davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1961-05-31
PARIS.

PARIS.
It may seem strange that
Berlin, rather than more
strictly French problems, is
the subject uppermoSt in
President de Gaulle's mind as
he and President Kennedy
held their first meeting.
And yet in a number Of ways
the threat to Berlin is tied
in closely with the larger
problem of European security,
which the French urgently
want to discuss during the
next three days.
Gen. de Gaulle, personally,
Is convinced that a new Rus
sian move against Berlin is
by far the most serious dan
ger on the horizon. It out
weighs in his thinking every
thing that has been going on
in Laos or Cuba or the Congo.
The reason Is simply that
Russia is, first of all, a Euro
pean power. Its interest in
"peripheral areas" is real but
limited. Its interest in Ger
many and Berlin is vital.
Vital enough, perhaps, to
push things to the point
where there is a real risk
of major war.
Gen. de Gaulle's chief con-
Germ is to discover, If he can,
what Mr.. Kennedy's response
to this challenge will be. His
effort will be to convince him,
if possible, that any temper
izing or hesitation on the
part Of the West, once the
Berlin issue is raised, would
be fatal, not only to the free
city but to the security Of
Western Europe itself.
This conviction, Of course,
is deeply shared by Ger
many'S Chancellor Adenauer.
In a very real sense, Gen.
de Gaulle feels that he is act
ing here as the spokesman Of
the Franco German bloc
whose ideas about Berlin are
very different from those Of
the British who favor a policy
Of negotiation and patience.
The Point Of Division
Exactly where Mr.. Ken
nedy stands is still not en-
tirely clear. There is no ques-
ton that the United States,
along with Britain and
France. is committed to fight
If necessary to protect West
ern rights in Berlin and that
commitment will be strongly
reaffirmed in the course of
this European trip. The dis
pute which divides the West
ern camp is over circum-
stances in which military
action would be taken.
About the form of the chal-
lenge itself there is little
disagreement. Sometime this
fall general opinion is that
it will happen soon after the
German elections) Russia
will call for a new German
peace conference. The Allies
will almost certainly refuse
the invitation. Russians will
then go ahead with a peace
conference Of their own, end
ing in the signing Of a separ-
ate treaty with East Ger
many subscribed to by all OF
the Communist bloc, and per-
haps a number Of neutral
nations as well.
At this point the Russians
AS Mr.. Khrushchev has
promised many times-wil
turn over all their response
bilities in Germany to East
Evening star., 1961-05-31
The Army is experimenting

The Army is experimenting
with houses in barrels"
The concept involves air
dropping of barrels filled
with plastic foam, the So
called polyurethanes, which
harden into rigid building
materials when placed in,. or
sprayed on. molds. Expert
ments now being conducted
at the Corps Of Engineers re-
search center at Fort Belvoir.
Va, already have demon
strated the feasibility Of this
process. Field tests will be
conducted in Greenland this
summer.
Chemical reactions pro-
duce a rigid material which
is approximately 80 times
the volume of the original
polyurethanes. resin-like ma
terials. The change in
volume is controlled accord
ing to the desired density OF
the building material needed.
Possibility Of great advan-
tages was recognized as a re-
suit of the Engineer Corps
work on the design and con-
struction Of Camp Tuto on
the Greenland ice cap. Cost
of transporting standardized
Army Arctic-type buildings
was found to be very high.
Materials Compared
Present costs Of raw poly
urethane materials are COM
parable to those Of conven-
tional building materials.
but they are being reduced
m the Fort Belvoir expert
mentS. There has been a
thorough study Of all the
ply cal properties Of these
materials. It has been found,
for example, that thermal
conductivity Of 2-pound
density foam liz approxi-
mately q third that Of the
best rock wool insulation.
Various structures Of o
building are cast separately
and each is sprayed with a
mixture Of fiber glass and
plastic resin. The result is q
fiberglass skin approxi-
mately q sixteenth Of an
inch thick for the entire
structure.
Development Of new and
better plastic foams by the
chemical industries, coupled
with parallel research pro-
grams by the Engineers
themselves. is expected to
result in radical departures
from present building and
shelter concepts, with struc-
lures suitable for use in any
theater Of military opera
operations in the world.
= y A.%
A system for holding q
Evening star., 1961-05-31
Extremist McGM

United States Supreme
Court Justice" Ralph Nc
Gill's column Of May Is is
the most ridiculous piece Of
trash that I can ever remem-
Der reading of his. On May
"a I read him and I figured
he was a little strong but
I thought that possibly there
was considerable truth in
it.. But on May Is he proved
that he is among the group
that William s. White refers
to as: "a. crude extremists
spiritual heirs Of the
Reconstruction Yankees who
waved the bloody shirt over
old Dixie after the War Be-
tween the States. -.
There should be some re-
course that a State and its
governor can take against
such vicious words as: Gov.
Patterson has reaffirmed his
States determination. in de-
fiance of Federal Law. to
select those citizens who may
travel on buses in his State.
His troopers will inspect
buses and eject, presumably
arresting, those whom they
decide are not eligible" This
Is ridiculous. Alabama has
not done such a thing In the
past, did not do such a thing
in the case of the Freedom
Riders" ct might have been
better If they had), and could
not possibly have even the
police available to do so in
the future.
I think my opening SEN
tence explains well enough
my feeling about his re-
mark? "These students are
entirely within the law"
AS far as his slap at the
Christian church, there is no
way that a true Christian
can support anyone on what
happened In Montgomery
after considering the words Of
Christ which state: Love
your enemy, do good to those
who deSpitefully use you, and
II a man demand that you go
with him one mile go with
him another" Neither group
had any Of these ideals in
mind toward the other and
no thinking person can pos
sibly say that they did.
Karl r. Mckinney.
Evening star., 1961-05-31
THE WORLD
Berlin q Major Issue at Paris
By CROSBY S. MOVES
Foreign Correspondent Of The stor

German authorities and, since
these include control Of ac-
cess to Berlin. the Western
powers will be invited to
make their arrangements di-
rectly with the East German
government from then on.
For its part, the West is
expected to protest the legal
ity of all of these moves and
to hold the Russians respons-
ible under any circumstances
for insuring their access to
the city. The question is what
it is prepared to do to back
up these protests and at what
point it should resort to
force to protect its rights.
British Favor Concessions
All along the British thesis
has been that military action
should be taken only as a
last resort after all diplo-
matte efforts have been ex-
hausted. Before making any
show of force, they believe
that every effort should be
made to reach a workable
arrangement with the East
Germans. If these failed, they
would prefer to reopen ne
gotiations with Russia and
even make considerable con-
cessions in order to avoid
using force.
The French and Germans
see the problem quite diff
ferently. If the Russians
want a showdown over Ber-
lin, they argue, there is no
point In trying to avoid 1t.
While admitting that the sit
uation Of the West in Ber-
lin is neither ideal nor per-
manent, they contend it
cannot be changed by uni
lateral action on the part Of
Russia or under threat Of
force. They believe the
West cannot afford to tenn
porize even to the extent Of
dealing with East German
authorities as agents" Of
the Russians. And that they
must make it Enthusiastically
clear to Mr.. Khrushchev that
they will, indeed, use what
ever force is necessary to
protect their position in the
city.
Up to now the American
position seems to have been
somewhere in between these
two extremes. At the NATO
meeting in Oslo, Dean Rusk
reaffirmed American deter
mination to continue to exer-
else it's rights in Berlin. But
he left most of his listeners
with the impression that
even after signing Of a sepa-
rate German peace treaty
there would be no recourse to
drastic action unless there
were an actual and serious
attempt to interfere with Al
lied access to the city.
Perhaps in the light Of
developments In Laos and
Geneva, Mr.. Kennedy has
now moved closer to the
French idea that any sign Of
indecision-or even excessive
patiehce-on Berlin could
lead Mr.. Khrushchev to
make a fatal miscalculation.
Certainly, this is one Of the
main points Gen. de Gaulle
will do his best to get across
in the course of their con-
versations here. And the
major piece Of advice that he
will offer for the forthcom-
ing encounter in Vienna.
Evening star., 1961-05-31

the workers, Marx would
ask Khrushchev, than what
the "bourgeoisie" has already
been able to give them for q
long time past? What have
you created, not in the ability
to make war, but in the pro-
ductive capacity to bring q
better life to the masses?
Sidney KOretZ
Evening star., 1961-05-31
LETTERS TO THE STAR

Pen names may be used II
painted BY self addressed,
letters carry wrtters' correct
names and addresses. All let
ters are subject to condensd.
ton. Those not used tDiu be
returned only tDheT accom-
stamped enpeloDeS.
Evening star., 1961-06-09
Mr.. Lees Hat

The early declaration of Blair Lee
III as candidate for the United States
Senate from Maryland next year has a
special interest to the Washington area,
for Mr.. Lee has long background of
public service in this region. To those
who know him, the question was not
whether Mr.. Lee would make his move
IN big-time politics, but when and where
Up to the moment he tossed his hat in
the ring, however, most observers had
thought it would land in the Maryland
gubernatorial circle.
Mr.. Lee explains that his personal
political interests always have been
concentrated in the legislative area-a
family trait of the Lees which dates back
to the Continental Congress. Just as
Mr.. Lee is now a member of the State
Legislature, his father is former
Speaker of the House and his grand
father was United States Senator
during the Wilson administration.
Thus far only one other candidate,
Gilbert M. Byrd, an assistant professor
OF political science at the University of
Maryland, has declared for the. Demo-
cratic senatorial primary next May.
The advance speculation, however, is
that the primary will be real Donny-
brook, perhaps, in fact, more interest
ing and lively race than the contest
between the eventual Democratic winner
and the incumbent Republican Senator,
John Marshall Butler.
Evening star., 1961-06-09

town traffic and parking congestion
become a great deal more intolerable.
The great hope for the city, Of course,
is that the former alternative will
occur before the latter.
In the meantime, the GSA should
take what limited steps are open to
help along the tightly-reStrictiv "Self-
help" program. One possibility, which
might stimulate the use of car pools,
would be general order denying the
use of the 6,400 Government off-street
parking spaces downtown to any en-
ployeS not participating in car-pool
arrangements, including the high
ranking officials who for the most part
use these spaces. But the basic trouble,
we are afraid, is that we all wish that
the other fellow would stop driving so
that we would have more room on the
road for our own cars.
Evening star., 1961-06-09
'SeIf-HeIp' Porkinq

While it is heartening to see the
General Services Administration taking
an interest at last in the Federal
employees downtown parking problem,
1t is hard to see what good will come
Of the "Self-help" program announced
by GSA Administrator Moore the other
day. The scope of the program, at
least as evolved thus far, is to inform
commuters that their downtown parking
problems will be (1) eliminated if they
ride buses or (2) improved If they join
car pools or use fringe parking lots.
Now as factual conclusions, these
statements are unimpeachable. And
perhaps it makes little sense, as Mr..
Moore asserts, that some SO per cent
of the Federal and District employees
who drive to work, drive alone. But
this is a choice which is freely made,
and one, we suspect, which is likely to
continue to be made until (1) transit
service becomes a great deal more
attractive than it is today or (2) down.
Evening star., 1961-06-09
Optional or Not at All

1t is not too late for the Commits
SionerS to reconsider their approval of
the new "Simplified" city income tax
formula. And in view of recent analyses
ef the plan, they should do so before
sending the proposal to Congress.
AS an end in itself, of course, the
desire to simplify the computing prob
lens OF taxpayers, as well as those Of
the city government, is entirely COM
mendable. And there is an undeniable
appeal for thousands of people in the
concept of determining their city taxes
simply on the basis Of graduated
percentage of the amount Of Federal
income taxes they pay. In proposing
this idea, which only two of the so
States have seen fit to employ, Finance
Officer Kenneth Back said initially
there would be no appreciable difference
IN tax payments up to an income level
Of $25,000, and he suggested there
would be only slight differences beyond
that.
However, as was demonstrated in
letter to The Star (and as Mr.. Back
subsequently has conceded), the in
creased taxes in some instances could
be substantial. It is perfectly true, as
Mr.. Back points out, that a higher
District tax in such instances would
mean greater Federal deduction,
thereby reducing the size of the Federal
tax bill. But this is a speciouS bit of
reasoning to apply as defense for the
new proposal.
The fact is that the suggested
formula, for an undetermined number
OF people, would be clearly unfair and
discriminatory. If the purpose of Mr..
Backs proposal really is to simplify,
with no real difference In the amount
of money collected, why not make the
use of the new formula optional with
the taxpayer? That would permit the
great majority of people, whom Mr..
Back said would prefer to use the new
system, to do so, while still protecting
the rights of the remainder. If this for
some reason is not feasible, then the
proposal should not be adopted at ALL
Evening star., 1961-06-09

@. Are the British and
Australian pounds worth the
same amount in American
money?-P. z.
A. No. The British pound
is currently quoted at a
foreign exchange rate of
about $2.8l, and the Aus
tralian pound is worth q
little over $2.25.
@. Just how do members
Of the "intelligentSia" differ
from ordinarily intelligent
people I. D.
A. Intelligentsia, a collec-
tive plural noun, refers to
educated or professional peo-
pie, especially those con-
cerned with science, art, and
cultural life, as a group or
class. The word is often used
more or less derisively.
Sometimes 1t is also used in
a som e W hat derogatory
sense in referring to groups
of educated or professional
persons who have liberal at
titudes toward social prob
lens but can offer only
theoretical, impractical solu-
tions to these problems.
Evening star., 1961-06-09
Nov or Never

The Senate, acting on the "now or
never" advice Of its Appropriations
Committee, has once more given its
approval to funds for extending the
George Washington Memorial Parkway
through Prince Georges County. This
highly commendable move was in sharp
contrast to the failure of the House to
include the parkway item in the Interior
appropriation bill. Thus, the last hope
for survival of the Prince Georges link
of the parkway rests with a conference
committee. It is, indeed, now or never
for this important bit of legislation-if
the warning issued by Chairman Hayden
of the Senate Appropriations Com
n1ittee stands.
Senator Butler of Maryland, press
ing for committee approval of the park
way item, was informed that the
Senate and its Appropriations Com
nlittee, having acted favorably on
similar proposals in recent years-only
to have the fund provision killed by
the House-are reluctant to prolong
the battle after this year. This attitude
is understandable, since it is grossly
unfair to property owners in the pro-
jected parkway area to keep them in
suspense indefinitely. Several residen-
tial and commercial developments are
being held in allegiance, pending final
settlement of the parkway matter.
However, it would be an irreparable
mistake to permit private construction
to block parkway planned 81 years
ago and now needing only Federal
appropriation of SIS million to bring
to reality. We strongly urge the House
conferees to accept the parkway amend
ment and thus assure completion of the
final link in the Fort Washington-to-
Great Falls scenic drive. Apparently
only the die-hard opposition of one
man, Representative Kirwan of Ohio,
led to the killing of the parkway item
by the House Appropriations Committee.
Mr.. Kirwan has waged a bitter fight
against the parkway - for reasons
satisfactory only to himself and a group
of property owners along the proposed
right of way. With Maryland legislators
and officials joining with Interior Sec
retary Udall in efforts to save the
parkway, we hope the House leadership
will step in, if necessary, to see that the
wishes of Maryland and the Federal
Government are not frustrated by one
man opposition to this vital project.
Evening star., 1961-06-09
OAS and TruiiIIo

1t is significant that the govern
ment of the Dominican Republic has
affirmed its readiness to cooperate
fully with the Organization of Amer
ican States. To that end, plainly
suggesting that it has nothing to hide,
1T has welcomed the current OAS
investigation into charges of country
wide terrorism following last weeks
assassination Of GeneralisSimo Rafael
Leonidas Trujillo.
The proposal for such an inquiry
was first made by our own Government,
which called upon the OAS to send a
special four-nation committee to Ciudad
Trujillo. AS set forth in the proposal,
the committees main objective will
be to determine the accuracy of SEN
sational reports accusing the slain
dictator's hand-picked regime headed
by President Joaquin Balaguer - of
arreSting thousands of Dominican
citizens, and resorting to mass torture,
In mood Of unreasoning, bloodthirsty,
vengeance-seeking violence.
1t need hardly be added, of course,
that this sort of outside investigating
body could easily have been kept from
setting foot on Dominican soil. More
over, the exclusion of such group
could be justified on the ground of it's
being a presumptuouS, external busy
body, with no right to interfere in any
nations internal affairs. Yet the
Balaguer government CDR. Balaguer,
incidentally, is poet of considerable
stature in the Americas) has not hesi-
tated to proclaim an open-door policy
as far as the GAS committee is con-
cerned.
This committee is made up of repre-
SentativeS of Uruguay, Panama, Colom-
bia and the United States. Presumably,
now that the Dominican authorities
have invited it to carry on to its hearts
content, it will lose no time in trying
to evaluate the Soundness of the
atrocity stories. DR.. Balaguer and his
colleagues seem supremely confident
that the inquiry, regardless of Dictator
Trujillo'S reputation "a Gallup poll
might find great majority Of his
countrymen supporting the dead dc
tator), will prove that the tales of
mass terror are mere poisonous fiction.
In any event, denying that torture
of any kind has taken place, DR..
Balaguer has flatly declared that only
about so persons, not thousands, have
been arrested since the Trujillo Staying.
This is statement that members of
the OAS committee should be able to
Judge readily enough. If they find it
true, then perhaps they will recommend
that the Americas, including our own
country, put an end to the altogether
dubious break in diplomatic relations
with the Dominican Republic.
Evening star., 1961-06-09
THE WORLD
Standing Fast in Geneva Quicksond
BY CROSBY S. NOYE
Foreign Correspondent Of The StoF

launch a major offensive.
And there is no reason what
ever to change this estimate
today.
The reason no major Of
fensive has been launched is
quite simply that the Commu-
nists do not want to provoke
the Intervention of the
SEATO powers, led by the
United States. Their obvi-
GUS plan is to move slowly
and cautiously in cleaning
UP the areas Of resistance,
one by one, and gradually re-
ducing the area controlled by
the Royal Army. The fact
that their attack at Padong
produced no more violent
reaction on the part Of the
West, is likely to make them
somewhat bolder in the fu-
ture.
U. s. Stand Encourages Reds
They may well be en-
couraged, too, by the be-
havior Of the American
delegation here in Geneva.
If current instructions to
Mr.. Hartman mean any,
thing, they mean that a firm
decision has been made in
Washington against inter-
vention in Laos, regardless
Of what happens. To keep
this conference going in the
face Of these transparent
Communist tactics seems to
amount to little more than a
flimSy face-saving device to
excuse inaction.
From a propaganda stand
point, perhaps it is better to
pretend to be trying to ne
gotiate settlement than sim
ply to stand by and do Moth
ing while the Communists
take over. AS a face-saving
device, however, this con-
ference is unlikely to fool
anyone very much longer. To
some it may even appear
that the United States is in
danger Of making itself a
party to a palpable fraud and
rather cynically lending it.
self to the Communist game
in Laos.
Certainly. foreseeable re-
suits are anything but re-
assuring to other countries
in Southeast Asia who have
counted on our support in
their resistance to Com
muniSt pressure. The moral
righteousness Of our position
in Geneva will be small COM
fort to Thailand or South
Wet Nam or Malaga or
Burma.
In fact, the future Of all
Southeast Asia could well be
decided here in Geneva over
the next few weeks. And
though miracles are possible,
all evidence at this point is
that the decision will not be
a happy one for the West.
Evening star., 1961-06-09
Absurd Portisonship

Patriotic amnesia sets in
when President Kennedy's
inaugural address comes to
mind, and political senility
prevails in the form Of absurd
partisanship.
American adheSiveness is
apparently not on the hori-
zon. Why? Republicans call
the Presidents plea for sacri-
flee an attempt to inveigle
billions Of dollars into pre-
carious situations, on or above
earth. Democrats were equally
myopic In the 1950s. Partisan
feeling is thrown out the win
dow in time Of war, and with
conscious perceptivity at this
time, the current decade need
not be a monotonous sue
cesSion Of slow-witted Iegisla-
tion. How ironical it would be
in 1910 to read that Won
Braun'S aims never became q
reality for the second time;
this time not because of Ger
many's governmental thrift
ness, but American.
There isn't an American
today who would attribute
the first United States Satel-
lite to President Eisenhower,
nor do we pay homage to
Theodore Roosevelt for the
invention Of the airplane.
Space travel and explora-
tion are beyond being affixed
with any political affiliation;
but how do you tell q Repub-
hcan that we all benefit by
the unselfish advance Of sci
ence? Prevailing abstinence
from full support of the
sought Kennedy program will
ultimately place us in a gon-
dola-like category when COM
pared to the conceivable If
we are but second.
A rebirth of nationalism
swept the country when Alan
Shepard landed safely in the
Atlantic; may this be but the
vital wave Of achievements
to come forth in the 1960s.
With the full support Of the
country behind the Com
mander-in-C Chief, we can at
tain our goals. Hippocrates'
words must have reached the
President when he wrote in
his inaugural address, Some
times give your services for
nothing, calling to mind a
previous benefaction or pres
ent satisfaction"
John b. Fitzuatrick