Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-09-23


AS an American who loves
America and its tradition of
fair play and good Sportsman
ship. I was deeply ashamed
Of the childish, petulant and
spiteful behavior Of 80 many
Of our people In greeting"
Soviet Premier Nikita s.
Khrushchev.
We in this country have
made much of so-called
''brainwashing" by Cornmu-
mist propagandists. II ever q
people behaved like BRAIN
washed robots, the silent,
half-jeering crowds. the
hecklers and the organized
crackpots did so at q time
when mild applause and av-
erage courtesy surely should
have been in order for an in
vited guest Of the White
House.
It is not too often in the
course Of human events that
O momentous hour arrives.
It arrived with Khrushchev,
not because he Is a great or
good or witty figure. but be-
cause he heads a state second
to none in power. q state that
is willing and anxious to sit
down with US and talk peace
instead Of war. To receive
him. as we did. with so much
derision and iciness reflected
sadly upon our own maturity
and willingness to face up to
the facts Of the world sit
uation.
The reaction to Khru-
shchev was not the fault Of
the people alone. For weeks
preceding the visit they had
been told what to think by
press. radio. television and
the unbending State Depart
ment-and also how to be-
have. "Cool but polite" was
dinned into our ears. We
were cool, all right. and not
very polite. The State De-
partment. in particular, act
ed as IL 1t were terrified that
q free America could not
even listen to the "other
side" Of the picture without
becoming subverted. It as
signed u. N. Ambassador
Henry Cabot Lodge to dog
the Premier around the
country as O "one-man truth
squad" which was a rather
grotesque way to behave in
view Of the certainty Of Pres
ident Eisenhower and every
one else that the American
people couldn't be fooled"
Moreover. 1t was more than
unwise to pick Lodge for this
particular bit Of verbal sabo-
tage. since (D Lodge became
a statesman only after being
repudiated by the voters Of
his own State in his bid for
reelection to the Senate and
az Lodge for years has been
one Of the chief doctrinaire
obstructionists to a rap
prochement with the Soviet
Union.
II the Russian people act
toward President Eisenhower
like we acted toward Mr.. K,
when Mr.. Eisenhower goes
there, many Of US would con-
slider it cause for breaking
of diplomatic relations. We
should take a good look at
ourselves, in the wake Of this
historic episode, and ask
what we gained by our dour.
self-congratulatory perform
ance. Indeed II we are to meet
the Russians halfway, II we
are to achieve an enduring
peace with honor, If we hope
to win the hearts and minds
Of men everywhere to our
way Of life, surely we must
first show the world that we
are more grown up than we
showed on the occasion Of the
Nikita Khrushchev visit
Edward A. Harris.
Huntly, Va.
4
Robert X. Walsh's "How
Many In United States Are
Red Comrades?" (Sept. 20)
asks an unanswerable ques-
ton. Since the party no
longer issues membership
cards and the only record Is
that kept in the Kremlin. the
answer must depend upon
what degree Of communism
makes a "comrade."
II an animal looks, acts
and smells like q skunk, we
must conclude it is a skunk.
So 1t is with humans. Many
who would Indignantly deny
any connection or sympathy
with the Communist Party
nevertheless work diligently
for its detectives.