Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-06

President Kennedy's tragic
death:
"A great and good Presi-
dent has suffered martyrdom
as a result Of the hatred and
bitterness that has been
injected into the life of our
Nation by bigots. -"
George II. Miller, Jr.
Within the past two years,
certain charter members Of
the John Birch Society have
been asked q direct, specific
question: Do you favor the
establishment Of Minute
Man" organizations, equipped
and trained for instant &C
ton (if necessary in the
event that shooting civil war
broke out in the United
States between ''leftists" and
"rightists"?
Their answer has been
invariably: No. We are unalt-
erably opposed to the policies
Of, not only President Kenne-
dy, but also Of Truman and
Eisenhower before him.
However, our cause must be
fought and won within the
framework Of existing consti-
tutional law and order-in
other words, by ballots-not
bullets.
How do I know this2
Because + asked the ques-
ton; and I received the
answer.
What irony, then. that
anyone even dared to suggest
that "the far Right" was In
any manner responsible for
the assassination Of Presi-
dent Kennedy. And what
hypocrisy, that even after a
self-confessed Marxist has
been already circumstantially
convicted Of the crime, feeble
attempts are still being made
to cast a cloud on "the radi-
cal right" or to stress the
asinine hypothesis that "an
atmosphere Of tension, hate
and violence. rife in the
Nation" must Somehow
: be responsible for Kennedy's
death.
Gilbert J. BrOckman.
If the senseless as Sina-
ton Of the President can
have any meaning whatso-
yer, it must come from q de-
liberate reaffirmation Of the
American people and our
elected leaders In the integri-
ty Of our basic political tradi-
ton. At a moment in history
when this Nation must lead
civilization away from atom
ic holocaust and at the same
time preserve human liberty
from atomic blackmail, our
political stability at home is
seriously threatened from
within. An erratic and I'M
sure America could tilt the
precarious balance on which
the security Of civilization
rests.
A two-party political Sys-
tenn poses civilizations high
est demands. All men of
reason must have the matur-
ity to agree to disagree, and
after the heat Of debate and
balloting to break bread to-
gether, and to work together
as mutually respected breth-
rem. Within the two tradi-
tional parties, Republican
and Democrat, there is room
for every legitimate political
view to be heard in the noble
process of arriving at the
majority consensus underly-
ing and supporting all gov
eminent action in our free
society. It Is this traditional
process alone that preserves
our Republic as a continuing
government of the people, by
the people. and for the peo-
pie. Americans have the in
stinctive common sense to
distrust all political extrem-
lists and their trademark Of
unreasoning hate and char
acter assassination, either by
innuendo or outright per-
sonal vilification.
The hate peddlers and
extremists must be re-
nounced and Stunned where
ever their divisive methods
make their presence known.
In turn, the American people
must .reaffirni their own
faith in our basic political
traditions and give their
elected leaders the courage
to be derived from strong
support.
James ]. Casey
Chairman, Democratic
State Central COMMITTEES
of Maryland.