The Charlotte News

Monday, June 14, 1954

FOUR EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that at Geneva, the peace conference appeared near its end this date following a series of high-level diplomatic talks. Soviet Foreign Minister V. M. Molotov and British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden had met for nearly an hour, agreeing that the Indo-China portion of the conference would meet during the afternoon, with the Korean portion to meet the following day, the former being a secret session. Some of the diplomats believed that the Korean meeting would be the last of the conference, seeking to break the deadlock on free elections, considered hopeless by the Western diplomats. They expected a few more sessions, however, regarding the war in Indo-China, but the Western delegations believed that the conference in that regard had failed and also had no hope of success. Mr. Eden, speaking for the Western delegations, was understood to have told Mr. Molotov that there was no point in continuing the conference unless the Communists were ready to change from their intransigent position. Britain and the U.S. were reported hesitant to break off the talks on Indo-China until a new government in France were in place, following the no-confidence vote of the National Assembly the previous Saturday, and the subsequent resignation of Premier Joseph Laniel and his Cabinet. Thus any decision regarding the Indo-China portion of the conference would await the outcome in Paris. There was also an indication from informed sources that discussions between the French and Vietminh military high commands had reached an accommodation insofar as exchanging concrete proposals for cease-fire lines, and the result of those proposals could determine whether the conference would continue.

In Paris, Pierre Mendes-France, who wanted to negotiate with Ho Chi Minh to end the war in Indo-China, had agreed this date to try to form the 20th postwar Cabinet, but many political figures in the country doubted whether he could obtain a majority in the divided Assembly to match his policy, which called for cutting down expenditures on the war in Indo-China and slowing down France's military build-up in Europe. He had been nominated the previous night by President Rene Coty to succeed Premier Laniel. M. Mendes-France was a leader of the Assembly's Radical Socialist bloc, which was moderate, and had been credited with bringing down the Laniel Government, which had been in place only one year. He believed that France needed a healthy economy before it could make its full contribution to Western defense, and promised to support the European Defense Community treaty providing for a unified Western European army between France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries.

In Washington, Admiral Robert Carney, Naval Operations chief, indicated this date, in an interview with U.S. News & World Report, support for establishing a line beyond which the free world would not tolerate further Communist aggression. He saw the alternatives to such a line to be the possible defeat, to an extent, of the West. He made the comments in response to a question whether such a line should be drawn, finding that it would not be "warmongering or a bellicose statement or anything like that", that it was merely a statement of fact in support of what would occur if the "accretions of power" by the Communists continued, that if it did, the position of the U.S. would become so inferior that its existence, if not per se, at least as a major influence in the world, would be in grave jeopardy. He indicated that a naval blockade in Southeast Asia, especially with regard to China, could become an "important part" of the overall effort in that region of the world, but that such a blockade would just be engaged in "closing up ratholes". He also said that Russia's initial postwar emphasis on building submarines had given way to a trend toward a balance of seagoing naval forces rounded out with cruisers and destroyers, but not aircraft carriers, and that the Communists had no atomic submarines of which he was aware. He stated that there was no question about the practicality of using atomic power to drive many kinds of naval vessels.

In Bonn, West Germany, it was reported by the U.S. High Commission this date that six tons of Swiss anti-aircraft ammunition being shipped to Guatemala, had been held up in Hamburg by the West German Government at the request of the U.S. Commission. U.S. authorities around the world had been ordered to stop the flow of arms to the Central American country following the delivery in May of a ten million dollar shipment from Poland aboard a Swedish ship. Guatemala was leaning toward Communism and so the shipment had posed grave alarm to the U.S. and Latin America.

In the 33rd day of the hearings before the Senate Investigations subcommittee regarding the dispute between the Army and Senator McCarthy, subcommittee staff supervisor Warren Carr testified this date that Secretary of the Army Robert Stevens had discussed the previous October 2 the prospective use of Private G. David Schine, officially inducted at the beginning of November, as his personal observer at Army intelligence schools, reporting directly to the Secretary. He said that the Secretary had also said that Mr. Schine would not receive an officer's commission within the Army. He indicated that he and Roy Cohn, usual subcommittee chief counsel, were present at the meeting with the Secretary when he made the statements. Mr. Carr generally supported earlier statements made by both the Senator and Mr. Cohn, stating that on at least three occasions, Army officials had made combined efforts to sidetrack the investigation of the subcommittee into Communists in the Army, by making promises of special treatment for Private Schine, that Secretary Stevens had suggested that the subcommittee "take the heat off" the Army by looking into security risks within defense plants, the Air Force and the Navy, a claim which Secretary Stevens had denied, and that Army general counsel John G. Adams, after failing in his repeated attempts to get the subcommittee to drop its investigation of the Army, had claimed that he was taking "some control" over Army assignments for Private Schine. Mr. Carr cited several occasions on which, he contended, Mr. Stevens and Mr. Adams had sought to persuade Senator McCarthy to drop the investigation of alleged subversion at the secret radar facility at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey and to allow the Army to take over that inquiry. He said that on one such occasion, he and Mr. Cohn had dinner at Mr. Cohn's New York City home on October 21 and then went to a prizefight, accompanied by Mr. Adams. (The contenders and their class are not provided, and no mention is made of whether the fight might have been rigged by rackets interests and whether, if so, they may have been influenced by subversives.) Mr. Carr's testimony interrupted that of Senator McCarthy, who was resting after a strenuous speech-making trip during the weekend—probably actually because he had tied one on and was not available.

There is no transcript of this date's proceedings available online and there is no further commentary in the newspaper, as reported Saturday, regarding the heated exchange occurring after the afternoon session on Friday between Mr. Cohn and subcommittee minority counsel for the three Democrats, Robert F. Kennedy, regarding the stated desire of Mr. Cohn to ask questions of Senator Henry Jackson of the subcommittee regarding his pointed questions of Senator McCarthy anent Private Schine's activities, accompanied by a threat from Mr. Cohn, according to Mr. Kennedy, to bring forth some issue of alleged Communism in relation to Senator Jackson, which had resulted in a public statement on Saturday by subcommittee temporary chairman, Senator Karl Mundt of South Dakota, that he would not tolerate any further such acrimony, which he said had been ongoing for some period of time between Mr. Cohn and Mr. Kennedy, that he did not know the source of the dispute but that it had no place within the context of the hearings. If Senator Jackson, later, by the 1960's, considered a conservative Democrat, especially with regard to the Vietnam War, was in sympathy with Communists, then every Democrat would be subject to the charge.

This date, a test of the civil defense warning system had occurred across the U.S. and Canada, with wailing air raid sirens hearkening the beginning of the international exercise. People in the 54 participating cities sought shelter from the mock pending attack, with early reports indicating brief participation by the public of no more than ten minutes duration in most cases, and that the exercise had been successful. Occasionally, the sirens had not operated and so there was some confusion in the Pentagon as to whether the test had begun. (That is very comforting, reminding of our experience once in high school at the end of a fire drill, after the all-clear bell rang and all of the students accordingly were filing back into the school, whereupon we happened to pass the two guidance counselors talking, oblivious to the students returning, one saying suddenly to the other, "Oh, I guess we can go back in, now," about as comforting as our experience, circa 1961, when the air-raid siren up the street from where we lived, a reputed high-ranking hot spot on the map for nuclear attack for the fact of assemblage in a nearby plant of the guidance systems for the missiles, suddenly began ringing its ear-piercing scream during "The Naked City", whereupon all of the adults exited their homes and began looking up to the night sky in dead, dread silence, and about as comforting as the same skyward watch by many street bystanders at the point immediately following the San Francisco earthquake downtown in 1989, where we happened to be at the moment.) The President had led the effort toward obtaining shelter, with the entire White House staff accompanying him to basement refuge areas. While the public's role was limited to seeking shelter, the exercise continued for hours and would continue for days following, among the thousands of civil defense workers, who assumed that millions had perished in an atomic attack, while hundreds of thousands were injured and in need of help. It was assumed in the exercise that New York City had suffered three atomic bombs, one having hit the heart of midtown Manhattan, one hitting downtown Brooklyn and the third in the Bronx. Each was supposed to have been eight times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The presumed death toll in New York was 2.175 million. The exercise had begun with a "Yellow", "Lemon Juice", signal giving civil defense personnel 30 minutes notice of impending disaster, followed by the "Red", "Apple Jack", alert, signaling the need for cover 30 minutes later, followed by the "White", "Snowman", all-clear signal ten minutes after that, after which there was little accomplished in New York—as everyone was dead. (Apparently, by 1963, assuming complete authencity in the film, they had added a "B", between "Y" and "R", presumably for "Blue", perhaps in keeping with the nicknamed alerts, "Blueberry", meaning thrills aplenty in store any minute upon the Hill, run away.) Radio and television stations continued normal broadcasting but reminded listeners that a drill was in progress. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange had temporarily halted and vehicular traffic also stopped—all sounding a bit like that 1951 movie, starring Gort. Perhaps this was the reason Senator McCarthy did not show up at the hearings, that no one had bothered to inform him that it was not the real deal.

In Guatemala, a three-week old strike by 3,000 Communist-led banana workers had come to an end this date after the signing of a Government-negotiated wage contract between representatives of the workers and the United Fruit Co.

In Phoenix, Ariz., the man identified from a five-man lineup—presumably who had no counsel at that time, despite his request for same—, by the kidnap victim who had been released after 29 hours upon payment of a $75,000 ransom, remained charged, after having stumbled into a farmhouse about five miles from the ransom drop site, shirtless and disoriented from a lack of water, claiming he had been gold prospecting in the Superstition Mountains, a former gold prospecting area. Officers continued to search for the missing ransom money, the man, at the time of his arrest, having only a few cents in his pocket. Police believed that he had secreted the marked ransom money somewhere in the mountains. They were leaving no stone unturned in their search. Don't pick up the wrong stone or you are liable to be grabbed by a gila monster, and they don't let go. Police said they were also hunting for a rifle, pistol and a pair of binoculars which the kidnap victim said that the man who kidnaped her had used. (Look in the Lost Dutchman mine, a good hidey-hole—in which, no doubt, you will also find all of those lost votes, 66.66 million, and that's a fact.) The victim also said that she had overheard a second man after being locked in the trunk of her own car, and the second man had discussed with the man whom she identified the possibility of killing her, but that when she arrived at the hideout in the mountains, there was only one masked man there with her, the man whom she had selected from the live lineup. (Were the other four wearing masks? Otherwise, it would have to be challenged for not being properly representative of the conditions under which she saw her kidnaper, if not unduly suggestive.) The defendant's present defense attorney, who was a former Maricopa County prosecutor, sharply criticized the methods utilized by the police, saying that the live lineup identification had practically been "no identification at all". He said that the first description given by the victim to the officers had described the kidnaper as having bright green eyes and curly hair, whereas the arrested man was nearly bald and had brown eyes. He said that they had an answer for everything and would provide it at the proper time and place. Just like one of them tricky criminal attorneys, ain't it? You know he done it or the police wouldn't never had arrested him on it. It was all on the "Dragnet" or one of them shows.

In Asheville, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals this date affirmed a decision of the Federal District Court regarding the sentencing of Keith Beaty of Charlotte to two years in prison plus fines, following his conviction for three counts of tax evasion.

In Calypso, N.C., a town of which we have never heard, a young man and woman had held up the town branch of the Bank of Mount Olive this date, getting away with less than $5,000, the man of the couple having walked into the bank at around noon and drawn a gun on the manager, saying, "Give me the money," to which the manager replied that they should come around and get it, as the door was open, at which point the man went to the teller's cage and asked her to put the money in the bag, which she did, the couple then fleeing to the north in a 1950 black Plymouth sedan, reported stolen from Mount Olive, about three miles to the north. Both had worn dark glasses. They had asked the bank manager whether there was any money in the safe, and she had told them that it was locked. Given that they were wearing sunglasses and fleeing north, it was probably a couple of Yankees, or cattle rustlers.

In Asheville, a Highway Patrolman began filling out a citation for drunk driving, by indicating that the make of vehicle was a horse, the type of vehicle was a plow, and the model was three years old, finally concluding to charge the driver with public drunkenness, rather than drunk driving, and the defendant pleaded guilty and paid court costs.

On the editorial page, "Is Voluntary Segregation a Possibility?" indicates that two South Carolina newspapers, in "thoughtful editorials" regarding Brown v. Board of Education, decided four weeks earlier, had suggested "voluntary segregation" as the best solution for the South's "school problems".