Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-10-13

ton Tor the United States TO
or take some other action to I
science Of space at the earle
These pressures stem prim
Department and elsewhere. r
United States prestige has not
been too badly damaged dur
ina the first week Of world re-
action TO the Soviet Unions
launching Of the satellite.
Bad damage probably will re-
suit over a period Of time. how
ever, some responsible ofiicials
say. unless this Nation cuts to
q minimum the flag time" be-
tween the Soviet achievement
and its own satellite launching.
Alternatively, they say, some
other demonstration of a spec
tacular nature in the field Of
rocketry and missiles would
serve the same purpose.
Powerful Impact
A week after news Of the
launching hit the world. studies
based on press reaction and
comment abroad and on per-
sonal inquiries and observations
by American officials in foreign
countries. have left no doubt in
the minds Of top authorities
here that the event could hard
~ have made a more powerful
impact. The political and dip
lomatic implications for the
future are tremendous.
At the same time. informants
said the secret surveys DEM
onstrated an enormous ''reser-
voir of respect" for the United
States all over the world. This
reservoir Is a result of United
States superiority in the fields
of scientific progress and in
duStrial production for many
years.
Having lost the satellite race
by officially refusing to recog-
nize 1t as a contest In the cold
war. the United States still has
O chance to maintain its pres
tige largely unimpaired-but
not by trying to meet fact with
explanation and propaganda
The only thing that will work.
many United States diplomatic
authorities are convinced. is a
physical demonstration of
American achievement.
Presumably these are among
the considerations that have
entered into President Eisen-
hower's conferences this week
with military and civilian ad-
visers. the National Security
Council and the cabinet on the
whole wide range Of issues and
problems created by Moscow's
disclosure on October 4 that |
its new baby moon was already
riding the skies.
A main concern Of State De-
partment leaders is reported to |
be that the United States |
should not now appear to other |
nations as being either unduly |
excited or stupidity Indifferent.
Hope for Closer Ties
What American officials hope |
for is that the increased mil |
itary power which the Russians |
either have or may shortly |
possess will serve to strengthen |
the ties among the Western |
allies and cause them to pull |
together as in times of past |
danger. But it is said that this
result cannot be assured unless
this country itself shows a
more dynamic leadership than
it has so far appeared to dis
play in connection with the
satellite competition.
If advice along this line is
followed. 1t apparently would
mean that Mr.. Eisenhower |
would have to modify the poll
icy on which he has previously |
operated. as he himself dis
closed 1t at a news conference
Wednesday. The line he laid
down at that time. which is
the ofiicial United States Gov
eminent line in broadcasts and
the like to foreign countries. is
that the United States was not |
in q race with Russia to launch
the satellite, that the American
program was completely sep
arate from military rocket pro-
grams. and that it was devel-