PAGE-
HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falls, Ore.
Friday, December 21. 1M
Over the Back Fence
EPSON IN WASHINGTON . . " "
Anti-Bias Housing
Order Faces Tests
ft f : . s
ji
0
Good News For The Owl People
The most wisdom is usually contained in
the fewest words. Unfortunately, the same can
be said about nonsense.
Thanks to science, however, which con
siders no truths permanent and all truths
subject to constant testing, 20th-century man
; has a way to separate the two. There is an
unofficial branch of science devoted to folk
: sayings, which up .to our time have been
accepted without question.
Making a silk purse out of a sow's car
! was one of its minor triumphs in recent years.
A study at a university which proved that an
: apple a day does indeed help keep the doctor
j away was as pleasing to orchard owners as it
was surprising to scientists.
Comes word now that Ben Franklin's old
: bit about "Early to bed, early to rise makes
a man healthy, wealthy and wise" may be
Robart H. EtUbrook
Washington Pott
London
'Back From the Brink," "Summit Hopes
f Rise," shout the headlines. The relief here
, about Mr. Khrushchev's response on Cuba is
enormous. Gullible followers of the Communist-promoted
"Hands Off Cuba" committees
attribute it to Khrushchev's magnanimity;
more thoughtful British opinion credits the
firm American stand plus skillful diplomacy.
Resolute policy does appear to have
averted a dangerous confrontation and opened
ihe possibility of negotiation. If we are wise,
however, we shall refrain from gloating about
oiir "victory" first because it is useful to
'to'ave an adversary an out; and second, be
'cause the basic factors of East-West tension
remain unchanged despite the symptomatic
relief. It is well to consider some other points:
1. Khrushchev attempted an audacious
power play whether to gain the -upper hand
through a fait accompli, to test the Kennedy
Administration or to precipitate a larger ne
gotiation, we do not know. He backed away,
seemingly more because of fear of an immi
nent direct clash in Cuba than because of
new respect for American sensibilities.
ff His willingness to withdraw his missiles
may show last-minute prudence, but it hardly '
Shakes him "reasonable." The Soviet Union
created the Cuban crisis, just as it initiated
the threat to Berlin. Satisfaction over the
present outcome ought not to blind anyone
to the causes or to the sudden dangers posed
by Communist ambitions.
2. Cuba is still infectious. Much nonsense
has been written in Europe about American
interference with the right of the Cuban peo
ple to their own system of government. The
Cubans have had even less choice than the sad
people of East Germany, where there was at
least the pretense of elections. Much as we dis
like communism in Cuba, however, our largest
quarrel is with efforts to subvert other gov
ernments. A case in point is the reported inter
ception of coded orders from Cuba for the
sabotage of Venezuelan oil plants. There is no
Cartoon Stirs Deep Response
NEW YORK iNEAt-A newspa
per cartoon had special meaning
tor one new resident of the United,
Stotes.
" The cartoon was conceived and
drawn by Jim Berry ot Newspa
per. Enterprise Assn. It depicted a
Cuban firing squad at work. In
t)e foreground, Fidel Castro cyn
ically proclaimed, "We're using
'defensive weapons' now!"
The cartoon received wide cir
culation throughout the United
States. liohcrto Pesant wrote to
the artist, asking for the original
drawing.
"We're Using 'Defensive Weopons' Now!"
Six Lessons From Cuba
prospect of accommodation with Castro. What
ever assurance we may give against an in
vasion we ought not to tie our hands or arti
ficially to restrain anti-Communist Cubans.
3. Any discussion of overseas bases should
be in the context of a nuclear test ban and
prevention of surprise attack. Khrushchev at
tempted to link Cuba with Turkey, but the
two situations are not comparable. Turkey
has not been detached from another power
system, nor has it tried to subvert anyone.
Juniper missiles at NATO bases in Tur
key are obsolescent, and in certain circum
stances they might be negotiable. It might
be worth re-examining the value of some
other bases in light of political liabilities and
revised strategic requirements. But any chang
es ought to be by mutual agreement. It is im
portant not to worry the Turks that they might
be isolated in a behind-the-scenes deal.
4. There ought to be clearer understand
ing of the limits of allied consultation. Irri
tation in Britain over lack of discussion before
the Kennedy speech has been minimized by
results; the need to act swiftly and preserve
security were plausible reasons. But the fact
is that we could not have temporized about
a matter so urgent to our vital interests. It
would be well to recognize this without hypoc
risy. ,
The logical distinction is between areas in
which there is established common Interest,
as in Berlin, and those where one ally has pri
mary responsibility. Even in Berlin, where
there are contingency plans, harangues delay
responses to "salami" tactics.
5. Similar criteria apply to the United
Nations. The U.N. often has a valuable media
tion role, but neither we nor any other major
power could ultimately entrust our security to
a popularity contest in the General Assembly
among countries that might not understand
the problem.
6. Once these points are made, it is im
perative not to confuse toughness with rigid
ity. We must be tough-minded; but we also
must be ready to talk on the basis of equality
if Khrushchev realistically wants to diminish
across-the-board risks of nuclear war.
The drawing was sent to Pesant,
and the following letter, which
Berry received in return, tells Die
story:
"1 have today received your
original cartoon with dedication
and your very kind letter. 1 want
to thank you and tell you how
very much I have appreciated
your country . , .
"My closest friend, Manuel
Puig, was caught on 13 April,
1961. and was executed before a
firing squad at Cabana Fortress,
at Havana, on 2(1 April, 1961,
shortly after midnight.
due for revision. It is assumed, that is, that
Ben meant sleeping soundly, not tossing and
turning all night long.
New hope for insomniarj is given by a
British psychologist, who found that some
people do better work after spending a sleep
less night than they do after snoozing solidly
for the standard eight.
It seems that when people are fully alert,
they sometimes tend to overconcentrate and
become tense so that their efficiency suffers.
The guy with dark circles under his eyes, on
the other hand, is so beat to begin with that
he can turn out a good job even when working
under noisy conditions.
All of this, of course, awaits further clin
ical confirmation. In the meantime, a lot of us
may want to try it out on the boss.
"His trial lasted scarcely half
an hour and the judge was drunk.
"My friend did well, as a Cu.
ban should. I know this because
my brother-in-law, who was also
caught in those days, was with
him all the time. My brother-in-law
somehow managed to get out.
"The firing wall was under
neath his cell, and in the 15 days
he was there they shot 45 men.
There were over 200 men In that
cell, and the only time there was
complete silence w as when an exe
cution occurred.
"The older prisoners kept score,
and since 1959 there had taken
place over 2.000 until that date.
"Hardly one of the men had
failed to die bravely.
"The day 1 saw your cartoon
I kept thinking of my friend all
day. He has left four children
ithe oldest was 8 years ole and
a lovely wife, who is today in
this country with her children.
.She was also caught and impris
oned at that time but was later
released.
"I shall keep the cartoon and
the letter in trust, and I will do
nate It to our Museum of Art in
Havana the day that Cuba is
again a free nation, because it
could not possibly belong to me.
It can only belong to a very
proud breed of my countrymen
who have done like so many oth
ers in other lands have done.
"And men like you who recog
nize these things and share the
same hopes and ideals have their
gratitude forever.
"You an be certain that Cuba
Kill once again be free.
"Sincerely yours.
"Roberto Pesant"
IN WASHINGTON . . .
By RALPH de TOLEDANO
While the West quakes over
the horrors of nuclear weapons,
the Soviet Union is making com
plete preparations for their strate
gic and tactical use. In a series
of documents and training man
uals issued for the use of Com
munist troops. Marshal A. Grech
ko, Soviet Deputy Minister of De
fense and Commander-in-Chief of
the Warsaw Pact Forces, has cat
egorically stated that these nu
clear weapons "will be applied in
a large-scale conflict as the main
method of inflicting defeat." Red
strategists believe that Uicy will
be ready for an East-West war by
1972.
Far from believing Uiat nuclear
By SYDNEY J. HARRIS
The two things that no man
will believe of himself are that
he is not desirable to women and
that he doesn't, in some deep and
mystic way, really have a quite
nice singing voice.
He may pretend to deprecate his
voice in public, but in the sanc
tity of the bathroom, with the
shower running full, when he
opens up those vocal cords, he is
privately convinced that, given tiie
proper training, he would have
made Caruso sound like a sick
canary.
This is why I returned so cha
grined from New York. Strolling
through Central Park with a love
ly lyric soprano from the Met,
1 had the audacity to burst out
with the "0 Quel Amore" aria
from "La Traviata."
She listened patiently (or a
few moments, and then during
a pause while I was gasping for
breath, she said, "You have abso
lutely the most horrible vibrato
I have ever heard emanate from
a human throat." Just like that,
cold, bitter, and final.
I laughed shakily and pretend
ed to agree with her. but secretly
I was wounded to the quick
and I have a pretty slow quick.
Although I abstractly know what
my voice sounds like to other peo
ple, to me it sounds wonderfully
moving. There are days in the
shower when I dazzle mysell with
my vocal brilliance and bravura.
Now this profound and perpet
ual inability to hear oneself is. I
am convinced, the reason so many
would-be artists in all fields per
sist in their (utile endeavors.
There are poets, alas, who hae
no ear for Uieir poetry, and paint
ers who have no eye for their
canvases.
My voice sounds bcautilul in
side me. but I am forced to recog
nize that it comes out somewhat
mangled. The beauty is felt, hut
not expressed. With defective
artists, their grave sin is lack of
insight more than lack of talent.
They think that because they
"feel" a poem or a painting that
they have therefore expressed
their feelings adequately.
The worst artists are alwajs the
most passionately sincere. As
John Ciardi wrote in recent is
Soviets Prepare
war is "unthinkable," the Soviet
army has been conducting a ser
ies of maneuvers and tests under
combat conditions to prepare a
"specialists corps" which will
train Red Army units down to the
company level in tactical defense
against radiation and the ability
to operate in radioactive terrain.
Western European Intelligence
sources, aware of these exercis
es, believe that some of the nu
clear explosions we have de
tected during the post-moratorium
period were set off to create
atomic-war conditions.
The purpose of tills training,
according to Soviet military doc
trine, is to achieve the "psycho
logical acclimatization" of troops
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
sue of the Saturday Review, most
of the bad poems he receives"
come with appended letters say
ing, "This Is really true; this is
what happened; this is what I ex
perienced." But translating the
truth of feeling into the truth of
art is quite another matter and
sincerity plays only a minor part
in it.
Art is the most treacherous of
mistresses, the most constantly
self-deceiving. Luckily, I do not
have to depend upon my singing
for a livelihood, but if I did I
could never allow myself to be
lieve that my vibrato is "hor
rible." In fact, I don't even be
lieve it now. After all, what does
a lyric soprano from the Met
really know about singing?
POTOMAC
FEVER
JFK prefers a teletype to a
telephone between himself and
Khrushchev. The way Nikita gels
going on those four-hour yakity
yaks, a fellow would never get his
work done.
JFK again praises Adlai Ste
venson. Adlai is getting such hear
ty slaps on the back from Ken
nedy, the next one is liable to
shove him all the way out the
door.
A survey shows married cou
ples are healthier than single per
sons. One reason a single fellow
gets sick more often, it gives him
a better chance to marry a nurse.
The proposal for a private
Kcnnedy-Khnishcher phone If
all right now, but a few years
from now, how would they ever
get Caroline off It?
There's always some snafu
around Washington. The other day
a top secret National Security
Council paper being prepared (or
a columnist was leaked to the
State Department.
FLETCHER KNEBEL
For War
so that they will not panic under
nuclear attack. Techniques have
been devised and radiation meas
urements have been taken to show
troops that they can survive
under actual nuclear batUefield
conditions.
Special manuals have been
written as a guide on the effects
of radiation. They set up four
categories of radiation sickness:
1. Brief exposure to 1,000 or
more roentgens constitutes an
acute dose, causing severe sick
ness. 2. Serious sickness results from
a dose of 600-1.000 roentgen.
3. From 40000 roentgens is
considered a "moderate dose."
4. Only slight sickness is caused
by 200-400 roentgens.
The manuals stress that brief
exposure to 50 roentgens has no
ill effects. And they state that a
man protected from internal radi
ation caused by food or an open
wound can remain for months in
areas which are contaminated by
an excess of 50 roentgens. If
newly - developed methods for
treating radiation sickness are
employed, a soldier can be cer
tain of recovery from exposure
to any of the four categories.
Even without decontamination
squads, it is also being taught,
the soldier in the field can take
simple measures of protection.
He is being instructed to dig in
whenever his unit comes to a
halt. Shallow pits, roofed by
planks and covered with a six
inch layer of earth, he is told,
will reduce radiation effects by
half. If he can shelter himself
under a yard of earth, radiation
is cut to one-hundredth. Most im
portant of all. according to So
viet military doctrine, is physical
fitness. A soldier in top condi
tion, thoroughly trained to
withstand great physical hard
ship, is less subject to the serious
effect of radiation than his less
hardy brother.
But in training an elite corps
of atomic shock troops, toughened
by the most rigorous training.
Soviet military leaders also pound
away at giving these special forc
es "strong wills" which can with
stand the terror of nuclear wea
pons. To this end. their condi
tioning is furthered by subjecting
the men to artillery fire, to the
use of live ammunition in maneu
vers, and to a life of incredible
hardship in which they are ex
pected to hike 50 miles with
out food or water and then repel
an "enemy" attack.
Every battalion in the new So
viet army has a platoon for radia
tion Intelligence and an anti-radiation
company. These companies
are equipped with trucks carry
ing deactivating equipment and
special shower installations. In
combat, they will set up "special
processing points" iPuSOi for
the decontamination of personnel,
arms, and transport.
Combat units have been issued
special capes, socks, and gloves
to serve as protective clothing
as well as respirators, a flask
of decontaminating fluid to wash
infected areas ot the body, and
tampons or brashes to be used
on weapons. Soldiers arc trained
in the use of rags soaked in de
activating solutions to wipe off
- trucks and tanks. If no solution
is available, they are to make
do with plain water.
Obviously, Comrade Khrush
chev's legions are preparing for
the day when Uiey have a suf
ficient edge in nuclear weapons
to strike at the West.
By BRUCE BIOSSAT
Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
WASHINGTON NEA) Legal
questions may help explain ad
ministration doubts over extending
President Kennedy's anti - bias
housing order to conventionally fi
nanced new housing. It is now lim
ited to the federally assisted field.
When the original order was is
sued. White House spokesmen said
the President was acting first in
the area of "clearest responsibil
ity and clearest authority."
The administration feels it is on
safe legal ground with an order
affecting housing covered by FHA
and VA mortgage insurance. The
federal tie in the conventional field
is less pronounced, since it pre
sumably would be made through
banks and other lenders whose de
posits are government-insured.
Both the President and Con
gress must, in seeking to justify
their actions establish a line of au
thority leading back to their gen
eral or specific grants of consti
tutional power.
This puts limits on the federal
government which do not hamper
the several states in dealing with
such a problem as discrimination
in housing. Thus the legalities are
different for the 10 states which
have enacted laws against bias
in the sale of privately-financed
new housing.
The state has the authority of
the true sovereign, modified only
by state and federal constitutional
limitations and by superior fed
eral law.
The relative handful of signifi
cant court cases in housing dis
. crimination illustrate how state
power is being applied.
Washington lawyers say the
leading case is one decided last
May by the Massachusetts Su
preme Judicial Court. Involved
was private rental housing. The
rental agent refused to rent to a
Negro. The Massachusetts Com
mission Against Discrimination
brought suit against both the own
er and the agent.
The defendants alleged that the
state law abridged their rights in
property and their liberty of con
tract without due process of law.
WASHINGTON
By FULTON LEWIS JR
Mrs. Dagmar Wilson, 46, is a
charming, soft-spoken Washington
housewife, passionately interested
in what she calls the "fight for
peace."
She told a subcommittee of the
House Un - American Activities
Committee last week that it mat
tered not to her that hard-core
Communists had infiltrated her
"movement." Women Internation
al Strike for Peace (WISP), a
worldwide organization she
formed, welcomes those of all po
litical ideologies. Communism and
fascism included, she said.
, There are no known Nazis who
have assumed leadership positions
within WISP. Here are some of
the leaders in the Metropolitan
area:
1. Blanche Posner, a "more than
21" year-old bleached blonde, who
is chairman pro-tempore of the
WISP metropolitan New York of
fice. Mrs. Posner invoked the
Fifth Amendment 44 times on the
witness stand, and refused to tell
probers whether or not she is a
Communist.
2. Rose Clinton, dark-haired and
nattily dressed, who also found
refuge behind the Fifth Amend
ment. Mrs. Clinton is secretary
and membership chairman of the
West Side Peace Committee in
New York.
Identified twice by Congression
al witnesses under oath as a Com
munist, Mrs. Clinton refused to
answer whether she was under
Communist Party orders in infil
trating the peace movement.
3. Iris Freed, a sharp-tongued
hrunette of Larchmont, N.Y. She
is a leader in the Westchester
County WISP and is reported to
have held Communist Party meet
ings in her home in 1954. She re
fused to deny that allegation and
clammed up when asked if she
had been a delegate to a Com
munist Party convention in 1957.
Finally, Mrs. Freed refused to
say whether or not she is a Com
munist Party member.
4. Anna MacKenzie, a tearful
Vassar graduate who maintained
that committee members were
throwing stones, not questions, at
her. Mrs. MacKenzie. active in
the Commeclicut WISP, refused
to cite the Fifth Amendment in
spurning committee questions. In
stead she took Uie First ("free
speech"' Amendment, which
might well end in her conviction
for contempt of Congress.
Committee investigators alleged
that Mrs. MacKenzie was known
to have been a Communist in
years past and she refused to
deny that charge. She was equal
ly mum on the question of her
present membership.
They thus invoked constitutional
protection.
In Its majority decision the Mas
sachusetts high court said: "The
statutory regulation falls within
the established principle that
neither property rights nor con
tract rights are absolute, for gov
ernment cannot exist if the citi
zen may at will use his property
to the detriment of his fellows, or
exercise his freedom of contract
to work them harm. Equally fun
damental with the private right is
that of Uie public to regulate it
in the common interests.' "
A dissenting judge viewed the
law, however, as a "deep inva
sion of rights in purely privately
owned property for residence pur
poses," and declared the statute
in conflict with constitutional
guarantees.
Yet two other cases, in New
York and California, have gone
the way of the Massachusetts high
court majority in upholding such
anti-bias legislation.
In Martin vs. New York, a case
involving New York City's broad
antidiscrimination ordinance, a,
lower court said in 1960: ;
"Statutes now forbid racial dis
crimination in hiring. These have
been found constitutionally unob
jectionable. The interference with
private business is just as great
but it has had to yield to chang
ing concepts of what the state
can and should do. ;
"(This) is an additional instance
where the individual must yield
to what legislative authority deems
is for the common good."
Besides these cases, courts in
New York, New Jersey. Massa
chusetts and California have up
held state laws barring discrimi
nation in publicly assisted housing
the field covered by the exist
ing presidential order at the fed
eral level. Only in Washington
state has a court ruled narrowly
the other way. ,
Thus it seems plain that the'
courts are largely disposed to sup
port an invasion of property or
contract rights, so long as a sov
ereign state can demonstrate some
clear overriding public purpose in
such invasion. 1
REPORT
Commies Take Over ;
Peace Move Offices
5. Elizabeth Moos, a spry, 72-year-old
veteran of Communist
movements, mother-in-law of the
late William Remington, Soviet
spy. Identified as a Communist,
Mrs. Moos took the Fifth Amend
ment. ;
6. Selma Rein, an identified
Communist, who helps run WISP
in the nation's capital. Mrs. Rein,
long a wheelhorse in local fronts,
took the Fifth Amendment in Con
gressional testimony several years
ago.
7. John W. Darr, an articulate
young New Yorker, who heads up
the Greenwich Village Peace Cen
ter. He refused to answer all ques
tions on the grounds of "con
science." Among those ques
tions: ,
"Are you a member of the Com
munist Party?" He faces a pos
sible contempt citation.
8. William Obrinsky, an identi
fied Red who is a physician in
New York and runs Uie Staten
Island Community Peace Group.
He refused to deny that he had
entered the "peace movement" at
the instigation of Communist Par
ty boss Gus Hall.
9. Lyda Hoffman, of Great Neck,
N.Y., head of WISP in Nassau
County. She claimed she is not,
now a Communist, but was silent
about past membership.
10. Ruth Meyers, of Roslyn,
N.Y., another Fifth Amendment
pleader. Under oath she took the
First and Fifth Amendments in
declining to answer questions
about party membership. '
Al
manac
By United Press International;
Today is Friday, Dec. 21, tha
1 355th day of 1962 with 10 to fol
low. The moon is approaching its
new phase.
The morning stars are Venup'
and Mars.
The evening stars are Jupiter
and Saturn.
Those born on this day include
English statesman Benjamin Dis
raeli, in 1804. ','
On this day In history:
In 1R20, the Pilgrims set foot or
the first time on American soli
al Plymouth, Mass. '
In 1944, horse racing was
banned in Uie U.S. for the dura
tion of the war,
A Christmas thought for the
day It is written in the New
Testament according to St. Johns
"In my father's house Uiere are
many mansions: if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you."