Milford chronicle., 1959-03-27
DULLES AND WORLD AFFAIRS

seas. This was inevitable for several reas-
ons. For one thing, Mr.. Dulles is a man of
utmost resolution who, once he believes a
policy to be right, purSues it to the end with
every resource at his command. For another,
Mr.. Dulles, by the very nature of things, has
had to deal with enormously delicate anC,
complex problems, in areas of high inter
national strategy which cannot help but be
logged with nagging doubts as to what vii.
ultimately prove wise or foolish, and Wha.
will succeed or fail. For still another, the
p1i~e of a major error on so high level
could be a war of indescribable destruction
But Mr.. Dulles has never been criticized
for spaling himself He is one of the most
dedicated of men. 1t has been revealed that
when a malignancy was discovered little
more than two years ago he was advised by
his physicians to take the time for radiation
treatments But there was work to be done,
and Mr. Dulles refused, putting what he con-
ceived to be the interest of the nation and
the free world first. Now, the malignancy
has spread.
The upshot of thiS-aside from the per-
sonal tragedy involved-is that, in the words
of u. S. News and World Report, Mr. Dulles
has become "the Vests indispensable man.
The worry is that there is no one to adequate
ly replace him, if it turns out he must step
down. The magazine observes that in Con-
gress all criticism of Mr.. Dulles was stilled
and that prominent Democrat said that he
"knows more about this whole foreign prob
lem than any other American"
The hard fact is that the world is in an
other crisis, perhaps the most serious of ALL
The Berlin situation is now at the heart of
it. The Kremlin has presented its ultima.
tum-that the Allied powers must remove
themselves from the city by May 27, or else.
Whether this would be supported with dras-
tic action no one can tell. But the risks are
incredibly grave. For the first time in all his
tory, the world seems to have armed itself
to the extent where it can totally destroy it.
self.
A foreign ministers conference of the
great powers is projected for the spring. An
enormous amount of work must be done in
preparation, and decisions of the most de-
cisive kind must be made. AS u. S. News
puts it: Ordinarily, Mr.. Dulles would be
overseeing every detail" But that hardly
seems possible now.
Mr. Dulles, of course, will remain in
top advisory and policy-making position.
But others will be called upon to carry the
heaviest of loads. There are several likely
candidates. Under Secretary Herter, an able
man who has spent most of his life in public
service and was intimately associated with
Herbert Hoover in foreign relief work, is
one. Another is Under Secretary Dillon, who
is the State Departments economic special
ist. A third is Henry Cabot Lodge, leader of
our delegation to the United Nations. And
the name of Thomas Dewey is also mention
ed as a possible Secretary.
In any event, the firm Dulles policies will
be carried on-the President has made that
clear. And Mr.. Dulles, whatever the future
brings, has made his lasting mark on history.
&S@S%
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Ac hoe o6
that this Congress amend and expand the
federal Wage-hOur law in two extremely i'm
portant particulars. The minimum wages
would be raised, from 81 to SLIPS an hour.
COverage would be extended to an additional
Z million workers.
Comparable proposals have been made in
the past, and have been defeated. And the
arguments against such changes in the letter
and spirit of the act are more valid now thar
they ever were.
First of all, the proposals are inescapably
inflationary at a time when initiation is as
delicate and difficult an internal problem as
we face. Artificial wage increases which have
no basis in increased worker productivity
must further degrade the dollar.
Secondly, the extended coverage would
be absolutely contrary to the original thought
behind the act, and to past decisions of Con
gress. AS it stands now, the act exempts GER
tain service industries such as retailing. The
proposed change would bring in retail bust
nesses Of any substantial size. But the fact
is that retailing is a local enterprise that
must conform to varying local needs, de
sires, costs, and so on. An outlet of the big
gest chain must compete at the local level
When wage-hour standards are needed, they
should be imposed by the states, in the light
of local conditions. Many states have done
precisely that.
To sum up, the proposal is dangerousl
inf1ationary-and it would undermine tradi
tional rights and responsibilities of non-fed
eral governments.
%@N&
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one who feels this way would do well to pom
der an editorial observation made by the
Portland, Oregon Journal during the re
cantlxz observed Advertising RecnQnitinI