Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-01-21
Trumpet Call

It can hardly be said that Americas
crossing of the New Frontier went I'M
marked by those small mischances
which remind us that, after all, we are
mortal men and subject to the frailties
which attend that estate. The elements,
hardness, lectern fire, the seemingly
inevitable human errors-all combined
to rock the boat bit at the formal
launching of the Kennedy admins
tration.
t. The unimportance, the insignif1-
canoe, Of these things became apparent,
however, as the new President got into
his truly admirable inaugural address.
TO be sure, 1t was just that-an address
and nothing more. No problems were
solved, no cold wars were won. But as
general statement Of aims and purposes
(Which Is all one should expect in an
inaugural address, this trumpet sum-
MONS" we thought, was magnificent
performance.
To our established allies, Mr.. Ken
aedy pledged good faith and encourage
ment. To the newly emerging states he
offered the hand Of friendship without
demanding a quid pro quo. To the people
in the "huts and villages" he promised
our best effort to help them help them
selves. To our Latin American neighbors
he held forth the prospect of good deeds
TO match good words, meanwhile posting
a keep-off sign for the benefit Of Mr..
Khrushchev and company. To the United
Nations, which he called our "last best
hope in an age where the instruments
Of war have far outpaced the instru-
Hents Of peace" he renewed American
pledges Of support to the end that its
shield may be strengthened.
t, There was also a word for those
nations who would make themselves
our adversary" To these, Mr.. Kennedy
proposed new quest for peace "before
the dark powers Of destruction
unleashed by science engulf all human
tty." But If the men in the Kremlin had
hoped for some hint Of irresolution,
some suggestion Of appeasement, they
will not ind 1t in this address.
= It seems to us, however, that the
main thrust Of Mr.. Kennedy's inaugural
talk was directed, not to the world, but
to the people Of the United States.
, Recalling our revolutionary inheri-
lance, the President said a new
generation Of Americans" will not per-
init the "slow undoing of those human
rights to which this Nation has always
been committed" Let every nation
know, he declared, that we shall pay
any price, bear any burden, meet any
hardship, support any friend or oppose
any foe in order to assure the survival
and success Of liberty. And this was his
message to his fellow Americans: "Ask
not what your country will do for you
ask what you can do for your country"
Necessarily, or so it seems to us,
obvious questions arise. Was Mr.. Ken
NEEDY INDUCING in an exercise in rhetoric,
or was what he said true? When the
honeymoon is over and the cruel
domestic political pressures begin to
bear down upon him, when the price Of
assuring the survival Of liberty has to
be counted in terms of real risk of war,
will we still hear the trumpet call from
Mr.. Kennedy? And II the call comes, will
the American people ask, not what will
be done for them, but what they can
do for their country?
We hope that all such questions, If
the test comes, will be answered aff1rma-
lively and without disastrous delay.
But it is too early now for answers,
much less for rosy self-assurance. Mr..
Kennedy still has to prove himself.
And If we read correctly the forecast for
the future which is implicit in his
inaugural address, so do the American
people.