davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1960-11-13

no less than his better-known COL
league, he gets results.
II give 'em hell in a nice way"
the man with the quick smile
says.
The Raborn miracles" are pro-
duced via the motivational route.
This Texan rides herd on his far
flung organization in a jet plane.
prodding, cajoling, persuading and
pleading, when necessary, to keep
the constantly tighter Polaris
schedules. His pitch is one of pa
triotism and national and personal
survival.
Once, about two years ago, he
was nearly ready to fire sub
contractor who had fallen behind
rather seriously-and with Polaris
even a little slippage is serious.
He flew out to the plant. sum-
moned the entire work force and
gave them one of his best Knute
Rockne "when-the going gets
MISUNDERSTANDING = type
talks.
"Polaris is too important to be
the business only of the Defense
Department" he warned. IT'S
everybody's business. Stop Sec
ond and grab yourself in the
back Of the neck. Well, that's
what I'm talking about-your
neck!"
The workers, numbering about
Evening star., 1960-11-13

$50, spontaneously drew up and
signed a pledge to rededicate
themselves to their jobs. The
company picked up almost at once
and today. according to the ad-
mlral, is one of the most reliable
subcontractorS.
Reaction to Attack
While it may take a good deal
to upset his even temper, it can
be done. He blows off steam in
private, especially when he runs
into sniping attacks. And Polaris
has been the target of many by
the envious at the Pentagon in
the last couple of years.
Although Admiral Raborn's Of
flee in the old Munitions Building
is open to newsmen (Wearing the
proper security badge>, he has not
sought personal publicity. To do
so would be neither fair nor pru-
dent, in his opinion.
I'm just figurehead," he de-
clared in recent interview "Po-
laris is truly a team effort"
The admiral is keenly aware of
the sacrifices the rest of the Navy
has made to push its big missile
program.
The Navy really gritted its
teeth and took several notches in
its belt 10 give us the money we
needed, particularly IN the first
Evening star., 1960-11-13

the party attracted nearly as
many non-union supporters as
union votes, a fact which Labor
MP's have in mind when choosing
their leader in the Commons. 1t
is worth noting that none of the
prominent Labor Party leaders in
the Commons, like Gaitskell,
Attlee or even Ramsay Macdonald,
have been union men.
In practice, the unions do not
have this kind of direct influence.
For example, they usually leave
the operation of the local party
organizations who select the MP's
to the individual members who,
although frequently trade union
lists, do not act as union repre-
Sentatives.
Trade unions often sponsor
candidates for the House of Com
mons which includes paying part
Of their expenses and sometimes
giving them an allowance while
they are in Parliament. Yet, as
one student of the trade union
movement, Eric l.. Wigham, has
written. mo union pretends to
have the right to dictate the
course of action to be taken in
Parliament by its sponsored mem
bers-which would be regarded as
constitutionally undesirable"
For example, in the recent de-
fenSe battle, one Labor MP eSti-
mates that even though most Of
the unions opposed Mr.. Gaitskell
probably only half a dozen trade
union MP's were among the 81
who voted against him and for
Mr.. Wilson. and also that Mr..
Wilson received the support of
very few trade union MP's. In
fact MP's like George Brown, who
is likely to become deputy leader
Of the party under Mr.. Gaitskell,
and yet is a member of Frank
Cousins union, strongly disagree
with their union chief on defense
policy.
1t is likely that the outcome of
Mr.. Gaitskells coming battle to
reverse the party conferences de-
fense policy will do much to clarity
the seemingly ambiguous relation
ship between conference decisions
on major policy issues and those
taken by the party's representa-
tiveS in the House Of Commons.
Evening star., 1960-11-13
Back Of Labor Partys Decisions

larger unions mlgnt not nave sup
ported unilateral nuclear disarm-
ament.
The Union Leadership
The delegates to several of the
leading union conventions, includ-
ing the transport workers, did not
vote on the issue Of the defense
policy because it had not been
formulated when they met. For
this reason, critics of Frank Cou-
sins, head of the transport and
general workers union, claim he
imposed his personal stand on his
union membership.
Mr.. Gaitskell and his. supporters
will now be busy attempting to
persuade those unions who opposed
his defense policy by a close vote
to reverse their stand before the
next party conference almost
year hence.
In the past the large unions who
control the biggest blocks of votes
at the party conference have
backed the defense policy of Mr..
Gaitskell and previously Of Glenn
ent Attlee. Powerful trade union
leaders like Ernest Bevin and
Arthur Deakin, who headed the
transport union, as well as chiefs
Of other influential unions. could
always be counted on to provide
the decisive block of votes in sup
port of the Parliamentary Labor
Party's defense policy. Now these
important right-wing figures have
passed from the scene. In recent
years Nye Bevan, who had a great
union following, also lent his pres
tige to a pro-NATO policy. All
these powerful figures are gone.
In their place Mr.. Cousins has
emerged as the dominating union
leader and has thrown his weight
in opposition to Mr.. Gaitskell and
in support of unilateral nuclear
disarmament. Some influential
labor MPs believe that Mr..
Cousins present defense stand has
been affected by key leftist groups
in his own union and that if he
achieves the type of mastery over
his union which Ernest Bevin ex-
ercised he may reverse his position
on defense.
Much of the confusion in the
present situation arises from the
relationship of the trade unions
to the Parliamentary Labor Party.
Since the unions established the
party-in fact no individual could
become a party member until the
constituency parties were founded
in 19l8-and since the unions pro-
vide about 80 per cent of the
party's finances and control the
party's executive committee, it
would seem that the decisions of
the unions on major policy matters
would inevitably be adopted by the
party's representatives in tbA
House Of Commons.
Impoct on the Porty
Some observers believe that,
for these reasons, the trade unions
have exercised a greater impact
on the party than the votes they
can roll up in a general election
would justify. In the election of
October. 1859. for example. the
Labor Party received IL million
votes, yet there are only six and
half million union members. Thus
Evening star., 1960-11-13
WILLIAM F. RAB0RN. R
Portrait Of Missile Age Admiral

and Titan missiles. Other, non-
defense, Government agencies and
many industrial firms are study
ing it with an eye to adapting it
to their own uses and problems.
The Polaris development pro-
gram is not finished with the
16 hydrogen-tipped rockets now
riding in the George Washington.
These missiles are in the Model
T class.
Tests already are we'll under
way on a 1,700-mile model which
is foot and half taller than the
28-footer now going in service.
This will be ready by 1862. Two
years after that, 2,800-mile
version, also standing 1912 feet
high, will reach operational
status. This long rocket
will allow the submarine to oper-
ate in the middle of the Atlantic
and still reach many targets in
the Soviet Union.
Other versions of PolariS, for
mobile, land and water based use
by NATO countries and for some
United States surface warships,
also are likely.
But with all the demands for
his product, Admiral Raborn,
former aircraft carrier skipper, is
no one-weapon zealot.
"T'Y1o f,nt fhn blvd Nf
when he gets up in the morning,
puts on his pants and thinks the
world is dressed. Polaris is not
the alpha and omega of missilry."
Moy Go Bock to SEQ
Perhaps thinking of his success
sor-he probably will go back to
sea next spring after guiding the
Polaris budget through the con-
greSSional obstacle courSe-the ad-
miral asked for public understand
ing of missile failures during de-
velopment tests.
when the starter on your car
doesn't work, you don't blame the
entire automotive industry" he
said. when you hear about a
failure or partial failure, don't
panic. We're still experimenting"
The admiral is married to for
mer Navy nurse, the chief nurse
at the Corpus Christi (Tex.) Naval
Hospital.
"She was a commander" he
said. Il told her 1 would promote
her by taking off the three stripes
and putting an apron on her"
He and Mrs. Raborn, who live
in two-story brick house at 4121
North Randolph street, Arlington,
Va, are avid gardeners.
She's vegetable and I'm orna-
mental" the admiral explained.
The Polaris chief may be seen
many Sunday afternoon, in his
old clothes, caring for his 1876
rosebushes. Occasionally he will
have 25-pound sprayer strapped
to his back. This gives Mrs. Ra-
bornS black dachSund Heinz
plenty to bark about.
The admiral has two other hob
bies: His Hammond organ and
cooking. He likes all kinds of
food c'I had to, was one of eight
children and ate what was put be.
fore me"D, but his main skill lies
In harbecuing meats.
Evening star., 1960-11-13

plexity." And DR.. Craven jumped
on the authors for overlooking the
new management techniques in
the Polaris program which have
given just the sort of control and
reliability the authors cry for.
An Air Research and Develop
ment Command branch chief says
the authors are often wrong. For
instance. they have exaggerated
the APCHE and CAPCHE prob
lem and have ignored the fact that
with the new Minuteman, the
high-speed electronic computer
within the missile which is used
for guidance during its flight is
used during alert periods to check
out its other electronic systems,
thus making separate checkers un-
necessary.
This missile expert says he
sympathizes with the authors
goal but says they oversell their
case and ignore real progress at
simpliflcation.
Another Air Force officer. Col.
Paul S. Deems, says the authors
go wrong also because they do not
understand the goal Of the Penta-
gon IN its big-War weapons.
Evening star., 1960-11-13

automatic inspections of all the
parts. But these solutions add
to the number of parts involved
and increase the chances Of fall
ures, the book claims.
For instance, to keep Atlas mis-
siles ready, a checking device
called APCHE-manned by rs
people and filling a whole build
ing with electronic gadgets-is
installed at the launching sites.
But how do you know APCHE is
working? You build CAPCHE, a
checking system to check the
checker, and hire more tech
nicians to keep it running.
Complexity gets piled on COM
pleXity in new generations Of
weapons until just by sheer odds
you can figure that one of the
millions of tubes, transistors cir
cults and switches will break
down at any given time.
IHS VSupVuS fIoJSSt
All this complexity would not
be necessary, the authors say. If
the Pentagon would manage its
weapons projects properly and
build for simplicity they could get
the kind of reliability the Rus
slams have.
The Pentagon answers to some
of the congressional questions
they assume the book will gen.
crate go like this:
Mr.. Steele and Mr.. Kircher have
done a service by calling attention
to problems Of complexity in auto
mated weapons. But they are
wrong in many things they say.
The chief scientist in the Navy's
efficient Polaris project Office, John
P. Craven, told the publishers the
book is full of half truths. distor-
tions and innuendo which are
employed throughout the text to
imply the existence of a morally
and scientifically bankrupt de-
fense community" The book is
wrong, he said, IN claiming Polaris
missiles Cannot be Serviced much
at sea" and that its mobility will
have been sacrificed to COM
Evening star., 1960-11-13
BY GEORGE w. OAKES
Contributing Writer

The British Labor Party's re-
cent reelection of Hugh Gait
skell as its leader in the House
of Commons by more than 2 to
], a month after the party's an
nual conference had rejected his
defense policy and indorsed un-
lateral nuclear disarmament pre-
sents particularly puzzling aspects
to the American observer. How
is it possible for so many Labor
MP's to take stand in opposi-
tion to that Of the party on a
major policy issue?
: First, Labor MP's are elected
by their constituents in each par
liamentary district and primarily
owe their constitutional allegiance
to them and to the local commit
tees who have selected each can
didate. But, in addition, MP's
are responsible for their own &C
tions. AS Edmund Burke stated
in 1774 discussing the RESPONSE
bility of an MP to his constitu-
tents: your representative owes
you not his industry only but his
judgment; and he betrays, instead
of serving you, if he sacrifices it
to your opinion"
Second. the Labor members Of
the House of Commons Cor the
Parliamentary Labor Party) are
not under any constitutional or
legal obligation to be bound by
decisions taken at the party's an
nual conference. Even Harold
Wilson, Mr.. Gaitskell'S unsuccess-
full opponent in the recent con-
test for leadership of the party
in the Commons, told a visitor
last July that the relationship
between decisions taken at the
party's annual conference and
those adopted by the party's rep
resentatives in the House of Com
mons was not clearly defined.
The Conference Role
The situation has been we'll
described by two authoritative ,
students of the Labor Party.
Prof. R. T. Mckenzie of the
London School Economics has
written that Labor Party litera-
ture appears to imply that the
conference has a decisive voice
in the affairs of the party, but in
fact it does not"
Martin Harrison of Nufield
College, Oxford, gives his opinion
that: "The (annuaD conference
has always had much less power
and the Parliamentary leaders
'Huch more than the party's
'nders envisaged." Usually the
lual conference has less in
-luence over the Parliamentary
Labor Party between elections
like the present situation-than
before an election. The closer the
party comes to power. the more
policy flows from the Parliamen-
tary party and less from the an
nual conference.
This state of affairs was con-
f1rmed by decisions taken at the
party's annual conference last
month. Then a resolution. was
adopted establishing the confer
ence as the final authority" for
setting policy within the party.
However. the party's National
Evening star., 1960-11-13
Missiles Efficiency
Raises Some Doubts
BY RICHARD FRYKLUND
Star Stan Writer

If big war starts and some
one gives the order for American
missiles and planes to be launched
toward their targets-will they
work?
Two critics have written a dis
turbing new book which says the
missiles and planes won't work
they are too complex and too
prone to breakdowns to be counted
on when the fighting starts.
To-day it is unlikely that a
given Strategic Air Command
bomber can complete long mis-
sion with all of its electronics
working properly" they say.
AS for missiles: "It can be con-
cluded that the Minuteman as
contemplated is a lost cause
The reliability requirement will be
waived on the relatively useless
early missiles. which probably will
be manufactured, declared opera
tional and put in place anyway
in the hope that no one will no.
tice."
And so it will go, they say, for
the other big missiles and planes.
The book is "The Crisis We
Face" and it is by George Steele
and Paul Kircher. 1t was published
recently by McGraw-Hill.
The effect of the book in one
month has been to put Navy and
Air Force experts to work refuting
the charges in preparation for con-
gressional investigations they fear
will be generated.
The Authors Background
Even the most indignant Penta-
gon missileman does not criticize
Mr.. Steele's competence in his
field. He is a computer and auto
matte control expert good enough.
according to one Air Research and
Development Command report, to
be considered "a unique national
resource" He has worked on de-
tense projects, been the spark
plug OF three very successful COM
puter companies and now is an
independent consultant.
His partner in the book is
a University of California assist
ant professor and writer on
computerS and management con-
troll.
Computers and control systems
are the heart and soul of modern
weapons. They make the diff
ference between the Korean War
and the next war. They are sup
posed to ensure that the new
wonder weapons will always be
ready to fire at the enemy in
stantly and that they will guide
themselves accurately to the tar
gets.
Readiness and accuracy cannot
be relied on, the authors say. be-
cause so many parts are built
into the weapons and their sup
port systems that something is
always breaking down. The solu-
ton used by the military. the
authors say. is TO add double and
triple circuits and install check
ing systems to make continuous
Evening star., 1960-11-13

Executive Committee in keeping
with Labor Party tradition inter-
preted this action by stating that
it was clearly understood that
the conference cannot instruct,
control, or dictate to the Labor
party in Parliament"
In practical political terms, one
of the chief reasons why two
thirds Of the Labor MP's backed
Mr.. Gaitskell in opposition to the
party conference stand on defense
is because the issue was so mar
rowly decided at the conference.
There Mr.. Gaitskell's position lost
by only $4,000 votes out Of almost
61a million cast. If the conference
had overwhelmingly defeated Mr..
Gaitskell, then it is doubtful
whether he would have been in
dorsed by so many Laborites in the
House of Commons.
Support for GoitskeII
Also, Labor members of the
House Of Commons recall that, at
the annual conference, delegates
from the local constituency par
ties throughout the country largely
supported Mr.. Gaitskell on his de-
fense stand. This indicated how
popular sentiment was running in
the areas which the MP'S repre-
sent.
In addition, many Labor MPs.
particularly those who do not hold
safe seats" are particularly SEN
sitive to the views Of the voters and
seem to doubt whether their con-
stituents would support the uni
lateral nuclear disarmament stand
taken at the annual conference.
These MP's are thinking first in
Evening star., 1960-11-13
WILLIAM F. RABORN, R.
BY L. EDGAR PRINA
Star Stan Writer

On Tuesday, the nuclear-
powered George Washington.
deadliest submarine ever built,
will take its place, hidden some
where deep in the Atlantic, as the
vanguard of Americas new 'front.'
line deterrence force.
It will be an historic day for
the Nation and the Navy and
one of special thanks for a mild
hammered, red-headed Texan,
known as "Mr. Polaris" to the
men Of his command.
He is Vice Admiral William
Francis Raborn. jr.. SIS. boss Of
the Navy's Special Projects Office
and development manager Of the
incredibly complex Polaris missile
weapons system.
Affable and gregarious, "Red"
Raborn is well known to the
armed services and the missile in
dustry. But, despite his steward
ship Of the billion dollar
glamor weapon of seapower, he is
scarcely known to the general
public.
In this near-anonymity he is
positioned 180 degrees from the
man who did so much to produce
the atomic-powered submarine.
the nearly invulnerable launching
platform for Polaris. Nearly every
informed citizen has heard about
Vice Admiral H. G. Rickover.
Although he is essentially a
shy, introverted type, Admiral
Rickover has a penchant for
speaking inconoclastically in pub
lie. His modus operandi is IA
nous: Tough talk, the pounded
table, the unexpected inspection
visit. the welded stick.
The Temperate Approach
Admiral Raborn, who is not
controversial. works differently.
His is the carrot approach. And,
Evening star., 1960-11-13
U. n. Sees Peiping
Next u. S. Problem

six or seven power. summit dn-
cluding India. Red China, ana
perhaps some African leader like
Nkrumah).
Some here think Mr.. Kennedy
has no real choice: that he will
have to undertake a series of ma
jor negotiations with the Commu-
nists or face a series Of major
world crises.
Algerio Critical Situation
Algeria is almost daily becoming
more critical. Either there are to
be new peace talks, a possibility,
or else it, too, will become a furi-
Gus cold-war arena.
In the Congo, the United States
and its allies are fighting an all
out battle against the attempt Of
many Africans to restore Patrice
Lumumba to the premiership. 1t
may be losing battle; Russia is
in it with both feet; and in the
meantime, the Congo is rapidly
going to pot.
Overshadowing and to some
extent causing all the other prob
lens is the supreme challenge Of
Red China. There was a Com
munist summit conference" in
Moscow last week, celebrating the
43d anniversary of the Bolshevik
revolution. At it, Moscow and
Peiping appeared to come to
terms in their theological struggle
on the basis of intensive use by
world communism of RusSias
military might as the shield be-
hind which to promote chain Of
local disturbances.
This will not be Mr.. Khru-
shchev's co-existence: neither is
it China's inevitable war. 1t is a
halfway stage between the two.
in which the cold war is stirred
to the utmost and hot war is
repeatedly risked.
The West must decide how to
deal with this challenge. To date,
it has improvised defensive
countermeasures where and when
attacked Mr.. Kennedy has dep
recated this policy as denegrat-
ing; but the only real alternative
is to take diplomatic initiative
for negotiated settlement, going,
to the core of the trouble and
seeking contact with Red China
as well as with Russia.
Is the United States ready to
deal with Red China? There will
now be big effort to seat her in
the U. NJ, so as to force a Sino-
American conformation. Many
here wonder whether, in the light
of some things he has said, Mr..
Kennedy will wish to resist U. N.
people do not rule out total re-
versal of the American policy Of
boycott" on China, and most Of
them would welcome such re-
verSal.
There would also be a cordial
reception here for new American
ideas on many other things, such
as all-out economic aid to UNDER
developed countries preferably
through the U. NJ; NATO; dis
armament: and East-West rela-
tions generally.
Evening star., 1960-11-13

terms of their own reelection and
second of party policies which will
command enough support to win
back former Labor voters who have
switched in recent years to the
Conservatives. The great majority
of Labor MP's by indorsing Mr..
Gaitskell, apparently are convinced
that these swing voters, who may
number a million or so, can only
be regained by a pro-NATO and
anti-unilateral nuclear disarma-
ment position.
The basic reason why the party's
annual conference adopted, even
by narrow margin. the policy of
unilateral nuclear disarmament is
because this position had won the
support of the large trade unions
who dominate the party's confer
ence by controlling $685., 900 out
of its 6.717.000 votes. The six
largest unions alone represent
3.598,000 votes out of the total, or
ulOTc GLldL 1ldll.
In fact if one union. the rail-
waymen. with its 294,000 votes
had changed its stand. unilateral
nuclear disarmament would have
been defeated. This could have
occurred if only one delegate had
shifted his position in the railway
mems convention preceding the
party's annual conference because
under the system Of block voting"
at the conference each union casts
its entire voting strength in line
with its own majority decision. In
fact many Labor MP'S believe
that. had Mr.. Gaitskell set the
party's defense policy before the
trade union conventions were held.
1t is likely that several Of the