The Charlotte News

Monday, July 16, 1951

FOUR EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that negotiators at Kaesong had made progress in setting the agenda for the Korean war ceasefire talks in two 55-minute sessions this date, as all armed Communist guards had disappeared from the area around the conference site and along the route from Munsan where the U.N. delegation was staying, improving the atmosphere, according to Vice-Admiral C. Turner Joy, head of the U.N. delegation. A few armed Communist military police remained in Kaesong by agreement, though not within a half mile of the conference site. Two groups of twenty allied newsmen were also admitted to the site without obstruction. Everyone had been more friendly this date than during the first week of negotiations, until they had been broken off the prior Thursday after the correspondents had been barred from entry and General Matthew Ridgway had ordered discussions to cease until the Communists acquiesced to their presence and removal of the armed guards.

Allied officers at Eighth Army headquarters said that the Communists were prepared to launch a massive attack, consisting of up to 72 divisions, with that strength sustainable for up to a week, should ceasefire negotiations break down.

The air war continued, though it had been slowed by foul weather. The allied naval bombardment of rail and highway traffic also continued.

John Randolph reports of visiting downtown Kaesong, without interference. He and three other reporters saw children by the score, grinning but not begging or shouting to give a shoe-shine or haircut, as the children further south. The reporter for Reuters had some candy and the children grabbed it "like hungry chickens in a hen yard."

Kansas City, on both the Kansas and Missouri sides, was winning the battle against flood waters which had inundated four industrial sections of the city, but a three-day old fire at an oil storage tank facility continued to burn. The crest of the flood waters had passed down river on the Missouri, but water still stood at fifteen feet. Kansas City businesses operated on restricted hours as 300 square blocks of the downtown areas were closed to privately operated vehicles, though pedestrians and public transit were allowed to enter. Missouri's Governor and Lieutenant Governor disagreed on whether the National Guard should be mobilized to aid the city, with the Governor refusing to call out the Guard based on lack of appropriation for them by the Legislature, and the Lieutenant Governor then doing so after the Governor departed the state for Washington.

The House raised the flood relief appropriation from 15 to 25 million dollars.

The President would fly over the flooded areas the following day.

The President fired Denis Delaney as Federal tax collector for Massachusetts, following an investigation made by the Secretary of the Treasury, and the matter had been referred to the Attorney General for further action.

A showdown was nearing in the House on the issue of whether to ban any price rollbacks on farm products and to kill a ten percent rollback on beef prices already in effect.

The CIO's representative, testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, backed the Administration's proposed ten billion dollars in additional individual and corporate taxes and objected to a national sales tax proposed by several business groups. The CIO favored increasing corporate taxes by five billion rather than the 2.8 billion approved by the House.

In Tehran, Premier Mohammed Mossadegh proclaimed martial law and ordered a big roundup of Communists after rioting in Parliament Square the previous night, in which between four and sixteen persons were killed and more than 150 injured, with 200 arrested, in protests of the arrival of Averell Harriman as a mediator in the British-Iranian oil nationalization dispute. An official police statement said that one policeman and three civilians had been killed, while Government radio said that two policemen were killed, and another high Government source said fourteen civilians were also fatalities. It prompted the strongest attempt to crack down on the Communist Tudeh Party since the attempted assassination of the Shah in 1949. The party had since been outlawed but continued to flourish. Police raided Tudeh party headquarters and arrested several leaders, also suppressing left wing newspapers.

The British Foreign Office advised the U.S. not to enter any military arrangements with the regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco in Spain. Informed diplomats in London said that the U.S. appeared to be ignoring the advice. Admiral Forrest Sherman, chief of naval operations, was on his way to tour Europe, including Spain, to discuss matters of mutual military interest. France also opposed any U.S. military arrangements with Spain.

In Canon City, Colo., the warden reported that convicts had barricaded themselves in a cellhouse, then hung up the phone without providing details.

In Raleigh, bus company drivers went on strike for an additional 5 cents per hour in pay, leaving the city without bus service. They now received between $1.20 and $1.30 per hour. The union had agreed to arbitration but the company had refused.

In Dallas, Tex., a man who always gave his name to police as "Emmett Luscious Possum Rabbit Goat" was arrested again the previous day for vagrancy. Mr. Goat said, "Some of them names is nicknames."

Photos of the many prizes to be awarded during the week to lucky readers in The News-Carolina Theater Mule Derby are provided on pages 14A-17A, and 19A. Don't miss those unless you want to be a jackass.

On the editorial page—mislabeled "July 17"—, "Last Chance for GOP" finds that the Republican Party might do or die in 1952 and that the only man emerging who could be successful for them in the presidential election was General Eisenhower. Senator Taft, with a carefully constructed national organization, would likely be the nominee should they not nominate the General.

The present Republican Party in Congress was short on leadership.

The piece thinks a "vigorous man with vision and unquestioned ethics" needed to be elected and that General Eisenhower might be the man who best fit that standard.

It appeared increasingly likely that President Truman would seek re-election and if he faced the General, many Southerners would likely opt for the latter. An end to the war would strengthen the prospects for both men, General Eisenhower for it weakening the Taft-MacArthur wing of the party.

If the General were nominated, either he or a large and vocal segment of the party would have to change their views on foreign policy, and it was unlikely that the General would do so as he was a firm believer in NATO, of which he was supreme commander. Some of the "Asia-firsters" in the party, it suggests, would find that hard to swallow.

They'll be alright, for they'll have Dick to satiate their predilections.

"Politics in the Judiciary" tells of the President, in accordance with the editorial by Marquis Childs the prior week, having rejected two well-qualified candidates for judicial appointments to the Federal District Court in Illinois, both recommended by Senator Paul Douglas, and instead nominating two candidates the President favored, while selecting a third also favored by Senator Douglas. One of the two other appointees had served without distinction as a municipal judge in Chicago but was the nephew of Congressman Adolph Sabath. The other had such unimpressive credentials that the Associated Press did not list them.

Senator Douglas had fought for economy in government, especially waging a fight against the pork-packed Rivers and Harbors appropriation the previous year, placing him at odds with the President. He had also served on the Fulbright committee investigating Government favoritism in granting of loans at the RFC and had expressed the hope recently that the President would not run in 1952.

The current issue of Look Magazine had an article by Fred Rodell, a Yale University law professor, charging that the present Supreme Court was "incompetent, indolent and irresponsible", having been "degraded" by the President's "devil-may-care appointment of four justices whose work has ranged from mediocre to miserable." Those four were Justices Harold Burton, Tom Clark, and Sherman Minton, and Chief Justice Fred Vinson.

It concludes that while there were many positive things which the President had done during his six years in office, there were other things which were negative, chief among those being his Federal judicial appointments, tending to reward political supporters. It suggests that the Senate should start utilizing its power to refuse confirmation of such appointments as a check on this tendency.

"Uncle Sam's Double Standard" tells of the Home Finance & Housing Administration having given Charlotte a six-month extension on its $747,000 urban redevelopment allocation, permitting the City Council time to appoint a local redevelopment commission. The Charlotte Planning Board, adhering to Federal policy urging deferral of unnecessary projects until after the Korean war, had recommended appointment of the commission but delaying of construction until after the national emergency had passed. Yet, the HFHA appeared to be getting impatient with the City.

The piece says the newspaper supported the concept of redevelopment of slums but also favored waiting to expend funds until after the emergency passed. It favors, however, appointment of the commission to study the matter.

"How Much Gasoline Do You Waste?" tells of the 1951 Mobilgas Economy Run having suggested that the average driver wasted a lot of gas needlessly. The Run had begun in Los Angeles at 262 feet above sea level and climbed to 5,160 feet at the Summit Argus Range, then dropped to nearly 300 feet below sea level in Death Valley, ending at the rim of the Grand Canyon, 7,005 feet above sea level, covering 841 miles, with 70 miles of city driving, 345 miles over mountains, and 426 miles of level touring, averaging a little over 40 mph. The 32 participating stock cars, which were straight from dealers without modification, averaged 23.9 mpg, the best, a Studebaker Champion, getting over 31 mpg, while the worst got a little better than 17 mpg.

They had accomplished the mileage, good by 1951 standards, by maintaining steady speeds, without unnecessary stopping and starting or high-speed operation. They accelerated slowly and planned their speed for as much as a half mile in advance. In climbing hills, they shifted to lower gears rather than depressing the accelerator fully. Drivers with automatic transmissions accelerated up hills, saving fuel, counter-intuitive to ordinary economizing operation.

We had one of them, the 19 and 51 Studebaker Champions? Yessir. Along about 19 and 61, around about Christmas, we 'as up 'ere about Mt. Airy buyin' our Christmas tree for the year and our papa done put it in the Studebaker, forcin' us to crouch down on the floorboard in the front to make room durin' the thirty-mile drive home. But it 'as okay as we got to sniff the Scotch pine needles all along the way. They 'as soft, the ones we liked, not them prickly cedars and Doug firs? It 'as better than breathin' the mo-noxide poisonin' fumes that was a-fillin' up the cabin from the broke heater line which allowed the mo-noxide poisonin' fumes to come right into the cabin? Them pine needles done prob'ly filtered the air enough to save us from sure death. Anyway, we done made it home in time to watch Mayberry on the tv. It 'as a Zenith? which we done got the summer before, somewhere in 'ere. And then Christmas came a week later. We 'as drivin' the Studebaker 'cause the '52 Lincoln Capri 'as permanently on the blink, after it done throwed its rear axle back in September down about Asheboro? We w'u'dn't on that trip. Papa done called about 7:00 and said they 'uld be home a little later than expected 'cause the rear axle done throwed. "Done throwed out right on the road?" The Lincoln, it didn't get such hot gas mileage, we trow. So maybe its death was for the best. After it died, it done set out 'ere in the backyard for 'nother nearly eight years 'fore we done left 'ere. It 'as a memento of the past for our papa to remember by, the mores of Temps Perdu. It had its utility. It served as a prop for the radio durin' the Houston game back in '67, with Bill Currie? Bein' the consolation contest, it w'u'dn't televised in color or even Broadvisioned in black and white. That w'u'dn't so hot, windin' up fourth and all at the tenth anniversary, out at Freedom Hall. Actually, since it was played in the early afternoon on Saturday, rather than at night as in '67, we are probably recalling the Drake game in '69. But it's all the same as the result and score were practically identical.

Drew Pearson tells of the U.N. truce negotiators noting that the Chinese Communists were riding around in American jeeps, likely the result of the Chiang Kai-Shek Government corruption while operating on the mainland. Chiang's brother-in-law, T. L. Soong, handled most of the American supplies arriving in Nationalist China during the war. He was able, along with other wealthy Chinese, to corner the market on soybeans and make 30 million dollars while the price increased a dollar per bushel for American consumers. They had somehow known the right time to buy the world's supply, a half million bushels, in May, 1950, just a few weeks before the North Korean invasion of the South. Then 56 Chinese bought seven million bushels on the Chicago Board of Trade at $2.34 per bushel, causing the price to climb until it reached $3.45.5, at which point the group sold out.

T. L. Soong's son and a partner, son of Dr. H. H. Kung, another of Chiang's brothers-in-law, had sold a huge amount of precious tin to the Chinese Communists, resulting in Commerce Secretary Charles Sawyer barring them, along with three former partners of former Defense Secretary Louis Johnson, from obtaining export licenses to trade with any country for three years.

Mr. Soong also had been in charge of supplies sent over the Burma Road during World War II, when a series of warehouse fires and "sabotage" caused the disappearance of large amounts of war materials.

GOP national committee executive director, Ab Hermann, had given a talk to assistants of GOP Senators urging that in only two states, Missouri and Connecticut, in the 1950 elections the Republicans should have taken Senate seats which they lost. They had targeted Senators Scott Lucas in Illinois, Democratic Majority Leader, Francis Myers in Pennsylvania, Elbert Thomas in Utah and Millard Tydings in Maryland, all successfully. In 1952, they planned to retain all Republican seats in New England and the Atlantic states, and pick up new seats in Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Mr. Hermann believed that they had a fighting chance in Maryland, Kentucky, and West Virginia to pick up additional seats. But, he cautioned, they could lose four or five seats, and even if they won the presidency, might still not control the Senate.

After the 1952 elections, the Senate would be essentially evenly split, with Senator Wayne Morse classifying himself as an independent and the composition otherwise being 47 Democrats to 48 Republicans at the start of the next Congress, permitting the new Vice-President, Richard Nixon, to cast tie-breaking votes.

At least one New England Senate seat, that of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., would not be retained, lost to Congressman John F. Kennedy.

Marquis Childs tells of Senator Pat McCarran's Internal Security Committee investigating the Voice of America, calling before it an odd assortment of witnesses, most of whom were representatives of Central and Eastern European nationality groups with axes to grind. Some were former employees of VOA who had been discharged. The Committee members, after awhile, lost their patience with the witnesses for their obviously self-interested claims, such as one woman who had been a part-time script writer for VOA and claimed that her scripts were rejected because there was no Communist propaganda in them. Senator Allen Ellender of Louisiana, after perusing one of the scripts, said that he would have rejected it, too.

Eventually, only Senators Willis Smith of North Carolina and Harley Kilgore of West Virginia remained present in the hearings, and, finally, they departed in disgust. With no one left to hear the testimony, the stream of witnesses stopped.

A volunteer group of distinguished editors had reviewed the work of VOA and given it a favorable report.

While it was only a small part of the Committee's work, some Senators were becoming concerned about the Gestapo-like tactics employed by Senator McCarran, as two or three executive department employees had been subpoenaed to testify in closed session without counsel and then were grilled on their past acts and beliefs, sometimes being confronted with reformed Communists who had identified them as attending previous meetings.

Senator McCarran implied at times than anything less than all-out war against Russia would be a waste of money and should be pared down or eliminated. VOA, under this view, was a frill.

Such an approach, concludes Mr. Childs, threatened organized and responsible government and made rational foreign policy all but impossible.

Robert C. Ruark tells of his dead-end street in Greenwich Village being a beehive of activity, as much so as Rue de Lappe in Paris, King's Cross in Sydney and the French Quarter in New Orleans. In one weekend, there was a stabbing on the sidewalk, a cat had two kittens, a husband locked out his wife, a gas line broke, the Poetry Society met, and the neighbors turned in the junk man three or four times for making too much noise early in the morning and late at night. A woman's pet cat was abducted by a man who believed stewed cats tasted like rabbit. They also had assorted bums, whom he proceeds to describe. One refused to sleep in any but nice cars, preferably convertibles, and when he awakened on one occasion to realize that he had spent the night in a Ford, thinking it was a Cadillac, he said that he had been more drunk than he realized.

He concludes that the reader could see why he was so fascinated with his street. "It is noisy, and it is dirty, but it is never dull."

A letter from a battalion sergeant major of the 378th Combat Battalion in Korea thanks the people of Charlotte for sending to the battalion stationery and envelopes. Many of the men had been without stationery and were reminded that the people of the city were genuinely concerned with the welfare of the soldiers. The men wanted especially to thank Col. Paul Younts, and News general manager J. E. Dowd, executive editor Brodie Griffith, George Ivey and Mrs. A. B. Ryan of Ivey's Department Store, and A. B. Ryan for help in arranging the gift.

A letter writer agrees with a previous writer who wanted ministers of the city to investigate the system of sending prisoners to the roads when instead they needed help often with alcoholism or mental illness. She suggests that judges were selected out of political consideration rather than based on the qualifications and references to be judges of men, based on a love of God and their fellow man.

A letter writer from Gastonia, A. G. Myers, thanks the newspaper for its article of July 5 which had featured him.

A letter writer from Darlington, S.C., tells of the State buying a thousand school buses costing millions of dollars, and urges each dealer in each county not to be steam-rolled by big business and big government, as it was the "little fellow" paying the taxes.

That's right. You get them buses in 'ere a-goin' strong and you know what's gonna happen, don't ye?

Framed Edition
[Return to Links
Page by Subject] [Return to Links-Page by Date] [Return to News<i><i><i>—</i></i></i>Framed Edition]
Links-Date Links-Subj.