Evening star., 1960-10-26
KENNEDY

peakerS' platform.
The press against the Ken
Aedy car in industrial Elgir
where an estimated 10000 o
more jammed streets for thre
blocks to- greet him, was s.
great that q window glass wa
Cracked.
BY contrast, in Plainfiel,
whereas in several othe
placeS-there were many Nixol
signs among the approximate.
900 people out to see the Dem
ecratic candidate, q man >yellet
10 him. you'll be lucky to ge
1000 votes in this town."
Asked why so many NOR
came to see Senator .Kenned!
khan would vote for him in tha
Republican stronghold, the mar
said" "just curiosity - anC
they're mostly kids. It's q gooC
Thing the kids can't vote"
Hammers at Prestige
Senator Kennedy hammered
most Of the long day yesterday
On the prestige issue.
Z He seized and ran with the
ball when newspapers and net.
work broadcaSts reported re.
liable sources as saying a secret
survey taken for the United
States Information Agency thi,
past summer shows most of the
world now rates this country
second to Russia in military
strength and believes the gar
will widen in the next 10 years
Senator Kennedy took this a
backing up his constantly re-
lterated charge that American
prestige is slipping in the world
and giving the lie to Mr.. Nix
spn'S claim that 1t is at all-time
high.
"Mr. Nixon has miSstated the
facts" the Senator charged
s'either because he chooses tc
fnisinform the public or be-
cause he was misinformed him.
self"
Challenging Mr.. Nixon today
20 make the still officially secret
QS1A report public, Senator
Kennedy said:
I'm America, the people, Il
they are armed with the truth,
can be trusted to make the right
decision. This administration
does not trust the people. It
mas kept the unpleasant truth
from them in order to con-
vince them that, as Mr.. Nixon
Says, they never had 1t so
good.
Perhaps this incident of
political coverup will remind us
that 1t is time to face, not hide,
the facts about our situation,
both at home and abroad"
! Attacks Secrecy
He charged that suppress
sion" Of the USIA report on
American prestige abroad is
only the latest example" Of a
consistent administration policy
That has denied the people
their right to know the truth. I"
As other examples, he said
the executive branch refused
Information to O congressional
committee trying Ito md out
why high bids were accepted
and low bids rejected on cer-
tain Government procurement
contracts" and to the control
Ter general when he tried to
ind out whether economic and
technical aid programs were
being efficiently administered
IN India, Laos, Pakistan, Bo-
livia and other countries.
Senator Kennedy added that
Sin recent years the admins
thation has classified three
times as many documents as
were classified in the entire
previous history Of American
Government"
In accusing Mr.. Nixon Of
lnisstating the facts about the
pSIA report. the Democratic
candidate recalled that when
be had indicated the survey
Showed American prestige de-
Slining, the Vice President said
sthe facts simply are not as
stated"
J : Survey Made in go.
{ Mr.. Nixon also asserted in
their last television debate,
Senator Kennedy recalled, that
the report "waS made many,
many months ago, and related
10 the period Immediately after
Sputnik," the first Russian |
Satellite put into orbit in the |
fall of 1857.
1T is now clear" the SEN
ator asserted, that the survey
vas made this summer, 1860,
and related to the period i'm
lpediately after the U-2 Incl
dent, the summit collapse, the |
Tokyo riots, and the height of |
Castro's anti American
frenzy"
In a sarcastic dig at Mr..
Nixon's experience" claims,
Sentor Kennedy added: "Pos-
Slbly Mr.. Nixon is so far re-
moved from the operations of
this administration that he did
not know of this report. Pos
sibly he is so uniformed on
world affairs that he did not
know our prestige has declined"
1t was clear that Senator
Kennedy intends to keep riding
the prestige issue hard during
the last two weeks Of the cam
naign.
Z He told an outdoor rally on
the grounds Of the harrington
Qll) High School that he
thinks the biggest" and most
significant" difference between
him and Mr.. Nixon 'is our
itadcn1ent nf niIr roraea,,f Y,oci