts; it lias Stalled 011 Medicare, aiul'
on urban transit aid, and on wilderness Wis-1
...! i .... .i- ..'.!. .... .... ., .
l""Vll HUM VII VHV, J V'Vl.ll V.VMIOV I t llllt'll IVMj'C UUt
on retraining programs.
There is a third external force which could
I in lift 1 1 aTm iri'ieii r nut It it'til . 1 K.i n.i nn,ii....,l
:j i iiiii nun nil i in) I'fiiiiii
:.' . ir . V. .7- , 'intolerance toward their follow
citizenry, telling Us Representatives to get crack-, man.
ing Or else. But Sadly, viewing the Usual apatll.V I "Those venomous fanatics,
demonstrated by the average voter, this appcarV tta 'h!. 7rTS
to be a remote possibility. L. A. of a highly infectious disease.
little on our categoriz
retain some utility, even
general attitudes.
two categories mutually
time not ruling out
for, can we not truth
liberal and conservative
to be hidebound, and
only body that can do
of organization would
judicial legislation, or
rules:
Congress is stalled at a!
it permits itself to be
prejudiced men, with
amazing that the ma
will not make the nec
must come from within,
two exterior forces will
will permit the gradual :
tin lb.. l1:.1..n,... nf , J
i- -- rv-,.
fniii:iii'',.ii mti m' t- ntui
MEDFORD
PUBLIC MATE
GMMMfim m, tei ftmts hues
1 1 i ii i i
"0UK. FORB&N I I I I III
I Policy" l l
"All you ever learn at these debates is how to politely insult
someone's intelligence without getting a punch in the nose!"
Communications
Letters lo the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer,
although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or Initial
for publication Is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to
edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation. Letters
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of tra)
paper, in fact the contrary la often the case..
Here We Go Again
To the Editor: The Soviet
News Agency, Tass, was the
first to blame President Ken
nedy's assassination on the
Right Wing. Practically every
liberal in the United States
joined the Soviet officials in as
suming that the American con
servatives (which liberals usual
ly refer to as "extremists" or
"hate groups") were guilty.
It must have been quite a
shock to learn that the assassin
was a Communist, a man who
demanded permission to com
municate with a New York law
yer (John J. Abt) notorious for
defending Communists. He also
insisted that he be defended by
the Civil Liberties Union, al
legedly an organization created
primarily for the defense of
Communists.
Without losing a single "down
beat" the liberal "song" has
changed. It now goes this way.
The conservatives (alias "ex
tremists", "ultra-rightists", or
hate groups") are the ones
who have created the atmos
phere of hate and distrust in
America which nourishes vio
lence, therefore are indirectly to
blame for President Kennedy's
death. Some recent issues of the
Mcdford Mail Tribune have been
simply crawling with this sort of
thing, even down to the car
toons. So much so that I'm beginning
to do a slow "burn." This is an
insult to the intelligence of the
average American.
It isn't the Conservative pa
triots of America who have cre
ated the atmosphere which this
Castro-loving Marxist and "con
f e s s e d Communist" assassin
grew up in, and flourished in,
to finally put his killer sights on
our President. Let's put the
blame where it really belongs.
And I mean right on (he shoul
ders of our U.S. Supreme Court
which on Red Monday after Red
Monday has handed down pro
Communist decisions until, now,
a Communist probably enjoys
more protection in America than
he ever did in Russia.
Let's also put some of the
blame on our Justice Depart
ment which has failed to put
Communists in jail for not reg
istering as enemy agents as re
quired by law. And a big share
of the blame should be laid at
the feet of our liberal-leftist
Congressmen and Senators who
have consistently voted against
our Constitution, which they
solemnly sworo to protect and
uphold, while voting for one
unconstitutional, Communist ap
proved bill after another. Also
at the feet of every public opin-
ion moulder (Columnists. News
l'astcrs'. Editors, etc.) who has
vZ.So'h
Riven support to a Communist
front.
Last, but not least, every
newspaper In America which
has allowed Communist-inspired
lied propaganda to be splashed
on iis pages must share a large
. V. , . ,v ur ",c LC0
. y ,MU""!' m,w ?",W!"R
Up , xnienca, aim lor uie
death of President Kennedy
Iony tialli
1101 Rogue River Ave.
Grants Pass, Ore.
o
Editor's note: Let us turn
from Ihe fulminalions of Mr.
(lalli and sec what J. Edgar
Hoover, director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, had
to say the other day:
l ommimism leeits upon IK-
oiKd ilf'prXcs
relentlessly for weaknesses in
America's moral armor.
"Thnl is whv Urn ,;ukp of
, -
mill is w lv Die ciillse
communism is well served bv "ucrausm. uie mooa oi uoerai
the hate-mongers, the lunatic ism' he contended, is optimism,
fringe nnd other rabble who " "'inks of human rights rather
preach a doctrine of malice and
MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD.
They clutter the streets and
the mails with their slanderous
obscenities, urging impression
able teen-agers and unstable
adults to acts of hate, terror
and intimidation. ' They have
brought forth the bombs and
ignited the flames that have
killed decent Americans and
even innocent children and de
stroyed churches and other
temples of worship, They are a
national disgrace.
"Invariably, these merchants
of hate attempt to drape them
selves in a cloak of patriotism.
But (heir real objective is to
profiteer and capitalize upon
ignorance, prejudice and big
otry while destroying the very
ideals which they claim to up
hold . . .
"Out best offensive against
crime, subversion, intolerance
and all enemies of America's
heritage of freedom is brother
hood . . ."
Meaning Altered
To the Editor: Thank you for
the generous space given my
notes on Dr. Waskow's address
to the Mcdford and Ashland Hu
man Rights Councils. The Mcd
ford Mail Tribune's cooperation
with and sympathy toward
those working for civil rights is
well known and very much ap
preciated. I should like to call attention
to two typographical errors in
the article in question which
change the meaning consider
ably. To begin with, it was an
Arkansas rather than an Arizona
town in which Negroes were
shot down in 1910 when they
attempted to start their own
labor union. Also it was not
Moscow Uie city but VVaskow
the man who said that he does
not advocate a world police
force large enough to take over
the United States or the world.
Mrs. . 11. Westorficld
1U1I0 South Mountain Ave.
Ashland, Ore.
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
What's a Liberal?
What's a Conservalivc?
'THESE questions have appar-
ently been bothering the
members of the Portland Junior
Chamber of Commerce as they
have most of the rest of us who
read the poiltical news. So they
decided lo dcvole their meeting
the other day to a debate on
the subject.
They chose as debaters Wil
liam E. Moomau, chairman of
the Mullnomah County Republi
can Central Committee, repre
senting the Conservatives, and
Dr. Frank L. Roberts, assistant
dean of faculty of Portland State
College, representing the Lib
erals. CPEAKING first on the flip of
a coin, Mr. Moomau said
1 American conservatives have
I dedicated themselves to the con-
servation of the great documents
that lie at the root of American
tradition, such as the Deelara
lion of Independence, the Consti
tution and the Bill of Rights.
These, he contended, arc the
foundations of the American
system of government and the
American free enterprise mm-
' omy. Conservatives, he argued,
believe in keeping these basic
principles intact and they op-
iv umiiira mui m
i '.
I m, ,
1 P " r , t-, ,r' "ol)or,i.6,"(
1 m rebuttal, is the credo of
I COLLECTION FORWARDED
Mcdford Police have taken a
collection and sent a donation of
1 ! Arr T'l?
1 Tippitt.
OREGON
Khrushchev's Struggle To Bring Russia
Up to U.S. Standards Beset by Problems
By
PHIL NIWSOM
UP! Foreign News
Analyst
Under the leadership of Ni
kita Khrushchev, the Soviet Un
ion has had but one standard
of comparison, the United
States.
For the people of the 15 So
viet republics, living on broken
promises, it has been a tragedy.
For Khrushchev, first secretary
of the Communist party since
1953 and premier since 1958, it
has been a example of personal
indestructibility.
For example:
On July 30, 1961, the Soviet
Communist party announced its
third program, a milestone in
the history of communism.
The first program had been
drawn up in 1903 and called for
"the overthrow of the Czarist
autocracy" and the "establish
ment of the dictatorship of the
proletariat."
The second program, drawn
up by Lenin in 1919, had for its
goal the "building of a Socialist
society."
The third, drawn up under
Khrushchev, declared:
"In the current decade (1961
1970) the Soviet Union will sur
pass the strongest and richest
capitalist country, the United
States, in production per head
of. population; the people's
standard of living and their cul
tural and technical standards
will improve substantially . . .
hard physical work will disap
pear ..."
Weird Honeymoon
Rites Bared !
By Arthur Hoppe
WASHINGTON - To fill a
crying need, I've been collecting
notes for a new chapter of my
book, "Strange Native Customs
in Washington & Other Savage
lands." The need, of course, is
for romance. You can't sell a
book without it.
Unfortunately, during years of
research in this backward cul
ture, the word never cropped up.
And I had come to the reluctant
conclusion it was not part of
the native vocabulary, they hav
ing no need for it in their pri
mordial savagery. What a
shame. How would I sell my
book?
So imagine my delight to hear
the natives at last using a word
which sings with romance, which
sparkles with romance a word
which is the very essence of
romance: "Honeymoon."
Ah, honeymoon! Surely, I
thought, as I set forth eagerly
with notebook in hand, even a
Washington honeymoon must
simply reek of romance.
Well, no, it turns out it doesn't.
than property right as the ends
of public policy. CHANGE is an
integral part of its methods. It
has kept its fighting edge
through Ihe EMOTIONAL force
of the reformist impulse.
"Liberalism." he concluded,
"is a POINT OF VIEW. Let us
be sensitive to the human needs
for liberty, justice, individual
self-realization, physical secur
ity, material necessities and for
tho greatest opportunity for all
to share the blessings of our so
ciety." WHAT did the Jaycecs do?
' They took a vote, called
it a DRAW, and thanked the
speakers for a very interesting
program. One can't help won
dering if, after hearing both
I sides, they were any clearer in
men mums as 10 uie lumia-
mental differences between lib'
cralism and conservatism.
QUESTION:
How did it nil get started?
It's an interesting story.
HISTOR1CA1 1 Y the ternn ! votc)' PassaSo of social Icgis
IMUKIIALLV the terms lal favoring tne workers, and
Liberal and Conservative (he rcorganizKations of tne'Em.
track back to the Tor and Whig pirc bv extending self -govern-parties
in England, which began i mont l0 he coionjes.
to fall apart in the mid-1800's. All these are things that are
By ltao two NEW parties ! now supported by the LIBER
emerged the Conservatives, led ! ,LS
by Benjamin Disraeli, and the
l Liberals, led by William Glad- i QO
islonc- & You scc-
I The Liberals became stout i The things that are now sup
supporters of "laissez faire" ported bv the Liberals were
i trench for "Let er Go. Gallag- i once supported by Uie Conserv
i her ). They OPPOSED state in- j atives and the things that were
! tervention in the interest of the : ,,ncp sinmnrird hv the rci..
! ""''king class-which more or
tii., o, ui- im i iiiuui-iii unerais.
liberalism. ! i5 jt any wondor that the
Led by Disraeli, the Conserva-; Portland Jaycecs. after listen
tive party's program included ing to a debate on Ihe subject
I extension ot Ihe VOTE to Uie of Liberalism vs. Conservatism,
j working class (which hitherto in I got CONFUSED and wound up
i England had not been allowed by calling it a draw?
This week before 6,000 mem
bers of the Soviet leadership in
the Kremlin Hall of Congresses,
Khrushchev gave his accounting
of failure.
Typically, his accounting con
tained no note of personal fail
ure nor of the fact that as he
personally guided the destiny of
Soviet agriculture he has seen
first mechanization as the cure
all for the ills of Soviet produc
tion, then the opening of the
virgin lands and now, finally,
the massive use of fertilizer.
"To bring this about he an
nounced a crash program to
more than triple the output of
the Soviet chemical industry in
the next seven years.
Two hundred new chemical
plants are to be built and 500
existing ones rebuilt.
But, again typical of the
twists and turns of various So
viet five, seven and 20-year
programs, the announcement
took no notice of past failure.
The Khrushchev announce
ment called the new plan "un
precedented" and, among other
things, called for the production
by 1970 of 3.5 to 4 million tons
of plastics and synthetic resins,
a jump of six to seven times
over the present level.
Ignored was the fact that the
pie-in-the-sky program of 1961
called for more than 5 million
tons of plastics and synthetic
resins by 1970.
Khrushchev made special
note of the claim that since the
death of Josef Stalin 10 years
ago, Soviet production of meat
and milk has more than dou
bled and the production of eggs
tripled. But he omitted to note
that most of this gain came
from the small private plots al
lotted to Soviet peasants for
their own use.
Actually, the Washington Honey
moon bears no resemblance at
all to a honeymoon in civilized
countries, indeed, it more close
ly conforms to The Secret Ves
tal Virgin Sacrifice & Pig Roast
Festival as practiced by the
aboriginal Quixiotl Indians of
North Ugulap.
The victim of the Washington
Honeymoon, however, is a ma
ture adult male. Otherwise the
rites are identical. The subject
is placed on a high altar. All
then dance around him, singing
his praises, crying out what a
fine man he is, what a pillar of
virtue, what a tower of strength.
And each native competes to
shout the loudest and most laud
atory tributes.
The ritual of the Washington
honeymoon lasts from 30 to 100
days. Then, justas with the
Quixiolls, every native "draws
his knife and they chop the vic
tim into tiny little pieces.
The Quixiotls, of course, have
a clear dogma for their Vestal
Virgin Sacrifice. They believe
it appeases the Great God Mbu
mu and prevents him from
transforming North Ugulap into
a mound of iguana guano. They
thus flatter and fatten their Ves
tal Virgins for 30 or more days
the better to satisfy Mbumu.
But ask a Washington native
why he praises and flatters the
victim of The Washington Hon
eymoon. And he will mutter,
"National Unity." Which is one
of the many gods the natives
pay lip service to. Yet ask him
then why he carves up the vic
tim at the end of the Honeymoon
and he replies: "Healthy Criti
cism." Which is a totally differ
ent local god.
So the Washington native, un
like the more rational Quixiotl
aborigine, fattens up the victim
for one god and then inexplica
bly sacrifices him to another.
You would think the local na
tives would tremble at giving
sucn otlense.
O course, Ihe circumstances
arc different. The Quixiotls be
; have as thev do for fear thPir
beloved North Ugulap will be
ranslormed ntn a mnund nf
iguana guano. And, after all,
looked at in this way, what's
the Washington native got to
lose?
So much for romance in Wash
ington. I atives are now supported by the
e0i
He also failed to note that
while production was increas-1
ing, so was the Soviet popula -
tion at the rate of 3.5 million
per year.
With Soviet space accomplish-
ments in mind, there is no dis-
position to discount Soviet tech -
Strictly
Personal
By Sidney J. Harris
(c) Field Enterprises. Inc.
IDENTIFICATION
If we can understand a saint, then we can understand a
man. And if we can understand a man, then we can know how
he ought to behave, and how he was meant to behave.
What is the one charecteristic that all saints have in com
mon? It is not piety or love of God, as commonly understood,
for some saints did not believe in God (as we conceive Him),
and many people are pious who are far from saintly.
The quality they all have in common is Identification.
Through some mysterious process, only dimly perceived by the
rest of us, they are able to identify with the full range of
creation.
They identify with the leper and criminal, with the dis-'.
figured and the stupid, with the Uiief and the alien, with the
coward and the heretic, with the beast in the field, the bird
in the air, and fish in the sea. They comprehend the sliaringness
of creation.
A saint is a man (and woman, too, of course) in his
fullness, just as an oak tree is an acorn in its fullness. He
is what a man is meant to be, a model, an archetype, a goal
that is given us.
This is what all religion is about, despite the doctrinal
differences. It is about the proper way (o be a human being
Ihe first and only lesson worth learning in life, and Ihe ulti
mate end of all education.
The more creatures unlike oneself that one can identify
Willi, the more fully one enters into humanliood. This is the
whole message nf the saints; this is why Jesus moved among
the poor, the afflicted, the disreputable, the outcasts, the
dregs of society.
.
At the one end of the human spectrum, we have the pure
egotist who cares for no one and nothing but himself; such
persons are rare. Then we have the tribal types who are kind
and loyal to their own family only. Then those who recognize
the claim of the community, beyond the family. And then those
who accept a nation composed of many similar communities.
This is as far as man has gone in his spiritual and moral
and emotional development. He can identify only with the
similar, and not with the unlike. He cannot see the similarities
beneath the difference; the differences frighten and anger him.
His identification is narrow, partial, and fatally provincial.
The parent who identifies only with his own children is
better than the one who does not, but he is still limited true
parenthood means identifying with all children everywhere. Could
we move a few steps further in that direction, war would be-'
coma as inconceivable as fathers slaying their own children.
GOVERNMENT
UNWORKABLE
This session of Congress has
a spectacular record of refusing
to consider the major proposals
of the Chief Executive. On some
of these proposals there may be
a majority opposed in one house
or in the other. Some measures,
had the Congress been allowed
to vote, would have commanded
a majority in both houses. The
critical fact is that by a manip
ulation of the delaying devices
which are embedded in the com
mittee system, the legislative
branch of the government has
been prevented from debating
and voting on most of the legis
lation proposed by the Presi
dent. We have here in its American
form the critical disease of
democratic government name
ly the paralysis of the Execu
tive by the elected assembly.
Democratic government based
on the popular election of repre
sentative assemblies is a diffi
cult form of government, and
the great majority of mankind
has never enjoyed it.
Many countries have tried it
and have failed to make it work.
Except here, it has never before
been tried on a continental scale,
and there is no certainty that
we shall long be able to make
it work. The system did not
work when slavery was at issue,
and there are serious reasons
for asking ourselves whether the
system as it exists today will be
able to cope willi the world as
it is in the middle of the 20th
century.
ll'ILL IT be able to cope with
" the grave issues which
beset a nation composed of
great urbanized industrialized
masses and destined to live in a
revolutionary world? A govern
ment in which the Chief Execu
tive cannot induce the legisla
ture to consider his proposals is
dangerously weak.
If we look at the advanced
countries those which have
attained a certain level of edu
cation and wealth we must
recognize, I believe, that de
mocracy has been unworkable
where the Executive was para
lyzed. In what we call the free
world of Western Europe, one
can count on the fingers of one
hand the countries where rcpre'
sentative democracy, as it was in Congress, notablv the exces
conceivcd in Uie 19th century, i sivc respect for seniority. But a
is still working reasonably well. I rule which sives indisDutahle
Aside from Portugal and
Spain, Greece and Turkey, what
do we see on the continent? In
France, General Dc Gaulle, and
i nical abilitv. Rather. U.S. ex-
pcrts are inclined to attribute
1 Soviet failures to too much
i haste and too little planning,
But it is easy to see why -
Khrushchev, beset .by problems
on every side, has need for
1 haste.
Today and
Tomorrow
By Walter Lippmann
(CI 1963 Tha Washington Post
elsewhere the muffling of rep
resentative democracy by coali
tions of the mass parties.
Austria and Belgium are ruled
by coalitions which exclude or
compromise the issues between
the Christian Democrats and the
Social Democrats, the two par
ties to which the great mass of
the people belongs.
Italy is now experimenting
with such a coalition, and there
is reason to think that West Ger
many will have to come to it,
also. Only in Britain, the Scan
dinavian countries and Switzer
land is representative democ
racy working well.
w
WHETHER the solution is au
11 thorilarian, as under Sala
zar, Franco and De Gaulle, or
is a coalition which suspends
party conflict, the common ele
ment is the liberation of the Ex
ecutive from the paralyzing grip
of the representative assembly.
This problem, which is the
central theme of West European
politics, is also our central prob
lem. I do not know what will
happen if we cannot remedy the
paralysis of the Executive. But
I do know that there is no great
er necessity for men who live in
communities than that they be
governed, self-governed if possi
ble, well-governed if they are
fortunate, but in any event gov
erned. If the diagnosis is correct, if
the trouble from which we suf
fer is that the legislature para
lyzes Uie Executive, then the
remedy is, I submit, clear. It is
also simple.
I ET EACH house of the Con
gress pass a rule that any
measure proposed by the Presi
dent and certified as important
must be put to a vote by some
specified date or within some
specified time.
The rules and practices of the
House of Commons make impos
sible the fantastic spectacle of a
tax proposal by the President in
the summer of 1962 which will
not be ready to be voted on at
the beginning of 1964. When I
was in London recently, I asked
the Chancellor of the Exchequer
what he would do if he had to
operate under such conditions.
I can only report that he was
speechless.
There are a number of other
thinCS that llUChl In hl rhannaH
, priority to a request of the Pros-
ident is, I believe, the essential
reform lo make the congres
sional system workable.