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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1963)
PAGE- HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falli, Oregon Monday, October M, 1963 The Trouble Is, Doc, I Can't Tell Whether It's A Nightmare Or A Premonition' ditofuaI aq& Looking Two Ways West Germans are getting a political education through an accident of geography. On one side of the thriving country is desti tute Marxist East Germany. On the other is France, whose "economic planning" has re sulted in painful inflation. The main result of West Germany's watch on its neighbors has been that it has stuck to general policies of free enterprise capitalism and enjoyed great economic pro gress. A secondary result is that it has the least socialistic socialist party on earth. The socialists denounced Marxian ob jectives of public ownership of the means of production five years ago, and recently com ; pleted action on formal renunciation of gov ernmental economic planning. (They also resolved that strikes are an outmoded means 'of achieving gains for labor unions. This Contrasts sharply with the attitude of Brit ish socialists, who recently refused to give tip plans for nationalizing several key in dustries, and who endorsed state economic controls. It contrasts, too, with the attitudes of many of our so-called "liberals" in Wash ington, who keep nudging Congress to in Gains In Drive To Cut i As big as the school "dropout" problem jias been reported to be, an intensive drive in many large cities of the country has induced 10,000 students, who it was believed intended to quit school, to return for at least another year. The figure is based on preliminary re ports to President Kennedy from Dr. Francis Keppel, U. S. Commissioner of Education, which cover 20 of 63 cities and communities covered by this drive. , There are reasonable hopes when all re turns are in a considerably larger number of young people will be found to continue their education for a while at least. K3n By MARQUIS CHILDS WASHINGTON - Tho Amer ican public has an incurably ro mantic curiosity about exotic foreigners who are prepared to tell us off for the wrongness of our ways. Filling (lie bill per fectly, Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu has outtalked and outshone every attraction in recent years. That she would compound Uio confusion and doubt over the American approach to tho tra gic war in South Vict Nam was predictable from Hie beginning. Jler appearances, like a series of brilliant and yet uneven vau deville turns, have done little or nothing to further the causo of her country in Congress where tho foreign aid program Is in bad trouble. Without foreign aid the government of her brother-in-law, Ngo Dinh Diem, would Quickly go under. I Madame Nhu has been com pared with Madame Chiang Kai hek who in her day put on Several spectaculars for the ;Amcrican public. Tho beautiful ;Mel-llng, one of Uic fabulous Soong sisters, was exploited in much the same way in her per sonal appearances. Madame Nhu is one up, thanks to tho added dimension of television. But however much the fabu lous fortune amassed by the Soongs much of it grounded in .American aid to China may have contributed privately to I ho buildup, Madame Chiang Jind a better understanding of ' American reaction. In p u b 1 i c Uhe never d I r e c t ly criticized (American policy or American attitudes. Educated In this coun try she knew the wisdom of stopping short of attacking one's host end benefactor. Given her ignorance of tlte United Stales and the Influence on her of Americans wlto want to exploit her visit to rap tlte Kennedy Administration, Mad ame INhu has at this halfway point made few blunders. Ev erything she says Is intended to further the Diem regime and to put over the view that tlie fu ture of her country is bound up 'with her family. Anyone who .doubts this is not sufficiently anti-Communist. ; The principal witness against ;her is her father, lie deserves a respectful bearing if only be- cause he has no self-interest in expressing his frank views about the regime in Saigon and the obstacles in the way of wag crease central economic planning, and who push government ownership of railroads, utilities and other resources. Our home grown socialists, by what ever name they call themselves, argue that national planning would be good, and cite with puzzlement the apparent contradiction that businessmen, farmers and conserva tives make their own economic plans, but balk when the government seeks to make such plans. What they overlook is that a national plan is necessarily imposed instead of all the private planning that is done now. If the governmental planning did not override all private planning, it would have no effect. Not only producers, but consumers as well, have to fall in with such governmental plans, because the planners determine what will be produced, what wages and prices will be, and in what part of the nation production will be allowed. It is just such planning which keeps so cialist nations and their citizens short of food, shelter, clothing and every other sort of consumer goods. The West German socialists, looking two ways, have seen the light. Educators and public officials have been deeply disturbed by an apparently growing tendency of boys and girls in school, for a variety of causes some for economic rea sons, some because they had become dis heartenedto quit. Lengthy experience has proved that youngsters who leave school too soon doom themselves for life to low-paying jobs; many to chronic joblessness. At least, so far, it has been shown that friendly persuasion can make some, of these drifting young people change their minds and go back to classes. Every advance in this di rection is a big gain all around. WASHINGTON CALLING . . Madame Nhu's ing a war with an unpopular and repressive government in power. Tran Van Chuong resigned as ambassador in August after his son - in - law, Ngo Dinh Nhu, cracked down on the Buddhists. Highly respected as an ambas sador who had done his best to try to coordinate the policy of his government Willi that of Washington, Willi his resignation ho gavo up everything his po sition, his country, his personal relationship with his daughter and her family. There is tho fact, of course, that tho former ambassador is a Buddhist while his daughter became a convert to Roman Catholicism. But his public ut terances have not dealt with the religious issue in South Vict Nam, which may very well luivo been exaggerated as Mad ame Nhu has claimed. He is saying that the war cannot bo won under a repres sive regime with little popular support. Chuong contradicts the optimism of the MeNnmara-Tay-lor report to the effect that vic tory Is in sight by il!5. This 'And, So's My Dropouts Visit Futile shows a high order of courage. It comes from one who has fol lowed the whole course of the war at close range. But, as so often in the past, Americans seem likely to over look America's own enlightened self-interest. While Madame Nhu lias been perfectly happy to ex ploit every publicity outlet she can get access to, the popular-. ity rating of this silken beauty is Irrelevant. America's enlightened solf-in-lercst Is to deny South Viet Nam to the Communists. To lose the war in order to save face for President Diem and his fam ily would be incalculable folly and a waste of all the billions this country has poured Into In-do-China. Weighed in this balance Mad am Nhu is seen to be singu larly unimportant. Perhaps for the moment the Administration has no choice but to continue with the Diem Nhu operation. But if and when a choice comes it should be made objectively and not on a buildup of t h e Madam as the Joan of Arc of television and press luncheons. Old Man' Kfccvz' . ii 'Look, Rocky, I'm Right In The Middle Of A Debate' By PETER EDSON Washington Correspondent Newspaper Enterprise Assn. WASHINGTON (NEA) A more active Kennedy adminis tration role in considering all of the 25 major U.S. railroad mer ger applications now before the Interstate Commerce Commis sion has just been indicated by Undersecretary of Commerce for Transportation Clarence D. Martin Jr. Speaking before the Transpor tation Association of America at Ponte Vedra Beach, Kla., Mar tin, as chairman of the admin istration's Interagency Commit tee on Transport Mergers, maps out the government's new plan to create four competitive rail systems in the northeast. This had been outlined briefly when Asst. Atty. Gen. William H. Orrick Jr., in charge of the Department of Justice antitrust division, appeared before an ICC examiner in his final week of hearings on the Pennsylvania New York Central case to op pose their merger. This action served to keep the case open indefinitely. Martin's follow-up speech pre sents arguments that four ma jor railroad systems in the northeastern U.S. will olfor the best service to the public, the most competition among the car riers and the greatest stability for all. The (our systems would be built around the New York Cen tral with Boston & Maine, the Pennsylvania divested of lis Wa bash holdings, the Chesapeake & Ohio merged with Baltimore & Ohio, and finally the Norfolk and Western merged with Nick el 'Plate, Wabash, New York, New Haven and Hartford. Inclusion of the New Haven now in receivership came as a complete surprise to railroad management. It is justified on the grounds that New Haven has good connections at May brook Junction, N.Y., with Eric Lackawnna, which would also have to be included in this sys tem, not NYC. Tlie theory is that if the Pcnn Central merger wure approved there would be only three sys tems in tlie east, Penn-Cenlial would dominate the other two. If they could not compete, all would have to be merged into one system, which would create a transportation monopoly. With four systems in opera tion, if any of tliem could not make a go of it, there could be mergers into two rystems. TOM LITTLE, NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN EPSON IN WASHINGTON . . . Proposed Railway Mergers Complicated which would still provide compe tition. The desire to create a fourth strong system is believed to have influenced tlie administra tion's decision to approve tlie B&0-C&O merger. This was a complete reversal of the admin istration's position last March. Department of Justice was then considering court action to block ICC approval, Martin declared that the four system plans effect on employ ment was fully considered. But Railway Labor Executives Asso ciation chairman, G. E. Leighty, backs the government's disap proval of the Penn-Central mer ger while condemning its new approval of the B&O-C&O and other mergers. Railway labor is backing bills , in Congress to ban all mergers. But since tlie death of Sen. Es tcs Kefauvcr, D-Tcnn.. a prin cipal sponsor, passage is uncer tain. To railway management, the Interagency Committee under Martin is a group of young, eager beaver boys w ith no ex perience in transportation. Oilier members arc Asst. Atty. Gen. Orrick, Asst. Labor Sec. James J. Reynolds, Dr. John P. Lew is of the Council of Econom ic Advisers and E. Barrett Prct tyman Jr., of the White House staff. Its technical experts are Commerce Department career transportation men. But this committee is going to be of increasing importance in Washington. Its creation was first announced in President Kennedy's transportation mes sage to Congress. Since the leg islation he asked for is bogged down, it is apparent that more emphasis will be put on admin istrative action. To railroad management, the saving grace in this situation is that the Interstate Commerce Commission doesn't have to pay any attention to Interagen cy Committee recommendations. If ICC turns them down, the ad ministration would have to take its case to court in opposition to the established agency which now has legal authority to make the decisions. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q Why are the Blue Laws so railed? A The name originated in the Connecticut colony which printed a set of firm statements of what to do and what not to do and bound Ihem in a blue paper cover. By RALPH de TOLEDANO That Sen. Barry Goldwater and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller have said that former Vice Pres. ident Nixon is running for the GOP Presidential nomination proves little. Mr. Goldwater. clearly, would like to smoke out the Nixon forces. And Governor Rockefeller wants to encourage them, on the theory that they will hurt the Goldwater candi dacy and therefore help him. Both camps are watching the Nixon speechmaking peregrina tionson the Goldwater side with a certain exasperation, on tlie Rockeieller side with a glim mer of hope. On his part, Air. Nixon says to all and sundry that he is not a candidate and that nothing can dispose him to be come one. He has not offered his paraphrase of General Sher man's disclaimer "I will not accept if nominated; and will not serve if elected" but he lias presented what on the face of it seems like a reasonable facsimile. Like all facsimiles, however, it is not legal tender. If you read Mr. Nixon's language care fully, he is simply saying that he is not actively seeking the nomination and, categorically, that he docs not intend to en ter any of the Presidential pref erence primaries. The second point is the real kicker. Mr. Nix on is a practical politieian.He knows that any hopes he may have that lightning will strike again could not survive a pri mary battle. These are won by organizations, and most of the working politicos are already spoken for. With all due deference to Mes sieurs Goldwater and Rockefel WASHINGTON REPORTS By FULTON LEWIS JR. WASHINGTON Mixing meta phors. Sen. Steve Young lashed out the other day at a "low down skunk" who stood "lower than a snake's tail in a wagon rut." The good Ohioan was referring to my able young associate, Bill Schulz, who had committed an unpardonable sin. He had ques tioned the ethical standards of John Fitzgerald Kennedy's grandfather. It was not the first time those standards had been questioned. The House of Representatives, on Oct. 13, 1919, expelled John Francis Fitzgerald for election fraud. That "Honey Fitz" was a col orful politician of the old school is not denied. That "Honey Fitz" was simon pure is denied by competent historians. What touched off Sen. Young's blast was an article in "Human Events" by Mrs. Schulz, who revealed that the United States Information Agency was distrib uting around the globe millions of copies, gratis of the John Kennedy Comic Book. Tho multi-colored tract, de signed to win friends and influ ence half-wits, is replete with factual errors. The little boy boy who would grow up one day to be President is shown at Craiuldadcly's knee, in the Bos ton City Hall, learning "much about life, government and statesmanship." Actually, John Kennedy was not yet born when Honey Fitz toiled as mayor. Another panel says Honey Fitz By SYDNEY J. HARRIS ' A college student in Wiscon sin writes to suggest that 1 should stress the great need for "logic" in all areas of think ing. He took a formal logic course last semester, and was dazzled into veneration by the precision and economy of this intellectual tool. I recalled my own similar in troduction to the elegant sim plicities of formal logic more than a quarter-century ago. Aft er learning about the "undistrib uted middle term," the various fallacies, and the real difference between "contraries" and "con tradictories." I wanted to make logic a eompulsory course for all students everywhere. My instructor, however, was wiser than 1. He knew all too well the limitations of formal thought. "A logic course in it self is not of too much use," he said sadly. "It's in their basic assumptions that most people go IN WASHINGTON . . . Nixon Rides Again ler, I would suggest that my ' judgment (or instinct) where Richard Milhous Nixon is con cerned is of somewhat more val ue. I have known htm well for a decade and a half. I h a v e seen him relaxed and in action. Most important of all, I have watched him in the midst of po litical maneuver. On the basis of this experience. I would say flatly that Mr. Nixon is up and running. This is not one bit surprising. Since 1949, to my knowledge, the idea of the Presidency has lurked like a bright little halo around Mr. Nixon's head. Since 1953, it lias been a very ac tive thought. Everything he did in his eight years as Vice Presi dent was related to this fresi dential hope. Even when he said "go hang" to politics and spoke his mind he was thinking in terms of 1960. He lost to John F. Kennedy, but he knows that if all the votes cast for him had been counted, he would now be sitting and sweating in the White House. The California defeat in 1982 rankles, of course. But he en tered that race at the behest of such men as Sen. Thom as Kuchel, who p r om p 1 1 y dumped him when the going got rough. That gubernatorial race is a stumbling block to Mr. Nix on's 1964 candidacy, but he has managed to make it an asset. It gives him a perfect excuse for staying out of those career shattering primaries. At first, Mr. Nixon thought that the Goldwater - Rockefel ler confrontation would result in a deadlock and a call from the convention for its last standard-bearer. Then he decided Honey Fitz Was "once served as Mayor of Bos ton and later as a U.S. Cong ressman." Actually, Honey Fitz served three terms in Congress before he was elected mayor. It was the fourth term that USIA historians would have you for get. Honey Fitz relumed to Cong ress for his fourth term in early 1919, clutching in his hand the official certilicate of election. Close on his heels was Demo crat Peter Tague, whom Honey Fitz claimed to have defeated by 50 votes. Tague insisted the elec tion had been rigged. A special committee of the House investigated Tague's claim and found that Honey Fitz had won thanks to "fradu lent votes of the liquor dealers, bartenders and city job-holders illegally registered in (oncl war and the padded returns of al leged residents in the cheap lodging houses." It recommended Honey Fitz be denied a seat in Congress. The House of Representatives agreed and Honey Fitz was sent packing Oct. 13. 1919. Disclosures of all this greatly angered Young, who wrote to a curious constituent: "You may tell the lunatic right wing auth or of the statement regarding President Kennedy's grandfath er being kicked out of Congress that in the first place he is a liar. In the second instance, those who write such trash in Human Events are lower than a snake's tail in a wagon rut . . . Those radical right wingers are not only low down skunks, but STRICTLY PERSONAL wrong, not in their reasoning processes." It took me a long lime to ap preciate the truth in his modest disclaimer of his subject. I was infatuated with tlie idea that if only people could be made to understand the syllogism and the principles of legitimate de duction, most fuzzy and emo tional thinking would disappear. He was perfectly right, of course. Logic can help us go from A to B to C; but it cannot by itself establish the Tightness or the truth of A, And most of the basic controversies of man kind begin from different start ing points that cannot be veri fied in logic. The writers of tlie Declaration of Independence, for instance, held certain truUis to be "self evident" that all men are cre ated nial and endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Now, "self-evident" means in that Mr. Rockefeller was too far ahead to stop, so Mr. Nix on pulled up stakes and moved to New York at the behest of the Eastern liberal wing of the GOP. At present, Mr. Nixon has de cided that Senator Goldwater is the man to beat. Therefore, he continues to present himself to the public as a good Republican w ho wishes to see his party tri umph in 1964. By disclaiming further ambition, he does him self little harm. But he knows that inevitably the public and the politicians will get the mes sage: "I am the only Republi can around whom the impossi bly outpointed other hopefuls can rally. I alone can stop Goldwater." He can maintain this .position only if he is not decimated in a primary battle. For he must go into the convention as a man of great following who is ready to come to his party's rescue for the sake of the party. In the next weeks and months, there- , fore, Mr. Nixon will run with both the hounds and the hare. His move will not come until tlie attrition of the pre-conven-tion campaign has rubbed the bloom off Mr. Goldwater. I do not believe that Mr. Nix on has a chance. The Goldwa ter steam-roller has picked up so much momentum that only a first-class explosion can knock it off the road. Nevertheless, politics is full of its little sur prises. The Goldwater people have not written off Mr. Nixon nor do they intend to. They are examining his every speech for clues. This is hardly neces sary. All they have to do is watch Mr. Nixon's eyes. No Hero in addition it is evident they are lacking in arguments against President Kennedy." Note: John Cutler carefully researched Honey Fitz' record as Mayor of Boston. In his friendly biography, Cutler writes that Honey Fitz' superintendent of sewers was a whitewasher who delivered a 1 1 important voles. A saloon keeper displaced a physician on the Board of Health. The wire commissioner ran a saloon. So did the super intendent of public buildings. Before Honey Fitz, there was no city dermatologist, a $4,000-a-ycar post filled by the unquali fied son of Ward Six' long-time Democratic leader. Five local politicians became public vet erinarians. Bartenders and un dertakers were among the 11 new deputy tax collectors. Reformers uncovered vast cor ruption in Honey Fitz' Depart ment of Weights and Measures. Officials of tlie department, which had prosecuted only one case in four years, took payoffs from cobblestone peddlers and industrial tycoons. Wrote muck raker Lincoln Stcffcns: "Beginning at the bottom, where peddlers are allowed to use short weights because of po litical pull, laborers and clerks are given jobs for political rea sons, coming up to contracts by city officials to themselves, (cor ruption i extends to the Public Service corporation, which uses city officials to do its private work, and up finally into the region of big business." capable of proof. You either see it, or you don't. If you don't, no "proof" can ever make it evi dent to you. There is no logic in the world that can convince you, no argument on a strictly rational basis that can demon strate the "truth" of this belief. Such convictions are "supra rational." They cither resonate in the inner core of us, or they strike no response whatever. If two disputants start from oppo site views about the nature of man. both may proceed with ut ter logic and come out with completely different conclusions. Like a mathematical equation, there is no more in the end than you start with in the begin ning. Logic makes a fine servant, but a poor master. It can be used to "prove" almost any view, so long as its basic prem ise is accepted. What men feel about one another is. ultimately, more important than how they think.
