davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1961-01-07
Where Are We.Going in Public Transit?

II Congress had created
the National Capital Trans
portation Agency in order to
complete the dismemberment
Of Washington's dying transit
system. 1t would be easier to
understand Agency Engineer
Robert A. Keith's down.
grading of existing rail
transit facilities (reported in
The Star, January 2, 1860.
His remarks could not have
been addressed to an engi-
neering problem because
surface electric cars are by
far the most economical con-
servers Of space, and in re-
spect to speed, potentially the
most rapid. Insofar as total
costs are considered, they are
vastly more economical than
urban freeway systems, or
even a New York City-type
subway system whose eco
nomica1 operation would re.
quire a population volume
and density which is neither
desirable nor anticipated for
Washington in the foresee-
able future.
On the contrary his COM
ments seem sociological since
they tacitly take for granted
the total abdication of
surface transport to internal
combustion vehicles, thereby
accepting as final the virtual
demise Of public transit
for Washington. Indeed, the
first and uppermost question
confronting the new agency
is: Shall public transit be re-
vived in Washington, or shall
it be further subordinatd to
the already dominant b,.Nate
Evening star., 1961-01-07
Park Proviso Necessary

It Is surprising that any effort
should be made in the closing days of
the Eisenhower administration to obtain
presidential proclamation reserving
the old Chesapeake & Ohio canal as a
national monument" And we commend
the Budget Bureau for refusing to be
rushed into approving the plan without
careful study. For If any such proclama-
tion is issued by President Eisenhower
(or by his successor, Mr.. Kennedy, it
should be so written as to make 1t clear
that, If the public interest demands,
some Of the parkland may be converted
to water-storage uses.
The proclamation proposed by the
Interior Department would accomplish
virtually the same thing that was plan
ned under bills which failed to pass
Congress in recent years. However,
written into those bills, at the insistence
Of the Army Corps of Engineers and the
District Commissioners, were provisions
that dams or other waterworkS could be
built in the park area II the water
supply needs Of Washington required
these impounding facilities. The draft
Of the proclamation sent by the Budget
Bureau to the District Building for
comment does not contain this i'm
portant proviSo.
OF course, Congress undoubtedly at
any time could authorize use OF the
parkland for water supply purposes by
passing special legislation-but, as
District officials have stressed, it would
be more difficult to obtain such legisla-
tion If no proviso for essential public
works were included in the proclamation
or law establishing the park. Anyway, it
would be better to leave the proclama-
tion question for the new President to
decide-after due deliberation. And he
might prefer to let Congress handle the
whole problem Of national park along
the canal right Of way.
Evening star., 1961-01-07

president of the American Association
Of State Highway Of1cials in 1856, when
Congress enacted the present program.
We also are impressed by the fact
that Mr.. Whitton has been a leader In
the national campaign to coordinate
highway construction with metropolitan
area planning, and we hope he can con-
vert his ideas along this line into prac-
tical accomplishment. All in all, he
appears to be an excellent selection for
a most difdcult Job.
Evening star., 1961-01-07
LETTERS TO THE STAR
Sure, They Had to Do Something

I am wondering II Esquire
Magazine has not directly
or Indirectly Influenced the
architects Of the proposed
FDR Memorial.
On Page 208 of Esquire for
October 1858 the caption.
THE New Dealer (circa
1885," was under a drawing
Of q man holding up one Of
the stone slabs Of Stonehenge
and saying well. we've got
to do something" In looking
at the severeness of the
modernistic slabs proposed
for the Roosevelt Memorial,
and the seeming coldness Of
this modern Stonehenge as
compared to the personality
Of the man, 1t would seem
to me that the architects
submitted their whole idea
in the attitude of "Well,
we've got to do something"
And If we've got to do
something" better let the
whole thing die a natural
death than construct this
monstrosity as q monument
to Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
or to anyone else.
Allan d. Henry.
The Jan. / editorial In
The Sunday Star criticizes
the winning design. Of the
r. D. r. Memorial much
too mildly. 5"t s.
How any jury could accept
millions Of dollars worth Of
giant slabs to honor an
altruistic person like Frank
lin D. Roosevelt Is difdcult
to conceive.
It would be far more
appropriate to erect q
national hospital dedicated
to the late President and his
magnificent idea Of pro-
noting cures for infantile
paralysis. At the entrance,
an imposing statue might
stand with beautiful land
scaping as background. and
within q life-size oil portrait.
Muriel Moffett.
Concerning the proposed
F. d. r. memorial in East Po-
tomac Park. I think the ar
chitects might have gotten
the idea from a clutter of
unused book-ends carelessly
put away on a storeroom
shelf. H. G. Fleming.
I find 1t hard to believe
that Congress Is irrational
enough to place a monu-
ment to F.D.R. In the same
sphere with the Washington.
Jefferson, and Lincoln Me-
MORALS. These three great
Americans deserve some
thing better than being forced
into an association with an
egotist who sold half the
world into Communist slav-
cry and took his own peo-
pie to the brink of totalitar-
ianism.
II some Of the people Of
Evening star., 1961-01-07
100 Million Lives

tional act may appear ra.
tional.
On the other hand, If
deterrence is possible, it Is
far from automatic. Auto
matte deterrence assumes that
the balance of terror Is static,
both sides will forever be
deferred by the very nature
Of nuclear weapons. But
someday we may find that
only we are deferred; we are
the ones who are terrorized
and not our opponents. The
balance is truly delicate. be-
cause terror must be SYM
metrical if there is to be
mutual deterrence. It should
not only be desirable for us
to Just maintain this balance.
for the game is to make the
risk to the opponent dispro-
portionately greater than to
oneself.
The less regard a nation
has for moral and legal
obligations, the more it will
tend to respect force. There
is no hope in dealing with q
rash enemy. but a rational
one can be deferred and the
policy that accomplishes this
may tend to make the enemy
more rational. This is where
craftsmanship should play the
leading role, but it must first
be reinforced by a strong
position.
The essence of a strong
position is variety and the
ability to select at will alter
natives. BY publicly an
nouncing policies or plans
which limit our alternatives
and our flexibility we make
it much easier for the USSR
to concentrate its thoughts
and its force against our
limitations. Instead of deny
ing ourselves this freedom Of
action, we should be denying
our opponent of it. Our ability
to freely select alternatives,
the use of deception and
ambiguous action ambiguous
not because Of our uncertain
ties) may enable us to play
on the Kremlin's psychology
ical and physical balance.
Unfortunately the USSR has
appreciated these techniques
better than we. and they have
been able to exploit opportun-
tiles created by such strategy.
There should be no doubt
as to the value Of deterrence
in this age Of high stakes
and hair trigger. Loss Of the
initiative, concessions, and q
passive attitude have no
place. Cinderella cannot be
expected to cope with Fran
kenstein.
One of today's leading
grand strategists, Capt. B. H.
Liddell Hart has said. "1t is
wiser to run the risk Of war
in preserving peace, rather
than run the risk of destruc-
ton for the sake Of winning
q war"
William Prize.
Evening star., 1961-01-07

any encouragement in Mr..
Kennedy's present hands
of attitude, that is not the
fault Of the incoming Presi-
dent. He will have to deal
with these gentlemen when
he takes ofdce, and he win
have the American people
back Of him. It is incon-
ceivable that he will play
into the hands Of the Com
muniSts, whose single pur-
pose-as always announced
lis to communize the world.
Turmoil Their Purpose
Ever since President Eisen-
hover took office in 1858,
the Communists have done
their best to keep the world
in a turmoil. Never have they
by any action shown that
they sincerely wanted q
peace in which the United
States and other free nations
would be permitted to live
and govern themselves as
their peoples desire. They
have talked Of peace con-
stantly, however. But only
a peace on their own terms,
which would tend always to
Communist subversion. There
have been Americans-and
there still are-who regard
the Communists as mot so
bad"-and even closer to
our own democratic form Of
government than any other.
Some Of them have learned
about communism the hard
way and realize their error.
Others, however. may be-
come willing tools Of the
Communists.
President-elect Kennedy
realizes that at the moment
he takes Office he will be
confronted by the Castro
problem in Cuba. He realizes
that the Cuban Premier may
seek concessions from him.
He realizes, also, that the
Castro proc o m m u mist
government, constituting q
base for Communist opera
tions only 80 miles from the
shores of the United States,
will continue a threat. The
Eisenhower policy has con-
stantly looked to action by
other American nations to
curb Castro. The fact that
Castro already has sought
to interfere with governments
Of Latin-American countries,
and so far has been rebuffed,
may well bring united action
on the part Of the Organiza-
ton of American States.
And when it does, Mr.. Castro
will find himself in q bad
way. 1t is not inconceivable
that when such joint action
becomes imminent, Castro,
himself, will make the first
aggressive move, attacking
the United States base at
Guantanamo. Already seven
Latin-American L countries
have broken relations with
Castro.
Mr.. Kennedy is being
kept fully informed by the
Eisenhower administration:
regarding the Cuban situa-
tion. and the country's rela-
tionS with all other nations.
To many Americans the
Cuban problem, so close to
our shores, requires not only
attention. but firmness Of
purpose. e,
Evening star., 1961-01-07

mate elimination together
with the city as an urban
center designed for living hu-
man beings. Conversion to
all-bus operation is the first
major step in this direction,
and If the highway planners
are successful. both public
transit and the central city
of Washington will soon be as
outmoded as the idea of
leisurely travel by auto. Even
when they admit the enor-
nous economic wastefulness
of mass transport by private
automobile. some planners
evidently feel that the sim
pleSt solution for a virulent
virus is to do away with the
patient.
Mark A. Lillis.
4 \
You reported Oscar I.
Dodek's plea for more a CEN
tral bus terminal downtown.
However, If Mr.. Dodek
were a bus rider-type shop
per he would not recommend
a central bus terminal. Bus
service is already too CEN
tralized.
The reason for much traf-
flc congestion, I am sure
is that public transportation
does not get enough people
to where they want to go
downtown without expensive.
or at least inconvenient,
transferring. The answer to
this problem is not a central
terminal. but rather extend
ing bus lines all the way
through downtown to the op-
posite side from where the
bus line enters.
Peter Glickert.
Evening star., 1961-01-07
Purdnoid in Havana?

The United Nations Security Coun-
ell has done the common sense thing
in adjourning without acting on Fidel
Castro's wild complaint accusing our
country of planning to invade Cuba
within matter Of hours, or by January
18at the latest. In effect, in taking this
course, the 11-member Council with
only the Soviet representative sup
porting the proc Communist Havana
dictatorship has cast vote Of no con-
fldence in the latter's veracity, and 1t
has done so with very good reason.
Actually, of course, lurid talk about
an Imminent" invasion has long since
become familiar and almost hack
neyed part Of Havana's repertoire Of
poisonous hate-Washington propa-
ganda. Last July, for example, CDR"
Castro and his henchmen made a lot
Of noise trying to persuade the Security
Council to condemn the United States
for plotting aggression" against their
country. And again, a few months
later, they obstreperously demanded
that the General Assembly hold an
urgent" debate on evidence" of the
Eisenhower administrations intent to
launch a massive pre- Christmas mill
tary attack on Cuba.
:, Needless to say, in both these
instances, the overwhelming U. N. ma
jotity, because evidence worthy Of the
name was entirely lacking, brushed
aside the charges with certain measure
Of contempt for the Castro regimes
obvious resort to the technique Of the
Big Lie. And now the same thing has
been done once more, with the Security
Council excepting the Kremlin's
spokeSman) leaving little room for
doubt that it takes a decidedly dim
view Of the fact that its time and
dignity have been imposed upon and
affronted by Havana's strident anti
Washington charges-charges so un-
substantiated as to seem not merely
shocklngly untruthful, but almost
paranoid in nature, as II their source
were literally mentally sick.
8, Nevertheless, despite the rebuff
from the U. N, and maybe because a
touch Of paranoia is actually involved,
Fidel Castro has engaged in veritable
frenzy Of military activity all over
Cuba. This he has done, in sort of
indecent parody of the great Winston
Churchill, as If to impress his sorely
misled countrymen with how determined
he Is to defend his island dictatorship
against our country's non-existent
threat to invade. One must wonder how
the Cuban people are reacting. Do they
really believe in Fidels monstrous
distortions Of the truth? Or are they
beginning to suspect, as they hear of
such things as the U. MS latest attitude,
that they now. live under a tyranny
worse than the old order Of things in
Batista's time?
Certainly there is ample ground for
such a suspicion, and 1t Is growing
every day. For Fidel Castro seems very
definitely to have become dictator of
Red totalitarian stripe-with personal
eccentricities that can hardly fail to
interest psychiatrists and dismay all
friends Of freedom in Cuba and else
where. The mere fact that the men of
the Kremlin have gone all-out in support
Of him is pretty good evidence that his
seeming paranoia is more than little
bit useful to them and their burning
desire to inflltrate and Subvert the whole
Of Latin America.
Evening star., 1961-01-07
THE POLITICAL MILL.
Castro FooIing Only Castro
BY GOULD LINCOLN

Fidel Castro's desperate
effort to keep himself alive
and in power by asserting
that the United States is
about to Invade" Cuba
should fool no one. A tool
Of the Communist bloc, he
has failed to impress the
United Nations and its
Security Council with his
charges that the United
States is an aggressor nation.
He tried 1t last summer,
when this government cut of
the sugar subsidy which has
kept Cuba's economy alive
so many years, calling it
economic aggression. He is
trying it again. now that
the Eisenhower administra-
ton, its patience exhausted,
has broken OF diplomatic
relations with the Castro
government. And this time
he Is charging that our
armed forces are about to
attack the island and its
people. Possibly he believes
that II any such attack were
made, Soviet Russia would
Immediately attack the
United States. This Is O long
gamble. In any event, his
latest move undoubtedly is
intended to stir resentment
against the United States in
Latin Americas to
arouse further activity on
the part Of Communists in
the Latin American countries.
Kennedy Refrains
It is not strange that
Castro and his government
should be taking the line Of
the Kremlin rulers-that
President Eisenhower and
his administration have been
wholly responsible for the
cold war and every other i'll
that affects the world today.
And also the line of the
Soviet government that the
new Kennedy administration,
once 1t is in office, will see
the error Of the Eisenhower
policies and will play ball
with the Communists. The
Germans and the Japanese
war lords in the past failed
to understand that the
American people are easily
united when foreign efforts
at aggression arise. The Com
munists seem to be falling
into the same kind Of error.
President-elect Kennedy and
his Secretary Of State
designate Dean Rusk have
seen the attempts made by
the retiring Republican
President to bring a greater
measure of peace to the
world-and the failure Of
the Communists to cooperate
in any way. They have seen
the Communists drive to
extend their power in all
areas Of the world. particu-
larly in Asia. Africa and the
Western Hemisphere.
Mr.. Kennedy has declined
to comment on the olive
branch held out to him by
Mr.. Khrushchev, the Soviet
Premier. He has continued
to refrain from mixing in
the conduct Of foreign affairs.
He does not become President
Of the United States until
Friday. January 20. If Mr..
Khrushchev and Castro find
Evening star., 1961-01-07

The thinking behind the
proposed strategy. presented
in 100 Million Lives" leaves
one to despair. If by such
wishful thinking we are to
surmise that the Kremlin
will engage in clean. SPORT
ing 18th century tactics
with strategic nuclear wea-
pons-we must carry this
Western preferred, Soviet
strategy" one step further.
In the name of 100 Million
People," the defender should
seek a gentlemen's agree.
ment with the Kremlin to
abide by the results from
gaming on a computer to
decide their fate or ours. 1t
is difficult to enyision a less
bloodless and more humane
means Of terminating the
cold war and averting
a thermonuclear holocaust.
Such q method would be as
moral as a game Of checkers.
II that is what we want,
The decisions rendered by
such gaming can be no bet
ter. nor worse, than the fac
tors and instructions on
which the computer must
operate. Conclusions pro-
duced by the computer are
based upon a premise stated
by a fallible human. Thus,
the results are tinged with
the same bias inherent in the
basic assumptions. Can we
safely assume that the
Kremlin will play our game,
by our rules? Or will we con-
tinue to play unilateral Rus
sian roulette and become
more enamoured with such
sophisticated methods?
The most important factor
excluded from this thinking
is that of deterrence. BY
talking only in terms of
when the bomb falls" in
stead of preventing the bomb
from falling, our defense
planners must feel that de-
terrence is not possible. or
even worse, If it is possible,
that it Is automatic.
If it is impossible to deter
the Kremlin, then we must
consider the alternatives. One
course Of action would call
for striking first or launch
ing a preventive war while we
have the advantage-if we
still have 1t. Another alterna-
tive is to receive the first
blow launched by the USSR
when 1t has gained a superior
advantage, Their seizure Of
the initiative would be based
upon the calculation that a
decision could be quickly
rendered in their favor, at a
price worth their paying and
at a cost unacceptable to
ourselves. Without a strong
deterrent policy and the force
to back it up, the coming Of
this day will be hastened-
their calculations will be
easier t93nake, and an IRA
Evening star., 1961-01-07

automobile and ultimately
eliminated altogether. a
consequence which even now
faces many American cities?
In the absence Of public
transit, the city itself must
die because its continued
vitality depends upon bring
ing together into a relatively
small area a great variety Of
commercial and cultural en-
terprises whose close prox-
unity one to another contrib
utes to their mutual support
and Sustains the independ-
ence of the entire complex.
However. the existence Of
such an urban nucleus is to a
great extent incompatible
with the wholesale use Of the
automobile as a prime mover
of persons. and therein lies
the root dilemma.
In passing the National
Capital Transportation Act,
Congress contemplated q re-
versal of long-established
patterns Of urban decline,
and therefore, 1t would be a
grotesque travesty on the
Congressional intent to in
stitutionalize such decline in
stead Of reversing its move
ment, and rationalize the
processes of decay in terms
of an illusory progress"
based upon nothing more
tangible than an inability to
distinguish between the pull
sations of life and the NUT
terings Of chaos.
The dismantlement Of
Washington's electric rail
facilities can be justified only
on the assumption that public
transit is scheduled for ulti-
Evening star., 1961-01-07

The so-called Freedom
Wall" where the Socialists
wanted to bury our freedoms
in a box over by Arlington
Cemetery did not get far,
so now they want to build a
broken down box signifying
the fact that Roosevelt was
not entirely successful in box
ing in our freedoms. Let US
forget Socialist Roosevelt and
make sure our freedoms are
never buried in a box over
by the cemetery.
George A. BirdSalI.
= A& So
1t is most appropriate that
eight tombstones be erected
to the honor Of Franklin D.
Roosevelt. because he recog-
nized q Communist dictator
ship dedicated to the over
throw Of democratic nations,
and because Of such events
as Yalta, he helped insure
the future of Russia and the
future destruction of the
United States.
Yes, those oversized tomb
stones represent the ceme-
terry which Roosevelt assured
half Of America will lie in
because of his activities.
George Shewbart.
=
Many taxpayers must have
been shocked into speech
lesSness when they read that
their hard-earned tax money
is going to finance another
hideous, useless, memorial
monstrosity (this time to
Franklin RooSevelt), which
has all the evidence of being
the product of a nightmare.
Isabel c. Moore.
4 4 4
During the last 80 years
the people Of the United
States have done many fool
ish things. Now, to cap the
climax. we are about to erect
a S. million memorial to q
man who. more than any one
else. is responsible for the
existence Of the Russian
Frankenstein. No wonder the
world looks upon us as crazy.
Whom the gods would de-
stroy they first make mad"
w. H. Shields.
Evening star., 1961-01-07

this country really want a
monument to F.D.R., I sug-
gest locating it in his home
State, preferably at Hyde
Park. Those who wish to
pay homage to him could do
so and those of us who wish
to forget him would not be
faced constantly with a re-
minder Of this demagogue.
James v. Neely.
How could q memorial in
honor Of Roosevelt, being
planned for o beautiful city
like Washington. have been
conceived along such hard
lines? It shocks the soul to
view these weird-shaped
tablets as pictured in our
newspapers.
It would seem the very
stones Of the beautiful SYM
metrical and classical Lin
coin Memorial and Jefferson
Memorial would cry out
against such So-called "art"
in their vicinity.
Our humanitarian" Presi-
dent Roosevelt would turn
over in his grave at the
thought Of this hard" trib-
ute to his memory.
Let us hope the plans as
thus envisaged at a high
cost viii never be put into
effect.
Helen M. Finlay.
What did F. D. Roosevelt
ever do to deserve a monu-
ment? Look at the Arling-
ton Cemetery and see all
those fresh little markers.
Each one is a memorial to
Roosevelt. One of his writ
ings that should be included
is the one that says II tell
you again and again and
again your sons will not have
to fight in any foreign wars"
Take a trip abroad and you
will see even more little
Roosevelt memorials than you
see in Arlington. Yet the par
entS Of many Of those dead
sons love Roosevelt because
they say he gave them social
security.
AS for the design. someone
is determined to build a wall.