Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-07-14
Nikito and Priscilla

Inere is one Cnlng 70 De SAID IOr
Nikita s. Khrushchev: When it comes
to wooing people, he is the exact oppo-
site Of MyleS Standish in the poetic ver-
sion Of the latter's painfully shy court
ship of Priscilla.
At the moment, Mr. Khrushchev's
Priscilla is the free world, particularly
the United States. He has his eye on
the wench, and although his intentions
may not be altogether honorable, he
wants everybody to know that he yearns
to coexist peacefully with her so that
communism and capitalism can build
happy lives" together. In that respect,
speaking for himself without the help
of any John Alden, he has thrown BASH
fulness to the winds and loudly pro-
claimed that he is sutton who means
business even though the object Of his
courtship stubbornly refuses to trust,
like or love what he represents.
Thus, playing the wooer to the hilt,
and nothing daunted by febuffs, the
Soviet chieftain, in the course Of some
remarks to the Czechs, has tried to per-
suade Priscilla that couples don't have
to be ardent lovers to be wed. Indeed,
without the trace Of blush, he has
boldly proposed to her that marriage
of convenience would be wonderful for
both of them, for both the so-called
capitalist world and the Communist en-
pire. And to drive home his point, Just
in case she may not have heard Of such
a thing before, he has reminded her that
there are many cases Of people not In
love getting married They get along
very well without love, but with under
standing"
One has to hand it to Mr.. Khru-
shchev. He makes the whole business
sound very reasonable, and nobody will
challenge his opinion (Which merely
echoes the opinion of free men every
where) that it is infinitely preferable for
nations to live together in peace than to
die together in war. But Priscilla, who
has good reason to be suspicious, must
still ask what kind of household she
would have to dwell in, and under what
rules, if she consented to marriage OF
convenience. Would her rights be gen.
timely equal to those of her partner?
Would she be at liberty to inspect all the
rooms? Would her spouse refrain from
making life miserable for her? And
would she be safe from the possibility
of falling through trapdoorS or being
murdered in her bed?
Plainly enough, to get away for a
moment from the figurative Priscilla,
the United States and the free world
at large cannot safely enter upon a
marriage of convenience with the Com
munist empire without first receiving
ironclad guarantees that the plighted
troth will not be misused, abused and
flagrantly violated. Certainly, as long
as the Kremlin continues to feed tension
in the Middle East, as long as it blocks
German unification, and as long as it
declines to do such other things as agree
to an effectively policed system OF dis
armament, our side, far from exchang-
ing vows with the other, has no choice
but to remain on guard.
It is in this light that we must view
Mr.. Khrushchev'S marriage proposal.
His wooing is interesting, and it may
actually have considerable sincerity IN
it, but unless or until it is accompanied
by concrete deeds of good faith, Miss
Priscilla had better not let it turn her
head or mislead her into doing anything
giddy.