davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Mr.. Nixon Meets Press

There are at least two things to be
said for Richard Nixon. His hard-hit-
ting speech to the American Society of
Newspaper Editors was wholly free of
the Indictment by -inSinuation technique
the technique which blighted Governor
Rockefeller'S recent remarks. And, Sec
ond, the former Vice President cannot
fairly be accused of singing one tune
while in office and different tune when
he has no more responsibility for con-
sequences than any other private citizen.
On the first point, Mr. Nixon denied
that the Presidents Cuban policy is one
of appeaSement. Instead, he said 1t is
a policy of containment, and that be-
cause 1T is essentially defensive in
character it is doomed to failure"
Secondly, Mr.. Nixon stated that our
Government should do whatever is
necessary to bring down Communist
Cuba, and, plainly, this includes the use
of armed force if needed.
Some may say that it is easy for
Richard Nixon, private citizen, to advo-
cate this hard line because not he, but
the President, must assume RESPONSE
bility for the consequences. This would
be a criticism, however, which overlooks
the fact that Mr.. Nixon, when Vice
President, stood before the same group
some years ago and urged the use OF
American armed forces, if necessary, to
save Indo- China True, nothing came OF
it, and French resistance collapsed
shortly thereafter. But Mr. Nixon did
not try to dodge the issue.
Perhaps his judgment was wrong.
But we find ourselves deeply committed
in that part of the world today, and the
end is far from being in sight
Perhaps he is wrong again IN say
ing that President Kennedy'S Cuban
policy is doomed to failure, and that we
should accept the risks of taking what
ever action may be required to smash
Castro. But at least he states his views
openly, directly and forthrightly-
which is more than can be said for some
other people.
Evening star., 1963-04-22

The columns Of White ana
Lawrence, which appeared
on the same day, reflect the
spontaneous and growing
boom for the candidacy OF
Senator Goldwater. While
the Senator has not com
mitted himself, II is natural
to assume that II the Repub-
lican convention nominates
him and the people vote for
him, he will take the oath OF
office.
Such a possibility presents
the American public with
perhaps q unique opportunity
In American political history.
For then we would have as
President a dedicated, highly
intelligent. conscientious
public servant who would be
under no obligation 10 any
special interest. group or
class. Are we intelligent
enough TO grasp this oppor-
tunity7
@. ID. Hill.
Evening star., 1963-04-22
'Toke O Boy Fishing

Wheeler Johnson's article
on Lake Accotink In the
sports section Of The Star on
April l6, was in my opinion
one OF the finest articles OF
its type I have ever had the
privilege Of reading. His APP
proach TO the subject on the
basis Of Take a boy fishing
today" is something that we
in the field Of parks and
recreation are trying TO get
across TO the citizens.
The Fairfax County Park
Authority at the present time
is a small organization with
only a handful Of men. and
this type Of story is very
gratifying to us. II Is not
often we get q pat on the
back. and ! am sure that Mr..
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Choininq the Inferno

Some years ago, during his chair
manship Of the Atomic Energy Commits
sion, Lewis L. Strauss commented peri
odically, but reservedly, on the possibility
of harneSSing for peaceful uses the pre-
ternaturally wild power of the hydrogen
bomb. At one time, in flash of charac-
teriStically cautious optimism, he
summed up the prospect in these words:
anyone who thinks fusion cannot be
controlled is a fool; but anyone who
thinks 1t is going to be easy is an idiot"
When this statement was made, back
around 1856 or 1857, Mr.. Strauss and
some Of the best experts in the field
hazarded the guess that thermonuclear
power-a veritable inferno, kind of
man-made hell, in its exploding form
would be chained and put to work for
the good of all mankind in the 1970S.
But in the years since then, Project
Sherwood, which is the name of the
enterprise, has been moving forward at
a pace seemingly as slow as a Snail's, if
not even slower.
Through all this time, however, the
Acc has held fast to the faith that the
thermonuclear fusion process eventually
will be contained and controlled-juSt
as atomic ttSSton has been-to generate
electricity and otherwise serve the in
tereStS of peoples everywhere, with lin
itleSS sources of deuterium fuel in the
seas and oceans of the world. And now
we have some highly significant con-
firming news from the Lawrence Radia-
tion Laboratory of the University of
California. In the Aces words, the news
is this:
An encouraging advance in the long range
exploration of techniques for the generation
Of power produced by thermonuclear reactions
has been made. -.
The work represents the first results from
the operation of Alice, one of a new genera
ton Of machines for exploring the behavior
of hot ionized gases (plasmas) confined by
strong magnetic fields
While the work does not represent
a major "breakthrough," it may constitute
the beginning of research at a new level of
sophiStication. -.
These words may prove to be his
toric. Although they are surrounded by
many "ifS," butts" and "maybes," they
strongly suggest that the Acc, including
particularly its Lawrence Radiation Lab
oratory, has acquired a new degree of
optimism about the possibility of con-
trolling the hellish power of the H-bomb
for the benefit Of peoples everywhere.
In that respect, the almost unimaginably
terrible nature of this force may yet
prove to be blessing.
The Acc announcement indicates,
in any event, that the promise implicit
in the H-bomb (not the all-too-o obvious
threat) is tremendous, and that steady
progress is being made toward its full
fillment. And If that fulfillment comes,
as expected, the world will have at its
disposal limitleSs source of beneficent
power. Nothing could better illustrate
the general duality of our earthly ma
ture-the night and day of it, its good
and evil, and the astonishing way in
which the ghastlest of mans gadgets
can be benign If put to work in hu-
manity'S behalf.
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Overtime Police Pay

Except in emergencies, overtime pay
for District policemen has been almost
non-exiStent. In lieu of something extra
in the pay envelope, the policy has been
to grant compensatory time off, when
possible. Most policemen put in many
extra hours of hard work, and it is not
surprising that their association is
launching a drive for a 40-hour week
with -and-a-half pay for overtime
We doubt that this is feasible. The
proposal makes good reading, and may
have many sympathetic supporters. But
by the associations own reckoning, this
kind of overtime pay would have cost
about 81 million in the past two years.
Congress probably would not stand still
for that.
There is another proposal, however,
which should be supported. 1t has the
backing of Police Chief Murray, who be-
lieves his 3,O0O-man force, when kept
at full strength, is adequate. Chief Muir
raw wants to take up slack by assigning
off-duty policemen to special police
details, which often drain off the avail
able cr1me-IlgnClng HldnpoWel heeueu
for patrolling the streets.
In fiscal 1862 about 10000 man hours
were diverted to such special details as
presidential affairs, embassies, parades,
etc, leaving a gap which criminals may
have found profitable.
Chief Murray'S plan calls for pay
ing the special detail men, called from
off-duty status, at the regular wage
scale. This would cost about $250,O0O a
year. It also would make 1t possible to
put more men on the streets. And 1t
would offer as an added incentive to
policemen, many of whom have been
"moonlighting," a chance to pick up
extra money doing needed police work.
Another administration proposal
which Congress should heed deals with
the business of compensatory time. At
present, policemen who run up overtime
on their regular tours are allowed equiv
alent time off ito the extent manpower
can be spared" Chief Murray would
have Congress define and liberalize this
provision. This and overtime pay, to
the extent it can be established, should
help stem a heavy turnover In police
personnel
Evening star., 1963-04-22

meaning, truth and enjoyment in every
thing he does"
Most notably, through example and
precept, Dr. Griswold elevated indi-
vidual effort above sterile and Stulti-
flying" committee action. He taught
that neither Hamlet, nor the Mona
Lisa, nor the New Testament could have
been wrought by committee. Rather,
he said, "the divine spark leaps from
the finger of God to the finger Of
Adam"
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Affairs of State

So now that fountain Of
all wisdom, the State Depart
ment, would have US believe
the Cuban refugee leader is
"distorting history"
Well, let's see. This is the
same State Department. that:
/. Lied to us on several oc-
casions, for example in the
U-2 incident. 2. Feted Castro
as a George Washington Of
Cuba" later put pressure on
a New York hotel to accept
him and his goons for their
propaganda purposes. 8. APP
proved (by laundering sill
ence) the murder Of un-
armed civilians in Katanga
by U. N. soldiers" 4. Gravely
informed us during the Red
takeover Of China tn q t
"agrarian reform" was TAX
ing place. 5. Promotes the
sale of Communist goods in
American stores. thus assist
ing sla very while hurting
our labor and businessmen
alike.
Now, who can have conf
dence in such q State De-
partment2 There are. indeed.
many loyal and patriotic
Americans working there but
the official politics and pro-
nouncements Of that bureau
cratic Frankenstein do moth
ing but give aid and comfort
to our sworn enemy in the
cold war,
And, Of course, It's true
we are soft on Cuba. For
shame. for shamel
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Bornett's Trial

In an editorial calling for a
Jury trial in the criminal
contempt proceedings against
Gov. Barnett "a sentiment
which this writer shares COM
pletely), The Star threw in
the thought that Federal
Courts we're already losing the
respect Of many Southerners.
and to deny the Governor a
jury trial would be a further
eroding Of its own prestige in
that section OF the country.
This is tantamount TO say
ing that a police force that
arrests criminals regularly
will become unpopular with
those criminals. and isn't that
a shame. Federal Courts are
unpopular In the South be-
cause they have vigilantly up
held the right OF a minority
that the State courts have
continuously prosecuted. Per-
haps The Stars concern
should be for the welfare Of
Negro rights In the State
courts Of Mississippi in equal
fervor as II is for Gov. Bar
nett's in the Federal Courts.
James r. Lee.
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Montgomery Budget

AS MOnb8Omery county
citizens contemplate the long
range effects Of the recent
budget decisions Of the Coun-
ty Council, 1t Is hoped that
their concern will not be ex-
pressed merely in terms of
resentment and animoSity
toward the personalities COM
prising the majority Of that
body. The temptation to do
this understandably Is very
great. One is appalled, at the
insensitivity which can brush
aside requests for added
teaching personnel to meet a
5000 annual pupil increase in
our public schools. Also one
has cause to wonder about
the motivation Of board
members who feel that an
increase in the elementary
pupil-teacher ratio from 28.5
to to 800 to really can't
make any difference"
Nevertheless, it will be
much more useful If we as
individuals and as members
of community groups focus
on the true and substantive
requirements for our various
public services and devote a
little more of our time and
energies to informing our
selves and our neighbors of
the significance Of these
needs. For, I suspect that.
given our democratic elector-
al procedures, we get the kind
of leaders we deserve. II, be-
cause Of informed discussion
the majority Of citizens be-
comes persuaded that the best
interests Of our community
are not being served ade-
quately by incumbent Off
cials, the next election will
provide opportunity for cor
rective action-provided peo-
pie take the trouble to vote.
I myself am unwilling to
grant that our citizens are as
immature as certain decisions
of the new County Council
might indicate. But by all
means let us. in our utter
ances and actions in the
months ahead, concentrate
on such programs and OBJ
jectives as will give express
sion to those values which
are basic and lasting.
Eugene J. Zander.
Evening star., 1963-04-22
A BOOK FOR TODAY
British Blamed for French Failure
By DONALD MINTZ

first refused to honor their
agreement to evacuate French
troops at Dunkirk and finally
took only a token number.
Yet a chapter later, the fig
ures magically change. We
are told that the entire Brit
ish Expeditionary Force left
France at Dunkirk. Yet later
through some unexplained
process. we find British ele-
ments still in the line.
M. Benoist-Mec appears
to believe that there is some
thing ignoble in the idea that
France, a continental power,
was expected to supply the
bulk Of the wars armed
forces, while Britain, a mari
time power, furnished ships
and planes. Surely what pur-
ports to be a major historical
work is hardly the place to
indulge the infantryman's
conviction that all other
fighting men are hedonists
who spend wars luxuriating
in all manner of sybaritic
orgies.
IF THE FRENCH govern
ment was reasonable in ca
pitulating in refusing to
carry on the fight from over
seas territories or from Lon
don-then all members 0f all
governments in exile were ro-
mantle fools. And Winston
Churchill, the villain who Or
dered the French fleet de-
stroyed simply because for
good reason he considered 1t
d potential threat, is the
greatest romantic fool Of
them all with the possible ex-
ception Of Charles de Gaulle.
M. Benoist- -Mechin cannot
be accused Of openly saying
any Of these things. Open at
tack is not his forte. But his
entire performance seems de-
signed TO slide these ideas
into his readers minds.
His apparent thesis ignores
q few prime facts. First, the
romantic fools who we're pre-
pared TO fight on the beaches
won the war. Second the tall
fool who with slmost nothing
behind him In effect claimed
to be France incarnate
proved TO be nearly literally
correct. Finally. had II not
been for Churchill and De
Gaulle, M. Benoist- -Mechin
would probably rot be in q
position 10 speak and write
his mind today.
Evening star., 1963-04-22

Thank you for your April
z article, THE Retarded
Child" AS the director Of
Help for Retarded Children,
Inc. Primary School there is
something in your. article
that I would like to clear up.
Your statement, land each is
in bitter competition with the
others to be of most service"
should be clarified for the
benefit of parents of retarded
children.
Any organization or group
working with retarded chill
dren need not be ir COM
petition; there are too many
retarded children in the Dis
trict without any available
facility open to them. We do
not have many of the fancy
frills but we do give our
children a good, all-around
program to better equip
them for a fruitful life in
the community. We are a
UGF agency. We take chill
dren that a great many other
schools turn down for one
reason or another. We have
many children whose parents
find it difficult even to pay
the transportation to and
from school. We make no dis
tinction as to race, creed or
color; our main interest is
to help the child and keep
him a part Of the community
and part of his family unit.
This is not bitter competi-
ton. Again, ! say thank you
for your article as this is
one of the ways in which
we can awaken the public to
our plight. 1t would be worth
while to talk to some of the
parents of retarded children
in the area whose children
are not in school and who
have been on these waiting
lists" for two or more years.
Give this responsibility to
Congress so that they might
see the need for tuition
grants and free education
for the retarded child in the
District of Columbia.
Virginia williams.
Evening star., 1963-04-22
SIXTY DAYS THAT SHOOI

SIXTY DAYS THAT SHOOK
THE WEST: The Fan OF
France: 1940, by Jacques
BenoiSt Mechin. Trans
lated from "Soixante Jours
qui Ebranlerent l'Occident, "
by Peter Wiles. Edited with
a Preface by Cyril Falls,
maps, $50 PIP. GO. P. Put
MANS Sons, $3.50
Gen. Rommel told the en-
tire story in a single sentence:
There was utter confusion
among the French"
Jacques Benoist- -Mechin. a
former journalist now said
to be zone of Frances lead
ing historical writer's" has
gone into the collapse OF
France under the German
assault Of 1910 in greater
detail. His three volume
study Of the campaign ap-
peared in his own country
in 1856. We are now offered
a one volume condensed
translation.
M. Benoist-Mechin fights
his private war-which Is
against Britain-with irony,
innuendo and implication.
He conveys the impression
that while all was not well
with France, 1t was In the
long run the fault Of those
beastly British.
In the course Of its his
tory Britain has been blamed
for everything that is on
earth and should not be and
everything that Is not on
earth and should be. The
British are quite used to
being beastly in the eyes OF
this or that segment Of world
opinion.
YET THEIR traditional
calm in the face Of attacks
Of this sort may be slightly
ruffled by the extraordinary
implications Of "Sixty Days
That Shook the West" We
are asked TO note that "the
British high command started
thinking In terms Of a sep
arate strategy that might
mean breaking with its
French and Belgian allies
prior to the Belgian Kings
capitulation and 10 Gen
Weygand's assumption OF the
role Of commander In chief
The wording implies be-
trayal. Yet nowhere Is there
the slightest evidence that
the decision was In fact any
thing more than normal
prudence in an uncertain sit
uation. Indeed, M. Benoist-
Mechin offers considerable
evidence that actually sup
ports Britain, for he is not
fond OF the French govern
ment Of the time or It's mill
tary machine. But he refuses
TO follow the lead Of his own
facts, for Anglophobia must
come before all.
Indeed. II comes before
the reconciliation Of contra
dictions within the book. We
are told that the British at
Evening star., 1963-04-22
THE WORLD
There's Little Hope in Laos
By CROSBY S. MOVES
Foreign Correspondent Of The Stor

which might provoke q
Chinese reaction Is perhaps
impractical. But to imply that
the administration has al
ready made up It's mind on
the matter seemed to invite
aggressive action from the
Communist side.
Nor do other possibilities
for diplomatic rescue work
offer more hopeful prospects.
The United States and
Britain are cold to the sug-
gestion from China that the
Geneva conference should be
reconvened. Such a step 1t is
thought, would merely buy
the Communists time to take
over the country while the
diplomats talked.
For their part, the Western
powers seem to be stalking
their hopes on the action Of
the Control Commission Of
Canadians, Poles and Indians
to work out an effective
ceasefire.
Yet like all previous "con-
troll commissions" this one is
proving a weak reed to rely
on.
Though in theory 1t has
been investigating" fighting
In the Plain Of Jars, 1t has
not yet reported on its find
ings, And by the time it does
prospects are that it will be
too late to do much about it.
If Laos does go down the
Communist drain, the impli-
cations will be serious for the
Western position in the whole
of Southeast Asia.
Menace to ThaiIand
Once again Thailand will
be directly menaced on its
Eastern frontier. Once again
1t may be necessary to send
in American Marines to boil
ster the military security and
tagging morale of this key
member of SEATO.
The position in South Wet
Nam will also become more
dangerous than ever. Already
the Communists are using
Laos as a route for supplying
weapons and reinforcements
to the Communist Wet Cong
guerrillas there. Outright
Red control Of Laos would
enormously complicate the
problems Of the hardpressed
Wet Namese and American
forces battling the Wet Cong.
The most serious aspect Of
the Communist push in Laos,
however, may be the impli-
cations for other neutralist
countries in the area. For
Cambodia, Burma and even
possibly India, it amounts to
writing on the wall Of a par
ticularly ominous import.
If nothing else, it provides
yet another proof that neu-
tralism is no magic defense
against the militant expan-
sionism Of China into South
east Asia. And it provides a
discouraging lesson as to the
amount Of security the West,
in a showdown, is willing and
able to provide.
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Answers to Questions
By THE HASKIN SERVICE

@. Why are there some
times eight years between
leap years7-C. M.
A. Years marking the close
OF centuries are not leap
years unless divisible by 400.
The last eight-year interv~.
was between 1896 and 1904:
the next will be between 2096
and 2l04. The year 1000 will
be O leap year.
Evening star., 1963-04-22
Sold on 'Sundoy'

/ have begun subscribing
TO The Sunday Star because
! enjoy seeing your superb
Sunday Star Magazine.
The Sunday Star Magazine
covers have been as compel
ling as the covers OF any
publication In the Nation.
The photo-essays - Elwood
Bakers series on retarded
children: and Joe Bakers
Seventh Street-are the best
Of their types that ! have
ever seen.
Burgess Howard
Evening star., 1963-04-22
DeuIino With Russia

would ike 10 comment,
In the light of my experience
as a disarmament negotia-
tor, on some of the views ex-
pressed recently by letter
writers to the effect that it
is futile to keep trying to
negotiate a test-ban or a dis
armament treaty with the
Communists. Your cores
pondents seem prone to fall
into at least two common
errors.
The first is that the So
viets would inevitably either
cheat or abrogate the treaty
by deciding not to live UP to
it. Most students Of Soviet
reaction take the position
that they will live up to the
obligations of a treaty as
long as they consider it in
their interest to do so. 1t
follows that they will con-
slider most carefully any po-
sition or action which would
destroy a test-ban treaty,
since to stimulate additional
testing on the part Of other
countries by destroying the
treaty could not fail to be
against Soviet interests.
The second is that as long
as the Soviets want world
domination, and plan to use
force or the threat Of force
in order to get it, we can
not negotiate with them be-
cause we must protect our
system of values, or the
American way Of life. I sub
NIT that every human being
eventually learns that 1t is
to his advantage to live in
comparative amity with his
neighbor, whether he ap-
proves of the neighbor or not.
Disagreement as to politics,
religion, ethics, business
practices or what have you
need not affect the ultimate
relationship unless either he
or his neighbor try to force
their respective ideas on the
other. Meanwhile, a system OF
law exists to take care OF
more deep seated problems.
AS so well expressed in your
editorial of April 5. the idea
of peaceful CO existence OF
which Khrushchev speaks is
a far sounder concept than
the belligerent position OF
Mao Tse-tung. Those who
disagree with this statement
probably base their disagree
ment on the ultimate inter-
probation the Communists
may place on the term
peaceful co existence" -
namely, the concept of I'VE
will bury you" But If Ameri-
cans are afraid Of economic
and political competition
with international commu-
nism, we may as well roll
over, paws in air. and sur
render now. We surely have
all the capability necessary
for winning this sort Of COM
petition. even though 1t may
be cut-throat. On the other
hand, all top authorities pro-
claim an all-out nuclear war
as one that neither side can
win.
1t would seem to me ele-
mentary that we approach
this argument with several
basic premises in mind: Cd
the choice is not just between
the alternatives Of red" or
dead: 90 an honorable
formula without surrender or
appeasement is imperative;
go 1t is TO our selfish ad-
vantage to achieve a true
and undistorted peaceful CO.
existence; "a in order to
keep and enjoy our system OF
values and our American
way OF life" we must remain
alive. Let those who term this
the "no-win" or "cry-baby"
attitude make the most of
1t - q great many Ameri-
cans agree with your edi-
torial that 1t is the sensible
way TO think.
James J. WadswOrth.