Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-11-06
The Soviet ChuIIenqe

are SpdIlIlS IlO ClIOII W GIllS d.
memorable week in the history of the
Soviet Union. With tomorrow marking
the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik
Revolution, they have already scored
massive propaganda triumph by send
ing Sputnik I and Sputnik II with its
shaggy little dog hurting around the
earth in orbits hundreds of miles above
surprise if in the next few days they
do some additional things that are even
more Observation-Disclosures possibly,
shooting rocket to the moon-to dem
onstrate their scientific, chronological
and military proves.
In a short-range sense, of course,
it would be mistake to look upon this
prospect as conclusive evidence that the
balance of power has shifted deciSively
in favor of the Kremlin. In all prob
ability, judging from what our highest
authorities have said, that is far from
the truth of the matter, and it will
never become the truth Of the matter
if the United States and its most adj
vanced allies react to the great new
whatever may be necessary to counter
it effectively. Certainly, regardless of
what our relative strength may be at
the moment, we cannot be negligent in
that respect without gravely imperiling
ourselves in terms of the nottoo distant
future-a future in which the Russians
could win commanding lead over US,
a lead that could make them masters
of the entire world, if we failed now to
go forward with the task that these
times so clearly and urgently require
of us.
Perhaps what stands out most of
all in the current situation is the need
to rid our minds of any lingering doubts
about Russia's position as big-league
nation in the field of science and tech
nology. 1t is country, unlike ours and
other free lands, that can concentrate
everything on missile and kindred prof.
ects without reference to consumer de-
mands for such things as automobiles,
refrigeratorS or decent housing. More
than that, the Kremlin has at its COM
mand an immense amount of talent
Robert Scoville, jr., assistant director of
our Central Intelligence Agency, There
is no question that the Soviets are
capable of great accomplishments both
in peacetime and wartime. In view Of
the dynamic drive of their entire scien-
tific program, we must expect further
revolutionary developments" from them,
over and above achievements like the
Sputniks.
A similar warning has just been
sounded by Lester Pearson, Canada's
former Foreign Secretary. AS he has
put it, eve had better awaken from our
illusion of easy technical and material
superiority which we have been cherish
ing because we have car in every
garage, frozen food in every refrigera-
tor and kiSSproof on every lip" True
enough, the Vests standard of living,
as measured by creature comforts, is
tremendously higher than that prevail
ing behind the Iron Curtain, but that
very fact. that softening aspect of our
free civilization, can be our undoing
unless we make sure that it does not
UIlIlS VII II1c OOI VI OCCdOCIlCC blldO
could make us scientifically, technolog-
ically and militarily inferior to the So
Wet Union within a matter of all too
few years. For they don't fool around
over there; they are not soft; and they
ultimately may conquer us if we dis
sipate our energies on trivia and lose
sight of the challenge we face.