davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1963-05-16
Back to Essentials

In recent months the dispute over
Washington area rapid transit and free
way proposals has wandered into an
almost hopeless maze of technical con-
fusion. The Federal City Council, in
a brief report which is unabaShedly non
technical, has performed a valuable
service in attempting to untangle this
can of worms, and to steer the contro-
verSy back to its essentials. For the
basic question which existed before the
complication set in still exists. In the
words of the council report, it is simply
this: Should the National Capital Re-
gion have a system of rail rapid transit,
or not?"
It's own conclusion, in which we
concur, is in the affirmative, not merely
for the sake of travel demands, but to
preserve the distinctive and historic
values Of the Nations Capital which
surely will suffer erosion unless this
course is followed. And If that is the
case, the council report moves on to the
logical next point that this crucial con-
sideration transcends in Importance the
current disputes over whether such a
transit system would be lf-liquidating
financially, and over the precise loca-
tionS and engineering standards of por-
tions of the system which are not sched-
uled for construction in the immediate
future. Accordingly, the report urges
that an immediate start be made on a
downtown subway and on at least
couple of connecting rail lines.
Similarly, the council insists that
there are parts Of the proposed freeway
system Cincluding the extremely con-
troversial north leg Of the Inner Loop,
for example,) which may be studied
further. The point is, however, that this
should not result in postponement of
other urgently needed freeways Surely
there is no reason any longer to delay
construction Of the Potomac River Free
way, the Three Sisters Bridge, those
sections Of the Inner Loop in which
right-of-way and dislocation are not
critical factors, and other highways
which have been justified and re-justi-
fled interminably over the years. The
political ties which have hamstrung
those highways on which construction
can begin In the reasonable future
should be broken Immediately.
In It's broad outlines, at least, the
report Of the Federal City Council offers
advice which the White House would be
wise to heed as general guide in the
vital transportation proposals which al
ready are overdue for submission to
Congress.
Evening star., 1963-05-16

II all goes as well as expected, Mer-
curry Astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper
will be back among us this evening
after having celestially circumnavigated
the globe % times in "a hours. AS the
latest Of the worlds spatial Magellans-
a small company of valorous men made
up of only Russians and Americans thus
far-he has already won a measure of
Immortality in the still-young history Of
exploration and derring-do in the high
heavens.
Major Cooper's splendid achieve
ment marks the end Of a beginning.
That is to say, Project Mercury, now
that his flight promises to be complete
success, will in all probability promptly
close up shop as pioneering enterprise
whose mission has been accomplished.
What will follow is Project Gemini and
its two-man spacecraft, whose first or
bital flight-one Of long duration, a
week or more-should take place year
or so from now. And after that there
will be Project Apollo and its three-man
vehicle, which is being designed and
developed to land Americans on the
moon, and return them safely to earth,
before the decade ends.
This vehicle will weigh As tonS-fiye
tons more than the Nina" one Of the
three little vessels with which Columbus
discovered America and proved that the
earth was not flat thing off which
people would fall into a dark and bound
less emptiness If they travelled too far.
However, unlike the Nina" (18 men
aboard, our first lunar ship will be
enormously complex. In the words of
one of our top space officials, it will be
made of thousands of parts, machined
to tolerances of thousandths of an inch.
. :, It must be equipped with propul-
sion and navigation equipment that will
allow it to land on the airleSS surface
of the moon and to lift off for the re-
turn to earth. To hurl this space
craft a quarter Of million miles
through space, we must build launch
vehicle that will generate 712 million
pounds of thruSt-or $50 million horse
power, the equivalent horsepower of
$4,000 diesel locomotives"
Major Cooper and the other Mercury
Astronauts-Shepard Grissom, Glenn,
Carpenter, Schirra-have pioneered in
a way that has speeded up the develop
ment of this fabulous kind of machinery
and the spatial travel it portends. AS a
poet has written of kindred heroic and
exploring spirits, "In their blood the
trumpet sounded: Beyond all borders,
go beyond" The moon is next. Be-
tween now and 1870, man will almost
certainly have planted his feet on it-for
better or worse.
Evening star., 1963-05-16
On Yielding to London

The dispute over transatlantic air
fares is tangled web in which one must
tread carefully. Common sense, however,
seems to be pretty heavily on the side
Of Senator MagnuSon and others who
pitulated" to Britain'S demands that
Trans World Airlines and Pan American
World AirwayS apply the per cent in
crease called for by the International
Air Transport Association.
Our own Civil AeronauticS Board is
against the increase, but on "advice"
from Secretary of State Rusk it has
withdrawn from the fray for the time
being. Presumably it will be back in
swinging when, as and if Congress ap-
proves an administration-Spon bill
to give the CAB specific authority to
deal with the regulation of international
air fares. Meanwhile, Senator Magnu-
son, whose Commerce Committee is in
vestigating the whole business, has let
it be known that he thinks the State
Department has reacted to foreign
threats by backing against wall that
was never there and completely capitu-
lating without fight"
This may oversimplify the situation,
but the fact is, nonetheleSS, that Brit
aims Minister of Aviation had implicitly
threatened that TWA and Pan Am
planes would be seized, or forbidden
to take off, in the United Kingdom
unless they charged the higher fares
"a round-trip increase of $27 between
New York and London) voted for by
the IATA. Actually, of course, the
British could carry out such a threat
only at the risk of inviting retaliatory
moves that could wreck their air-travel
business in America. AS for IATA'S
other European members, they no doubt
are less concerned at heart with raising
fares then with promoting the tourist
business by transporting to their coun-
tries Americans in mood to spend some
dollars there.
Experience has shown that lower
fares generate good business (fewer
empty seats), in air travel back and
forth across the Atlantic This seems
to US the basic, interchangeable argu-
ment against the way this situation
has been handled.
Evening star., 1963-05-16

Like the stage director of a new
play, Newton NJ Minow has retired to
the wings to see how the show he
created catches on. For the principal
benefits from his brief term as Federal
Communications Commission chairman
are just beginning to unfold.
Mr.. Minow's oft-quoted "vast waste
land" criticism of televiSion program
ming had shock value, but so far there
is no evidence that it has transformed
the electric box into an oasis Of we'll
balanced entertainment and informa-
ton. Yet there is reason for hope, not
only from the well-meaning intentions
of many broadcasters, but from the
stage set by Mr. Minow.
When he said what this country
needs is more television, not less" Mr.:
Minow meant that competition could
lift the industry'S standards more surely
than any outside pressures, however
subtle. He found that nearly half of
the Nations 272 TV audience areas have
only one station to watch.
His remedy was two-fold: Legisla-
tion supporting educational TV and the
requirement that all new TV sets, be-
ginning next year, must be equipped
with 10 ultra high frequency channels
in addition to the IL very high fire.
quency ones now available. Additionally
he helped get America out in front in
the satellite communications program
All this represents quite legacy
tended by E. william Henry, the promis-
ing new FEC chairman, it could produce
fruitful growth on the wasteland
Evening star., 1963-05-16
Woshinqton Authors
John F. Clagett,

Since I know you wish to
give full credit where credit
is due, may / point out a
gross understatement in Ha-
eel Wilson's article Sunday
MAY 81 on Washington au-
thors of children's books?
In every other way the ar
ticle is excellent but her fig
ure of titles by Washington
authors listed in the years
Catalog of $500 Best Books
for Children is much too low.
Checking 1t hastily myself
(I'm sure I overlooked some)
I find at least 81. not rs,
titles by Washington authors
or artists.
Thirty -eight of these titles
are by members Of the Chill
dren's Book Guild. At least
13 more are by other Wash
ington residents who are
known to me. This does not
count books by Cora Cheney.
Robert McClung and others
who have left the area re-
Gently, nor such well-known
names as Rachel Carson, and
President Kennedy. who do
not write primarily for chill
dren but whose books are
read and enjoyed by the
younger generation.
When the Washingt on
area achieves distinction In
such an important field Of
influence, ] think full credit
should be given.
Barbara Nolen.
Evening star., 1963-05-16
Marine Band on Wax

The Star Record Critic,
Herman Schaden, said that
the recently issued RCA
Victor recordings Of the four
service bands are the first
commercial recordings made
by these bands. Actually the
Marine Band made COM
mercial recordings both for
Victor Talking Machine Co.
"a predecessor OF the RCA
Victor Division OF Radio
Corporation OF America) and
for Thomas A. Edison, In
corporated "a predecessor
OF the Voicewriter Division Of
McGraw-Edison Company
during the l920s, although, 10
the best OF my knowledge, II
is true that the present RCA
Victor discs are the first
electrical-process commercial
recordings Of any OF the
service bands.
James Hedges
Evening star., 1963-05-16
THINKING Hikers

The hiker normally seeks
a path along middle ground,
avoiding the dangerous cliffs
of the extreme right, the
treacherous quicksand Of the
far left.
The hiker's course Is US
ually the way Of least re-
Sistance, lending increased
assurance of reaching a de-
sired destination in the
shortest time and with the
least effort, retaining all the
while the necessary reserves
for reaching new goals ahead.
This is not to suggest that
the hiker does not take new
or uncharted paths. On the
contrary, he constantly seeks
short cuts and alternative
routes. He ventures on diff
cult climbs for the sheer joy
of physical conquest or a look
at a far horizon. Mt. Everest
and all of the rest Of the.
peaks that lead nowhere in
particular, except UP, will
never lessen in their chal-
lenge to the hiker.
The hiker thinks In the
manner in which he walks.
He adopts a philosophy Of
reaching his objective by the
shortest and sureSt route,
and yet one that provides
when need be the boldest and
longest view, perhaps an Ev-
crest view good for a life
time, never thereafter allow
ing lesser vision to obscure
or dilute 1t.
The manner of going and
the way of thinking of hik-
ers should be emulated by
our politicians and social and
economic planners.
We believe that If men,
bers of the House and SEN
ate and Government Depart
ment heads hiked but one
hour each day they could far
better control undesirable
legislative and administra-
tive actions, on the one
hand, while increasing the
quality of those that are de-
sirable and needed. on the
other.
The Ship of State itself
can then be made to move
a more certain and direct
course toward its highest
goals.
John F. Clagett.
Evening star., 1963-05-16

Of what they saw, the experts said, was
"hack work."
Being rather intimately acquainted
with several of our own public housing
developments and schools, not to men
ton Federal offices including the (ugh!)
new Rayburn Building, we are unable
to pass along this intelligence in any
great fervor Of superiority. There is
some small solace, of course, in the
thought that Washington is not alone
in its shortcomings.
But not much! When you get right
down to it, why is so much of the Ma
tion's public architecture so awful?
Evening star., 1963-05-16
Montgomery Schools

Two recent letters in The
Star reflected great disturb
ance because In some Mont
gomery County schools there
may be classes with more
than 80 pupils. AS usual In
such letters, no concern was
shown In regard to stand
ards which pupils should at
tain In English. math. his
tory. foreign languages, SCI
ence, and other subjects
which pupils must know in
order TO stay in college.
The fact is that the cost
per pupil In Montgomery
County is close to the high
est in the entire country. De-
spite costly administering,
testing. counselling and ex-
perimenting. any parent can
find out for himself = by
examining his children's text
books : how little they learn.
In those so-called dark days.
when high school classes had
more than 40 pupils, Latin
grammar was covered In one
year: now It takes two years.
Some Montgomery schools
have been trying TO teach
French - without use OF a
grammar. The pupils who
took the French college
boards are paying dearly for
this experiment.
Those who feel that II only
classes are m q de small
enough. all problems would
be on the road TO solution,
might well ponder the i'm
plications Of the fact tina I
less than one third Of the
freshmen who enter the Uni
versity Of Maryland graduate.
II should be small consola-
ton TO parents that pupils
from Montgomery County do
better at the University Of
Maryland than those from
some other counties.
G. ID. Hill.
Evening star., 1963-05-16

Negro race on the basis Of
color and caste is bad
enough, but his attempt to
incite Negroes against whites
is even worse.
Whatever progress the
black bourgeoisie has made,
or will make, in the District
of Columbia, as well as In
any other community in the
Nation, has been, or will be.
through the cooperation Of
its fellow white citizens.
Mr.. Powell's ranting and
raving about blacks versus
whites in this enlightened
age is downright sickening.
It's equally as sickening that
such Incorporate remarks
are being echoed and praised
by Washington's leading Me-
gro newspaper whose only
editorial policy is apparently
that of criticizing writer's of
letters to the editors of other
newspapers.
Racial hate and discrimi-
nation are just as distaste-
full whether they are being
advocated by an Adam Pow
ell, q George Wallace or a
Malcolm x. 4
J. DeImas EscOe.
\ 4 4
Negro leadership in 1. this
community and the Nation
cannot escape the RESPONSE
bility of setting the stage for
bloodshed and hatred that
will set Negro causes back
another 100 years.
You cannot set a force in
motion without creating q
counterforce of equal or
greater proportions. Repre-
sentative Adam Clayton
Powell makes no contribu-
ton whatever to advancing
the Negro cause by threaten
ing race riots while at the
same time sneehing at his
fellow Negro "bourgeoisie. /"
Representative Diggs is
equal culpable, in encourog-
ing the use of children to
dramatic the Negro cause
in Birmingham and else
where. If elevating the
Negro to Congress and other
high office means the disin-
tegration of relationships be-
tween Negro and Negro. to
say nothing of melting black
against white, well-inten-
toned liberals and others
had better take a long hard
look at what the aims of the
Negro really are before they
achieve detectives that only
whet the appetite instead Of
satisfying their demands.
Francis c. Peters.
Evening star., 1963-05-16
FOCUS ON THE NEWS
Tide of Betrayal Helps West
By CHARLES BARTLETT

West, even to the extent Of
correcting the estimates which
had led to the fear Of q mis-
sile gap.
A detection like Col. Pen
kovsky's is a serious blow to
the Russian and the fact that
tl7Ne' isaVetApeeus Others of
somewhat less significance in
recent years is a hopeful
portent of sagging morale
within the bloc. Some Of the
bloc officials who have de-
fected are still not known to
the public and are living here
in peaceful anonymity. But
others like Pawel Monat, a
Polish officer trained to spy
in this country, have re-
counted their disillusionment
in books.
DiSilluSlOnment
Mr.. Monat tells Of serving
with the Red Chinese in North
Korea and playing cops and
robbers with the FBI across
the United States. But the
reaction set in after his re-
call to Poland in 1858. He
tasted the contrast in atmos-
phere between Washington
and Warsaw, resented his
country's dependence upon
Russia, and was disturbed by
the planning papers for the
conquest of Europe. He said
he had believed at the outset
Of his career that the Com
munists we're the true peace
lovers but felt then that "in-
stead of coming closer to the
humanitarian and utopian
communism which I had be-
lieved in, we were getting fur
ther and further away from
it,"
When the real history Of
the cold war is written, the
record of the scope and energy
of the espionage efforts by
both sides will be fascinating
to read. 1t will seem hard to
believe that only a genera
ton before, a United States
Secretary of War, Henry
Stimson, closed down the
Black Chamber, an espionage
unit, on the premise that
gentlemen do not read each
others mail" It will only
then be established that a
tremendous corps of able and
earnest people were willing to
dedicate their careers, with
out hope of public honors or
recognition, to a penetration
OF communist secrecy.
The indication of the PEN
kovsky case that they are
having some success is no
cause for complacency on this
side. The FBI files bulge with
evidence of persistent efforts
by bloc diplomats to secure
the material which they can
not obtain legally. The Some-
what fewer than 10000
domestic Communists, al
though isolated by surveil-
lance from any major capac-
ity for spying, remain a
threat. Its free society makes
America, as Mr.. Monat wrote,
"a delightful country to carry
out espionage"
But it is possible to enjoy
a fleeting satisfaction that
Russia should suffer the dis
comfort felt so keenly in this
country during the postwar
period of American betrayals.
God forbid" wrote a Mos
COW commentator last week,
that all the papers print
about the imperial intelli-
gence and its agents should
evoke a general and mutual
distrust.
Evening star., 1963-05-16
PEOPLE AND PROBLEMS
The Tool of Social Democracy
By RALPH McGHL

Social democracy-not So
cialism-is at once the hope
OF capitalism and a system
Of competitive enterprise. So
cialiSm is a word as loosely
and as inaccurately used as
Is liberal or conservative.
The old classic European
socialism grows less and less
meaningful. The Socialists Of
Germany long ago rejected
naturalization. The Social
lists Of Great Britain and
other European nations have
split on that rock.
In the new African ma
tions. where managerial skills
and techniques are scarce,
there is a growing awareneSs
that there is a vast gulf be-
tween social democracy and
Marxism. The new nations
grievously are lacking in cap
ital. productive capacity and
skills, but they are beginning
to see that Russian commu-
nism, or Marxist principles,
do not provide a short cut to
stability.
But 1t is at once apparent
that 1t has been social de-
mocracy that has made pos
sible the industrial private
enterprise success in Japan,
In West Germany and Italy,
and that 1t is this same pol
icy that has kept Great Brit
ain as a going concern in a
time where empires are out
Of style.
No Turning Back
II is not possible for the
United states. for example,
to return TO the political and
economic rules and methods
Of the Harding. Coolidge and
Hoover years. Not even the
most conservative politician
has made such a suggestion.
In the time OF the corro-
sive depression, when more
than IA million men and
women we're out OF work. few
called the reforms Of the
first Roosevelt term Social
ism" or communism" Con-
gress and the people well
coined unemployment insur-
ance. the make-work Of WPA,
the CCC that put idle young
men TO work, the legislation
that reformed the stock ex-
changes. the agencies that
guaranteed mortgages on new
homes and farms, the loans
that made II possible for ten
ants and troopers TO buy
land.
That was neither commu-
nism nor socialism but II
was social democracy = and
good American practice.
We kept on. We, the peo-
Evening star., 1963-05-16

The breach in the Iron
Curtain suggested by the Oleg
Penkovsky spy case denotes
a new day in which the
Kremlin leaders can no
longer look with complacency
upon the tactical advantage
of their closed society.
This complacency has been
dented before by the U-2
plane and the defections Of
less well-connected officials
than Col. Penkovsky. But this
case has brought home the
fact that the tide of ideologi-
cal betrayal, which once
worked for the Communists,
has now swung to the ad-
vantage Of the West.
During the war and in the
immediate postwar period,
the Soviet Union benefited
heavily from the willingness
Of individuals like Alger Hiss.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg,
Judith Coplon, and William
Remington to betray their
country for what they re-
garded as an idealistic cause
the enhancement Of COM
munism. Some Of this mott
vation stemmed from a SYM
pathy for the Soviet Unions
bruises and conquests in the
struggle against the Nazis
Some Of it was a residual re-
action against the capitalist
system from the depression,
But the balance of idealism
has shifted in recent years to
a point when political mott
vations for b trayal have
begun to work against the
Communists. Some of the
shine has gone off the revo-
lutionary zeal which was tar
nished for many by the dis
closure of Stalin's crimes.
Three recent cases demon.
strate the range of reasons
for which an official will
turn against his country. In
the case of William j. c. Vas
sail, which has caused q
scandal in England, the So
viets discovered in eight
months what the British
Admiralty did not learn unit
1t was too late-that the re.
served and well-dressed con.
fidential clerk assigned to the
Moscow embassy was a homo.
sexual who could be com.
promised and blackmailed
Betrayal With Conviction
In the case of Navy Yeo-
man Nelson Drummond, nov
on trial for transmitting in.
formation to the Russians
the incentive was clearly
money. After a period of ex.
treme financial difficulty, HI
purchased a bar and grill anC
two automobiles in Newport
r. l., and assumed an aspect
of affluence which lasteC
until the FBI closed in las
September.
But neither money no
blackmail can inspire thu
quallty OF espionage provided
by a man like Col. Penkovsky
who turns against his govern
ment because he does not ap
prove of it The Russians
have worked hard to portra,
him as a weak individual
with fleshly tastes, but hi
stature in the military hier.
archy, his connections, anC
his war record support th'
view that he was a man O
character who performed hi
betrayal with conviction. /
is possible to believe that h,
did great services for thu
Evening star., 1963-05-16
LETTERS TO THE STAR

Pen names may be used II
letters carry tOriters' correct
names and addresses. All let
ters are subject to condensG-
tion. Those not used mill be
returned only iDhen accom-
panied By self addressed,
stamped enuelopes.