Milford chronicle., 1954-02-12
THE NEW WOMAN PRESIDENT
The Del-Mar-Va Press Association

THE NEW WOMAN PRESIDENT
The Del-Mar-Va Press Association has
a new president This happens every year.
But this year it is different. For the first
time in the history of the Association, a
woman has been named to head it. Mrs.
Mary Houston Robinson, Editor o. the Sus-
sex Countian, at Georgetown, was elected at
the annual meeting of the group at the Hotel
DUPONT in Wilmington, last Saturday. No
better choice could have been made. Several
weeks ago the writer talked with Mrs Robin
son and asked her to accept the nomination
for the Presidency. At that time she refus-
ed for personal reasons which to us seemed
reasonable Due to our automobile accident
last Friday we were unable to attend the
meeting in Wilmington last Saturday. But
had we been there we would have been
happy to have sponsored her candidacy.
We have been watching closely the news
paper career of Mrs. Robinson. We have stu
died her attitude toward public affairs, and
matters of civic interest. We are possibly
, going out on limb when we make the fol-
lowing statement-but we have said it doz-
ems of times during the past several months
in conversations with others and can see no
valid reason why it should not be said in
print. So here goes. 1t is our considered
judgment that Mrs. Mary Robinson is the
best, and outstanding editorial writer in
Delaware. We read her editorials carefully
each week and find in them well-grOunded
knowledge of the affairs about which she
writes and a clear presentation of her argu-
nents on the matter under discussion. In
making the above statement we are not be-
Utilizing any editorial W4iteFs-bHt; for our
money, she is the best in the State. And that
goes for dailies as well as well as weeklies.
Congratulations, Mary, upon your as
tendency to the presidency of this fine group
Of newspaper men and women from Della
ware, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
$500
AMERICAS NEW FOREIGN POLICY
Those who read the accounts of the open
ing. sessions of the Big Four conference in
Berlin must have had that "this is where l
came in" feeling. Soviet Foreign Premier
MOlOtOv made his usual violent denuncia-
tiOns of the West, and particularly the Uni
ted States. He then demanded that Com
munist China be recognized and invited to
the conference, thus making it Big Five
matter-despi the fact that the Berlin
meeting had been called primarily to deal
with German unifcation.
This, of course, is an established Soviet
technique in all diplomatic dealings-tO di-
vert, to bring in the irrelevant, to stall, and
to denOunce. That is why almost endless
discussions and meetings have produced
practically nothing in the way of results.
1t is reported that the incredible total of
l20,OO0,O00 words-enOugh to fill $50 big
bOoks-have been spoken in formal negOti-
atiOns with the Communists in the last eight
years. The one tangible result is a truce in
Korea that the Communists considered to be
a victory.
The question can be asked, why do we 90
on talking? One reason is that words are
better than bullets, conferences no matter
how unproductive are better than wars, and
there is always the hope, far-fetched as it
may be, that this time or next time there
will be something resembling meeting of
minds.
Another, and more Immediately cogent
reason may be that talking-both in Berlin
and elsewhere-is giving our top people a
chance to make clear what is truly a new
American foreign policy
The best exposition of that policy can
be found in Secretary Dulles recent speech
before the Council of Foreign Relations. In
It, he announced a drastic change in the old
policy which was based upon local defensive
power as defense against Communist ag-
gressiOn and which, therefore, often gave
Communism the initiative Local defense
must be reinforced by the further deterrent
Of massive etaliatory power" he said. "a
potential aggressor must know that he can.
not always prescribe the battle conditions
that suit him :. The way to deter aggres.
sion is for the free community to be willing
and able to respond vigorously at places and
with means of its own choosing" Mr.. Dulles
added sharp and specific warning that II
Communism starts the Korean war anew,
-. the United Nations response would no.
necessarily be confined TO Korea"
The Secretary spoke, naturally, in tn,
carefully-phrased language of diplomacy
But there should be no confusion to as what
this policy involves David Lawrence de
scribed it well, in these words Hereafter
when there is war, the United States vii
hight 1t with maximum pOWer-no hold:
barred. There viii be no ban on the use o.
the atom bomb and no ban on the hydrogen