Milford chronicle., 1961-12-15
A SOLID FOUNDATION

The orbital flight of space capsule bear
ing the little chimpanzee Enos has been hail
ed as remarkable achievement for Ameri-
can rocketry. 1t also has been the subject
of not little wry humor The Russians
doubtless are having field day with COM
parisons between this accomplishment and
the Soviet feat of sending man on such a
flight around the earth.
The humor Wry or not, can be shrugged
off, Let the pokesters have their fun; let
the Russians make what they can of it. The
fact remains that this was an astonishing
achievement carried out in the full glare of
publicity We have let the world know about
our mistakes as well as our triumphs. Now
we stand on the verge of orbiting a manned
space vehicle as a prelude to vaulting into
space.
The American approach in this whole
field of space development is the sound ap-
proach. This country's spacenen are not
striving primarily for the spectacular, but
for solid, step by step accomplishments. Our
numerous and varied satellites have provid-
ed a good foundation of knowledge that
could not have been obtained by any other
means. That knowledge will stand us in good
stead when we make the big jump.
COP AND 1864
The Republican Party has suffered three
shocks in the last year it suffered a national
defeat in the presidential race in November
of last year.
Second, the 1860 Republican nominee,
Richard Nixon, took himself out of the pic
ture in 1864. And Nixon probably had in
mind that it would be an easier race in 1868,
if and when he went at it again-though
that is not certain and is only indicated by
the polls which reflect high degree of
popularity for President Kennedy.
Third, Governor Nelson Rockefeller Of
4bo yLo fox,
orite of the liberal wing of the party, put
his personal happiness ahead of political
considerations and moved to divorce his wife
of many years. He may be tossing away the
chance to be President of the United States,
in either 964 or 1868.
SO left in a stronger position than ever
is the favorite of the conservative wing of
the Republican Party, Barry Goldwater, of
Arizona. The Senator is making the most
of his position, too, and he is attacking the
Administration consistently and building his
strength. 1t is undeniable that his brand of
conservatism has an appeal for conserva-
tives. The question is: "Can he win an cleo
tion?"
And yet the country has not had a real
choice between a genuine conservative and
a liberal for many years. Senator Robert
Taft could never get his party's nomination.
Wilkie and Dewey were not real conserva-
tives.
GOlQWdCoT wants Ills CfdUCe. lie VIII
give the people a choice. And his nOmina-
ton and his degree of success will show
whether the reaction to bigger and bigger
government is yet strong enough to COM
mand majority of votes in a national test.
~>>o~~
DECEMBER
December the last month of 1861, rolls
around. With it comes happy anticipations
of Christmas hOmecomings, holidays, which
include New Years Eve, and the wonders
and tingles of winter and celebration, the
childrens Wondrous world of Santa Claus,
and-more important than anything else
observance of the anniversary of the birth
Of Jesus.
Who can forget his December, his Christ
mas memories? Who does not feel just a
little nostalgia at the end of the year? De-
cember is, for all of US, fantasy month.
To Americans, December is the birth
day anniversary month of Martin Van Bur
en-, who was born at Kinderhook, N. Y, on
December 5, 1882; the month that Presi-
dent Wilson arrived in France, in 1918; the
month in which George Washington, the Fa-
ther of his Country, died on December IA,
1893; the month Of the Boston Tea Party,
which occurred on December 16, 1773, the
month in which the Wright Brothers first
1913; the month in which the battle of Tren-
ton, N. j., occurred, when the British were
defeated on December 26, 1776 and the
month in which Woodrow Wilson was born,
at Staunton, Va, on December %, 1856.
Other months are more historic for the
United States than December, even though
the japanese attacked us on December Z,
1911.
The big meaning of December is Christ
mas-time, however. We hope that Christ
mas will not continue to be more and more
exploited for financial reasons. We hope
that the real meaning of this religious OBJ
servance, and it's true spirit, will be remem-
bered by all Americans. We need not give
expensive gifts, but if we remember, in any
number of ways, our friends and loved ones
then the spirit of Christmas is with us.