Harold Stassen of Minnesota had argued that the doctrine was essentially negative, to stop Soviet expansion, that the money ought be spent to create something better in Europe than the stale monarchies and dictatorships.

But there were 23,000 veterans awaiting entry to hospitals.

There was no explanation or excuse for the failure to undertake the building program. If more money was needed because of rising costs, then the Congress should be willing to appropriate it. The veterans deserved the care and the people had made up their minds during the war that they were entitled to it.

There had been a time when Mr. Byrnes would not have easily met with General Marshall, after Mr. Byrnes had returned a year earlier from Moscow, also after a failed mission, and many had counseled that he be replaced with General Marshall, then special envoy to China. Word had leaked and the plan was canned, but it had upset Mr. Byrnes.

Now that the bill to provide aid to Greece and Turkey had been passed, the President had to determine how the money would be spent. The 250 million to Greece would run out in a year, and if the President had to go back to Congress for more in the midst of an election campaign, then, Mr. Pearson predicts, he would not be elected. If the program worked, then the Truman Doctrine would make history and the peace of the world would be materially stabilized.

He offers his own advice on how to spend the money, based on his having spent two years in Greece after World War I. He suggests using the King as General MacArthur had used Emperor Hirohito, letting him write decrees but directing what was to be said. To avoid being mired in a corrupt dictatorship, the Greek Government should be led, again through the King, at every juncture. He advises against wasting any of the money on the Greek Army, which had a history of killing civilians. He advocates granting amnesty to all political prisoners and exiles, using most of the money to rebuild the ports of Salonika and Piraeus, and the railroad bridges. The British should forgo their high-interest loans to Greece. The U.N. should appoint observers to report on everything done by the United States in Greece. Through the King, a new coalition Cabinet should be appointed, representing all factions in the country, save the Communists and Fascists.

A prominent Tory had told Mr. Alsop that Britain could no longer be relied upon to do the job, as evidenced by the cuts in exports and the coal shortage. Some Socialists viewed the situation as ushering in the Socialist majority within a couple of years. Most competent observers saw the situation as being somewhere between the two extremes, having guarded optimism that England could make it.

The key was in coal, but the Welsh mines were almost exhausted and the Yorkshire mines, with still rich seams, were short of manpower. The workers were lethargic throughout the British economy as the Government had nothing to provide them as incentive to work hard, there being no consumer goods available to be had. But the nationalization of the coal industry appeared to have buoyed spirits and the production curve was climbing.

Members of Parliament were exhausted for lack of personnel to manage the transformation of the country to a semi-Socialist state. One Labor Party official told Mr. Alsop that the major barrier in the transformation was not being able to obtain good personnel to administer the Government-run economy, rather than, as they had long thought it would be, resistance from the ruling class.

Britain, no matter which party had come to power after the war, would be in tenuous economic straits. The British economists were hoping for a return of the world buyers' market in food.

It was not correct to try to assert that the closed shop was the only barrier to "the right to work". There were age barriers in some plants, racial barriers, and religious barriers in others. But trying to obtain legislation from the same conservatives for the benefit of blacks, Jews, and people over 40 was always met with resistance. Economic downturn was another serious concern which would hamper the right to work. The right to work of which Congressmen spoke was only useful against the union.

The principle had been invented to justify a bill. The closed shop had not been denying the right to work but rather was using it for a social purpose, to promote collective bargaining through a strong, cohesive union.

It was possible that the right to work ideal would turn into a social movement to assure equality of opportunity in the workplace, despite the proponents of the measure being resistant to those broader principles.

For the home repair enthusiast, it should be noted that repairs of the normal 110 circuitry is a relatively simple matter, with the electricity off. On plugs, one keeps the black wire, the hot wire, on one pole, the little copper screw or plug-in on one side of the back of the plug, while keeping the white wire, the neutral leg, on the other pole. The completely bare copper wire is the ground and is simply connected to the green screw. It is never hot unless improperly connected.

On light switches, the principle is that the toggle connects or breaks the circuit formed by the hot wire, to turn on or off the switch. It is an interrupter of the black wire. The black wire feeds from the electricity source to the switch, running in one pole, and then continuing out the other pole to the light or plug which it operates, all through the black or hot wire. The only wire to the switch is a black or hot wire, except in the case of three-way switches. The ends of the white wires are simply connected to one another within the switch box and neither is connected to the switch.

Three-way light switches, that is a pair or more of switches on a single circuit which can turn on or off a light or other device from two or more locations, have a red wire, in addition to the black wire. The red wire is run between the three-way switches, special switches which have a third pole to accommodate the third wire. The pole for the red wire on those switches is marked "common", typically by a colored screw.

Generally, make sure all exposed copper, other than the ground wire, is covered inside the metal or plastic box enclosing the switch or plug, by means of a plastic screw-nut and electrical tape as needed. No bare wire, other than the ground, should be touching a metal box, and no bare wire should be touching another bare wire of a different color or a short will result, potentially leading to a fire hazard if the circuit is not properly fused at the circuit box.

A 220-volt circuit has two black or hot wires rather than a white neutral leg, and usually also has a red or common wire to act as a neutral leg, though not always. The plugs are different, though a conventional plug may be wired for 220 voltage, but is not typical save in custom installations. It is as simple as conventional wiring, bearing in mind the principle that there are two hot wires, each supplying 110 volts to the circuit. The 220 wiring is used only for 220 appliances and will ruin any device operating on 110 volts, and could also in the latter case become a fire hazard, which is why the plugs are usually configured differently for 220 voltage applications.

That way, you can save yourself a large electrician's bill when the plug or wall switch goes bad. But always first make sure that the power to the switch is off at the fuse box to avoid lighting yourself up. An ordinary 110-volt electrical wire will not kill you unless you are in water, but it is no fun to be shocked. The 220 wiring, such as for an electrical clothes dryer, will potentially be lethal. In any event, never work on any circuitry with the power on, and never mess with the main wires from the electrical pole into the meter at the main fuse box of the house, the province of the power company. Working on the individual circuit trippers in the fuse box requires shut off of the main trips at the top of the box, or via the main trips at the box containing the meter on the outside of the house.

Remember that no touching black and white wires or grounded hot wires, means no fires, there being little hazard of that in any event as long as the circuit trips at the fuse box have proper amperage to enable a quick trip at the first sign of undue heat on the line.

Know your wires, avoid electrical fires. In this instance, segregation is good between the coppers. The power will not operate with integrated wires, though they remain bound together operating in mutually insulated harmony to enable the system to work.

If you live in or close to a swamp, be wary also of the swamp gases percolating up from down underneath, which could trap fire and arc, welding you to the nails in the floorboards, if you are not careful. In that event, wear welder's gloves while working on the wires.