The Charlotte News

Saturday, September 29, 1951

THREE EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that the Communists, through Communist Chinese radio, had asserted that the U.S. had wrecked the Kaesong ceasefire talks and was preparing amphibious landings on both coasts of North Korea. The broadcasts still did not mention General Matthew Ridgway's proposal on Thursday to move the talks from Kaesong to another location six miles to the southeast. It claimed that the Americans had trained five more divisions in Japan, intended to drive the Communist forces to the Yalu River and bomb Communist bases in northeast China.

Allied warplanes conducted pre-dawn attacks on an estimated 1,000 enemy vehicles. A cold, steady rain during the day prevented air action and nearly all ground action. By noon, the clouds were so low that it looked like dusk.

On Friday, the U.N. troops had recaptured a strategic hill southeast of Kumsong, following a heavy two-day battle in which more than 700 enemy soldiers were killed. The allies had been driven from the hill early Friday morning but then counterattacked and recaptured it 12 hours later. Allied aircraft had flown 907 sorties on Friday.

The Defense Department announced that 55,900 draftees would be called up in November and December and that expansion of the Marine Corps call-up beyond its present two divisions was underway.

In London and in Tehran, it was reported that the British would take the Iranian oil nationalization dispute before the U.N. Security Council the following week. Iran's Premier Mohammed Mossadegh would argue the case for Iran, and Sir Gladwyn Jebb, the lead British negotiator during earlier talks mediated by Averell Harriman, for the British. The immediate issue was whether Iran would carry out its plan to evict the 300 British technicians at the Abadan refinery. The British wanted Iran to adhere to the recommendation of the International Court of Justice at The Hague that neither side in the dispute take an irrevocable action pending a final decision on the merits of the case. Iran had boycotted the court case.

In Buenos Aires, El Presidente Juan Peron of Argentina announced the resignation of his naval minister, less than 24 hours after he announced that an attempted revolt by two generals had been put down and an assassination attempt against him and his wife, thwarted. A new law by the Congress enabled him to execute any armed forces officers accused by his administration of starting a civil war.

The Senate the previous night completed action on its version of the tax measure, with the final vote being 57 to 19. It would raise approximately 1.75 billion dollars less in revenue than the House measure. Confreres would begin trying to reconcile the two bills the following week.

DNC chairman William Boyle agreed to provide the Senate Investigating subcommittee full access to his income tax returns. A reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who had testified the previous day, had stated that two very reliable sources had provided him the information on which he based the published accusation that Mr. Boyle had accepted $8,000 from the St. Louis printing firm which had received an RFC loan, rather than the $1,250 which Mr. Boyle claimed was the limit of his receipt of fees, the entirety of which had been a legal retainer for his representation of the firm, having nothing to do with the RFC loan. The reporter continued to refuse to identify the two sources, but would do his best to induce both to come before the subcommittee. He suggested that the subcommittee scrutinize the printing firm's records to determine whether they had been altered. The subcommittee also indicated that it had subpoenaed Mr. Boyle's bank account records.

Another Gallup poll appears, presenting results of how respondents viewed the ability of the major political parties to handle pressing national problems. The sample gave a slight advantage to the Republicans as having the best ideas for handling high prices, but to the Democrats as being able to do the best job of keeping the country prosperous and as better to have in power in the event of a downturn in the economy. The majority of farmers believed the Democrats served their interests better than the Republicans. Even the 30 percent of farmers who identified as Republicans believed the Democrats served their interests better. Respondents saw neither party as being more or less likely to involve the country in a world war. The sample, by a 2 to 1 margin, said that the Democrats were doing a better job of getting their ideas to the voters. Even among Republicans, the belief was that Democrats were outsmarting the Republican leadership. Forty-eight percent of those polled said that they did not know what the Republicans stood for, and 44 percent answered the same regarding Democrats. Among those who could provide an answer, the largest response for the Democrats was that they stood for the common man while the largest response for the Republicans was that they stood for the rich and privileged.

In a partially truncated story, the town of Frederick, Md., finally made its last payment of $20,000 against a $200,000 ransom paid by five local banks to the Confederates under the command of General Jubal Early 87 years earlier to keep the Rebels from burning the town. The banks had been reimbursed and the town had taken over the obligation. On three prior occasions, Maryland Congressmen had attempted to get the Federal Government to assume the debt as the payment of the ransom had protected Union Army stores at the time, but had failed.

On the editorial page, "For Better Health…" finds that the UNC Division of Health Affairs, the new medical sciences center at the University discussed on the front page the previous day, was a departure from the traditional medical school, as it integrated five health disciplines, medicine, pharmacy, public health, dentistry, and nursing, allowing each field to intercommunicate with the others. It finds that it provided potential for health care service to the state which was only a dream at present.