Evening star., 1960-10-31
BY WILLIAM HINES
Star Science Writer

McMURDO SOUND, Antarc-
tica.-Come November 8, we
are told, an election will be
held in the United States to
choose a new President.
The four hundred-odd Amer
leans presently on this frozen
southern continent could hard
ly care less. No word Of politi-
cal discussion or comment has
passed between two men in the
hearing Of this writer since his
arrival on the ice in mid-Octo-
ber.
The "wintering -over" party
which spent the long night
here apparently has only the
vaguest awarenesS-and even
less intereSt-in stateside poll
tics. Surprisingly. new arrivals
from "up north" were not de-
luged with questions about how
the campaigns were going.
The only question directed
at this writer which could be
considered even remotely po-
litical came from the Rev. Rom
aid j. O'Gorman, a Catholic
priest from Christ church, N. T.
who is visiting the ice as sum-
mer-time pastor to Catholics
here. He wanted to know why
Senator Kennedy's religion was
either newsworthy or politi-
cally significant.
Symptoms Common
There is a part-tiIne voting
officer here, 1t. Comdr. B. w.
Warren, the camp exec. He is
charged with helping the men
obtain absentee ballots. Mr..
Warren reports he has had a
hard time stirring up any in
terest in stateside affairs.
This is a typical symptom
among men remote from home.
says Chaplain cit. Comdr.)
Edwin r. Weidler Of Corpus
Christi, Tex. The 44-year-old |
Evangelical and Reformed min
lister is not sure that this air
of detachment is the same as
the "break-off phenomenon"
experienced by high-altitude |
flyers, but speculates that the
two may be related.
(Pilots in advanced-type
aircraft and occupants Of |
high-altitude balloons have
reported in the last five years
q euphoric feeling Of being
literally "out of this world"
It has been described extern
sively in medical literature.) !
Il don't think it Is the con-
scious desire to be disassociated
from things at home." says
Chaplain Weidler, ''but except
for the basic responsibilities
our immediate families, for ex-
ample-it's very difhcult to-
keep ourselves related to things
happening outside"
News Is Scarce
Mr.. Weidler says the break
of" is even more complete in
winter-the long, dark period
from March to September. The
44-year-old clergyman spent
the winter night at McMurdo
as spiritual adviser to the 135
men in the wintering-over
party, and acquired a magnif1-
cent patriarchal beard in the
process.
Disassociation from State
side affairs comes at least in
part, Chaplain Weidler believes,
from q paucity Of news reports.
Ordinary news comes in
spasmodically." he says. "In
winter we had a little news
paper that we published once
a week; we called 1t the Pen
guin Wrapper. The news in it
came from an odd source.
I'VE had a radioman from
Puerto Rico named Mickey Or
tas. Mickey used to catch the
Spanish-language news reports
being beamed to Latin America
by the American wire services.
Then he'd prepare an English
summary"
For a country that prides it
self on an informed citizenry.
the United States appears in
this Observers eyes to have left
the men Of its newest frontier
in a lurch. In addition to Mic
key Ortas' Spanish pickups, one
Of the most reliable news sour
ces, according to Mr.. Weidler,
was the Far North service of
the Canadian Broadcasting
Corp.
1T was beamed north and
came all the way around over