The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1962-04-27
NATIONAL
NEWS
SUMMARY
BY
n. v. LANCASTER, JR.
SATURN ROCKET FIRED
MOON MISSILE
NUCLEAR TESTS START

A SATURN ROCKET was Sue
cessfully test fired at Cane Cana
veral Wednesday for the second
time. AS In last October's test,
only the first stage was fired.
Believed to be the worlds most
powerful rocket with 1.3 million
POUNDS of thrust, the Saturn soar
ed to a height of IS miles be-
fore it was deliberately blown up
on signal from the ground. It
carried IS tons of water which.
after the explosion. temporarily
formed snowy-white cloud of
ice particles visible from the
ground. This is the forerunner
of a rocket which is being de-
signed to carry an American
to the moon.
RANGER 4, a space vehicle
launched from Cape Canaveral
Monday, and as expected landed
on the moon Thursday morning
The vehicle carried elaborate
electronic equipment to send
back TV pictures and other data
from the moon, but these will
not be forthcoming due to the
failure of a timer. However, a
tiny radio has been sending out
steady beeps enabling scientists
at PaSadena's jet propulsion
laboratory to track the vehicle.
If it does hit the moon, it will
be Americas first hit after II
tries in four years. The Russians
first hit the moon in 1859.
NUCLEAR TESTS in the atmo-
sphere were resumed by the U. S
Wednesday. President Kennedy,
who is vacationing in Florida,
gave the final go-ahead early
this week. The series of tests
over the Pacific is expected to
last two to three months and will
afford the first opportunity the
U. S. has had to test nuclear
warheads on missiles. The Rus
slams, who broke the three-vear
voluntary ban on nuclear tests
last fall, have threatened to
match the U. s. test for test and
to walk out of the Geneva dis
armament conference. However,
it was not certain whether they
would boycott the entire confer
ence or just the subcommittee
on nuclear weapons.
PRIME MINISTER MACMIL-
LIAM of Britain arrived in New
York Wednesday for a round of
speech making before comforting
with President Kennedy Sat-
urday. Their principal topic for
discussion is expected to be Ber-
lin.
A SOUTHERN FILIBUSTER
was expected to get underway
this week on a bill to eliminate
lteracy requirements for voting
in federal elections. The admins
ton backed measure would
substitute completion of the sixth
grade or a higher educational
standard for reading and writ
ing test now required by q
states on the grounds that these
tests have been used to deny
Negroes the right to vote. States
having no literacv requirements
would be unaffected. Southern
ers say the bill is unconstitu-
tonal. Senate leaders plan to
let the debate run for about two
weeks before trying to invoke the
cloture rule. which requires a
two thirds vote. If cloture is in
voked. the bill is likely to pass
II not. it is almost certain to
ole. Cloture has never been sue
cessful in a civil rights debate.
ARGENTINA is in the midst of
another crisis. Three million
trade unionists prepared Wednes-
day to strike in protest of a
Presidential decree multiplying
Peronist victories i'll the PROVING
eS last month and placing federal
appointees in charge Of all %
provinces or states. The decree
was reluctantly signed earlier
this week by President Guido I'M
der heavy pressure from mill
tary and naval leaders.