The Charlotte News
Tuesday, October 6, 1953
FOUR EDITORIALS
Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that in Panmunjom, the senior Indian officer in Korea, whose troops were assigned to guard the prisoners of war from both sides who were resisting repatriation to their homelands, said this date that the Indian troops would not attempt to halt a mass breakout of the Communist prisoners because of the "terrible slaughter" which would inevitably follow. He also said that he was not concerned with South Korean threats against them because they had the U.N. Command and Communist forces at their disposal to protect them. He said that the U.N. Command had been responsible for preventing South Korean troops from entering the demilitarized zone to attack the Indian forces. The previous week, two incidents had occurred involving the Communist prisoners resisting repatriation, in which three had been killed and ten others wounded in shootings by the Indian guards to prevent their attempted escape by scaling barbed wire fences.
Meanwhile, in Seoul, thousands of South Koreans jammed the streets to demonstrate against the Indian guards, wanting them out of their country. There were also renewed threats by South Korean leaders to drive them out, denouncing them as pro-Communist.
In Atlantic City, the President, addressing the sixth national assembly of the United Church Women of the National Council of Churches of Christ, said this date that peace could be won "slowly and tortuously", but only if the Western powers built, maintained and paid for the military might which would secure them from a hydrogen bomb attack. He said: "This titanic force must be reduced to the fruitful service of mankind. If it is within the power of your leaders, and with God's help, it will be done."
Secretary of State Dulles said this date at a press conference that the U.S. was discussing with Britain, France and West Germany the possibility of giving Russia assurances against revival of German aggression. He also said that the U.S. would be glad to give Russia assurances that it would not use Korea or Austria for aggressive purposes. He said that recent developments had not been encouraging that Russia would be willing to cooperate with the rest of the world, citing the Russia refusal of the Western powers' invitation for an October 15 meeting regarding Germany and Austria, as well as Communist China's refusal to reply to U.S. proposals for setting up the Korean political conference. He said that there were no new developments regarding a prospect of a Big Four meeting of the heads of state.
Ed Creagh of the Associated Press reports that Chief Justice Earl Warren, who had assumed his place on the Supreme Court the previous day, was a new type of Chief, having taken on his new role "as nonchalantly as if he were dictating a routine memo in the California Governor's office", which he had vacated 12 hours earlier. He had presided over the first session of the Court with an air of "warmth and geniality" not matched by any of his predecessors during the previous two decades. Mr. Creagh observes that the late Chief Justice Fred Vinson had been "cordial and companionable" in private life, but had a manner of "unsmiling earnestness" when he took the bench. He observes also that the predecessor to Chief Justice Vinson, Harlan Fiske Stone, had a judicial personality to match his last name. His predecessor, Charles Evans Hughes, had such a stern demeanor that one veteran Court attendee had said, "You felt like pleading guilty to disorderly conduct if he so much as glanced at you." The new Chief had been in politics for more than 30 years, but had never been a judge. His break from the stern tradition was noted by judges, lawyers and newsmen who were present at his swearing-in ceremony. He had previously indicated that as a young lawyer 35 years earlier, he had been "scared to death" when he had to make an appearance in court, but showed no signs of nervousness or self-consciousness the previous day. Observers noted that instead of mumbling the bare legal formula, as some of his predecessors had done, he called by name each of the 49 attorneys who were present to seek admission to practice before the Court, pronouncing each name correctly and distinctly.
Attorney General Herbert Brownell announced this date a round-up of six additional officials of the Communist Party, arrested by FBI agents in Cleveland, Lorain and Steubenville, O., and in Newark, N.J. The announcement said also that a detainer had been placed against another party functionary who was presently serving time in the Ohio State Penitentiary at Columbus, for fictitious car registration. All were charged under the Smith Act for conspiring to advocate the violent overthrow of the Government. To the present, 98 officials of the Communist Party had been arrested or detained, beginning with the arrest of the 11 top leaders of the party in 1948, resulting in convictions and prison sentences pursuant to the Smith Act. The story provides the names of those arrested.
Britain dispatched a cruiser from Scotland to the West Indies this date, the British Admiralty describing the cruiser's departure as a "normal station", while London newspapers lambasted the Government's official secrecy regarding previously reported movements of troops in naval vessels toward the leftist-threatened South American colony of British Guiana. The British Cabinet had met to consider the situation in the colony, where colonial authorities had reportedly been considering firing or arresting some left-wing ministers in the local government. The Daily Telegraph, one of the staunchest supporters of Prime Minister Churchill's Conservative Government, asserted that the "official attempts" had not concealed "the facts … that British warships carrying troops are steaming at top speed for Georgetown, capital of British Guiana, in an attempt to forestall a threatened Communist-directed insurrection in that colony." The Admiralty had refused to confirm or deny reports that the cruiser, with 400 troops aboard, and another frigate, were due at Georgetown the following day from Kingston, Jamaica.
In New York, striking longshoremen had returned to work this date, complying with a court order issued pursuant to the Administration's request under Taft-Hartley, to be in effect for 80 days during which efforts would be made to settle the wage dispute which had prompted the strike by the International Longshoremen's Association in East Coast ports, begun the previous Wednesday. The strike reportedly had cost New York Harbor 7.5 million dollars in revenue during the five days of the strike. Even as the strike was ended temporarily by the truce, ILA officials said that their members might refuse to work alongside longshoremen who had quit the ILA to join the rival organization, the ILA-AFL, after the ILA had been thrown out of the AFL for failure to rid its leadership of Communists. Given the hostility, extraordinary police precautions were being taken on the waterfront, "where," says the story, "supremacy is often determined by brawn and brutality." Assistant Attorney General Warren E. Burger—to be appointed by President Nixon to succeed Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1969 at the latter's retirement, originally announced in June, 1968, the original appointment by President Johnson, elevating Justice Abe Fortas to become Chief, having been blocked by a filibuster led by Senator Strom Thurmond—had immediately flown to New York with a petition ready for the Federal judge to institute a 10-day temporary restraining order, after the three-man fact-finding board appointed by the President had reported the previous day that the strike was unlikely to resolve without the 80-day cooling-off period. The matter was set for a hearing the following Tuesday on whether the order would be extended for the full period of time.
In Kansas City, a spokesman for the wealthy parents of the six-year old boy who had been kidnaped a week earlier from his Catholic school by a woman who claimed to be his aunt and had come to pick him up to take him to the hospital on the bogus excuse that his mother had suddenly been stricken, said that there still was no contact with the kidnappers or any go-between. The spokesman was emotional and indicated that the door was open to have the boy returned. Brother to the President, Arthur Eisenhower, had visited the family home the previous night for 15 minutes, but provided no information to the press as he left. The previous week, the president of the Commerce Trust Co. had visited the home, saying that he had made arrangements to obtain money day or night to meet any ransom demand, which had not been forthcoming. The boy's father, a wealthy Cadillac dealer and distributor, said that he would give anything to get his son back, but the family had denied published reports that a $500,000 ransom had been demanded. The family had asked police not to intervene in the matter, and they were staying away.
In Anderson, S.C., it was reported that the North Carolina and South Carolina Highway Patrols had placed roadblocks to stop a black truck moving northward and containing a child said to resemble the kidnaped boy from Kansas City, based on a complaint communicated by a woman to the Anderson Independent city editor that she had seen a black Chevrolet truck bearing Kansas license plates headed from the vicinity of Toccoa, Ga., into South Carolina, saying that she had seen a red-haired woman and a small child beside the driver of the truck, and that the child's face appeared familiar, eventually tying it to the front page picture of the missing boy. A South Carolina Highway Patrolman had spotted the truck, loaded with linoleum, passing through Anderson, but was on foot and unable to determine a description of its occupants.
Dick Young of The News tells of Charlotte Mayor Philip Van Every having disclosed that official efforts had been underway for several weeks to effect structural changes in the City jail to prevent potential suicides of inmates, following four deaths in recent months. He had appointed a committee on September 18 to study possible changes in jail construction, the committee having proposed two methods of enclosing the top of the cells to prevent any possible hangings, both having been ruled out, however, by the inspector of correctional institutions for the State Board of Public Welfare. The first suggested method had been to cover the top of the cells with a perforated heavy metal sheet, and the second, to effect cover with a closely-meshed heavy screen. In the meantime, the number of jailers had been doubled. The committee hoped to have further recommendations soon.
In Douglas, on the Isle of Man, a
newly named appellate judge was sworn in to administer the laws of
the Isle "as indifferently as the herring backbone doth lie in
the middle of the fish", the oath having its origins lost to
history, but being the same Manx pledge each of the island's judges
had taken for centuries. Perhaps, to soften the forthcoming blow
momentarily, when providing an especially tough sentence to a
criminal offender, the judges would first ask politely, "Shall I
bone your kipper
On the editorial page, "It's
Time for 'Operation Candor'" indicates that Representative W.
Sterling Cole
Defense Mobilizer Arthur Fleming had been more specific in a quarterly report produced for the President, saying that the Soviets were capable of delivering "suddenly and without warning, the most destructive weapon ever devised by man on chosen targets in the United States." It had been the most definite statement made by any Administration official on the Russian hydrogen bomb test. Meanwhile, Senators Stuart Symington of Missouri, who had opposed the five billion dollar decrease in Air Force spending, provided a speech to the ninth annual B'nai B'rith Council in New York, charging the Administration with becoming "budget-minded and not survival-minded", calling for increased defense spending to produce "instant and devastating atomic retaliation".
The President was said to be planning "Operation Candor", a series of nationwide broadcast speeches by top Administration officials providing the facts to the American people regarding the need for increased defense spending to meet the Soviet threat. It hopes that the plan would come to fruition, as it was time for straight talk to the people.
"The Growth of a New Industry" indicates that Noel Yancey's Associated Press roundup of industrialization in North Carolina had given some interesting facts and figures on the growth of the electronics industry in the state, that during prior decade, the industry had risen from relative unimportance to employing presently some 11,000 persons, with planned expansions underway to add another 9,000 workers. Western Electric had established plants in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Burlington. Westinghouse had established a plant in Raleigh, with other electronics company plants located at Fuquay-Farina, Sanford, Asheville, Boone, High Point, Asheboro and West Jefferson.
Given the dependence of the state on textile and tobacco industries, such diversification was important. The state had been 14th in the nation in total value added to products by manufacturing in 1951, with two billion dollars worth, of which the textile industry accounted for 864 million and the tobacco industry, 340 million. Textiles, tobacco, furniture and lumber industries had served the state well and would continue to do so, but the trend toward diversification during the previous decade, it suggests, ought be encouraged by the Department of Conservation & Development with every resource at its command, as such diversification enabled spread of industrial development to all geographic regions of the state, encouraging sound economic progress.
"Iran May Be on Road to Responsibility" comments that it was not expected that stability and democracy would result in a place like Iran, where a mix of extreme nationalism, colonialism, communism and intrigue had created a highly explosive situation, but that developments since the restoration of the Shah to the throne after a six-day exile and the elevation, in the meantime, to Premier of General Zahedi, in the wake of the coup toppling Premier Mohammed Mossadegh, who had been wedded to the nationalists, had given room for reasonable expectations of a responsible government which would honor international commitments and care for the welfare of its citizens. It indicates that it was still too soon to be certain of the fact but that there were encouraging signs in that direction, one of which having been the absence of bloody reprisals against the supporters of the former Premier, who, along with his collaborators, were assured a trial. In addition, Communist cells were being eliminated, and the new Premier was resuming negotiations with foreign countries in a spirit of reason and good will. There was also agrarian reform taking place which was key to progress economically of the peasant population, the Shah having started land redistribution with his own property, indicating his intent to continue. Premier Zahedi had told U.S. News & World Report that the land reform program would be extended by the Government to include Government-owned lands and that eventually, there would be compulsory distribution by private landlords. It finds such words and actions to augur well for peace and stability in the country.
"On the Job" indicates that a friend, who had been traveling to the Wake Forest versus Villanova football game in Winston-Salem the prior Saturday, had reported seeing four cars being ticketed for speeding by the State Highway Patrol and spotting more patrol cars on the move. The friend, who was a constant speeder, suddenly found himself staying within the speed limits during the trip, throwing him 15 to 20 minutes behind his estimated time of arrival, but admitting that he had some satisfaction and pride in seeing a job, which had been long wanting, finally getting done.
Wake Forest won the game, incidentally, 18 to 12, one of only three wins and a tie for the Demon Deacons that year, against six losses, albeit inclusive of an impressive season closer against A.P. number 15 South Carolina, winning 19 to 13, but also including a loss to hapless 4-6 North Carolina, 18 to 13.
A piece from the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, titled "One for the Birds", indicates
that hillbilly music was apparently at an all-time high in its
popularity in the U.S., a fact which ought cause some soul-searching.
Teenagers were especially infatuated with the music, which rendered
such "lachrymose ballads as 'Dear John'
It finds it gratifying that in Richmond, there was a smaller following of such music than in other cities, with a corresponding preference for a music of a higher type. It refuses to believe that the average Virginian above the age of a teenager would find any solace from such noises which emcees described "in their bogus ruralese as 'a-singin and a-pickin'."
Drew Pearson tells of the drought hitting farmers in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas badly during the prior four months, with no rain since May 17, the situation being similar to that in Texas and the Southwest generally, except that it had rained briefly in Texas during the interim, though drought conditions once again were prevailing. The Department of Agriculture had moved slowly to provide drought relief to Missouri farmers, though doing somewhat better in Texas. At present, only 99 Missouri farmers had received a total of $172,700 in relief, an average of $1,740 each. In Texas, 328 farmers had received an average of about $13,000 each. An additional 153 Missouri farmers were still attempting to obtain drought loans, seeking a total of $220,100, while the remaining 101 Texas farmers seeking loans were applying for 1.3 million.
The President's press relations were going well, through the filter of press secretary James Hagerty, who had obtained prior experience in the same role with Governor Dewey. Mr. Hagerty had sought to wean the President from his original suspicion of newspapermen, a suspicion he had once expressed privately at his Commodore Hotel campaign headquarters, saying that every time he walked down the corridor past the press, he felt that they had their feet out trying to trip him. But the previous week, at the President's press conference, his self-control had suddenly gone away, with some newsmen comparing it with President Herbert Hoover's uneasy relations with the press. The press conference had occurred after the longest lapse of time between conferences in 21 years, having lasted two months and ten days, going back to the term of President Hoover. There was an atmosphere present of skepticism, resulting in a roar of laughter when the President dismissed any idea of proposing a retail sales tax, as most of the newspapermen knew that the Treasury Department had been working on that idea. Mr. Pearson finds it, therefore, no wonder that the President had bristled visibly, with his background suddenly suggesting the demeanor, as expressed by the pro-Eisenhower Scripps-Howard newspapers, of the "military man, alternately curt and lofty, full of phrases that seem to say 'don't try that stuff on me, buster'."
The Congressional Quarterly reports that groups contributing to the finances of the 1952 election campaigns had reported 23 million dollars thus far, making it apparently the most costly in U.S. history. Republican groups and candidates had reported spending 13.8 million, while Democratic groups and candidates had spent 6.2 million, with the remaining three million spent by labor groups, minor parties and unaffiliated political groups. Only Congressional candidates and political groups spending in two or more states on Congressional or presidential campaigns were required to make reports under Federal law. The bulk of the spending, 17.8 million, had gone primarily to the presidential contest, and 5.2 million, to the Congressional campaigns, though the purpose of the spending was not stated clearly in the reports. The spending on the presidential campaign had been 9.7 million by Republicans, spent by 42 groups, and a bit over five million by the Democrats, spent by 22 groups. Labor had contributed a little over two million, spent by 35 groups, and minor party and miscellaneous groups had spent a little over one million, spread over 34 groups. The 66 Senatorial candidates and 870 House candidates of both parties, plus the Congressional campaign committees working on their behalf, had spent 5.2 million, a little over four million of which was by the Republicans.
It goes on to provide other statistics on the spending, citing particular races and groups. It points out that among famous families contributing to the 1952 campaign had been the Rockefellers, duPonts, and Mellons, spending $94,000, $74,175, and $36,500, respectively, with the Pew family of Pennsylvania spending $65,100, and the Frick family of New York in Pennsylvania, $22,000, all provided to Republican organizations. It provides other substantial contributions to the Republicans as well.
The large donors to Democratic groups had included the Wade Thompson family of Nashville, contributing $22,000, the Kennedy family of Palm Beach, at $20,000, Albert Greenfield of Philadelphia, at $16,000, Matthew McCloskey of Pennsylvania, at $10,000, and the Marshall Field family of New York, contributing $10,000. Adlai Stevenson, the 1952 Democratic nominee, had contributed $5,000 to the National Volunteers for Stevenson. It lists a few other substantial donors to the Democrats, as well.
It concludes that the actual contributions of some individuals and families had possibly been higher than those listed, because family relationships were not always apparent in the reports, and individuals were variously listed as to name and place of residence. The survey by the Quarterly had found reports of hundreds of contributions exceeding $1,000. Wealthy families could get around existing campaign finance limitations by contributing as individuals.
Charles F. Barrett indicates that two studies, one by the Administration and another by a House Ways & Means subcommittee, were being conducted of the inequities in the Social Security program. Under the present system, a special tax was levied on payrolls to pay for Social Security benefits, the money going to a special trust fund, from which benefits were paid. Some members of Congress had proposed to wipe out variations in the benefits based on the year in which a person reached 65, the number of months worked under the program, average salaries, and so forth. The Republican Party platform in 1952 had called for a study of a "universal pension", with uniform pension payments to everyone.
Another proposal, reportedly favored by the Administration, was to work within the framework of the present system on those points, but modify any rules which caused undue hardships or inequities.
He provides some of the present rules and variations in treatment which those rules had produced.
Joseph Alsop, in Hong Kong, indicates that the most critical and most discussed, but least understood, political relationship in the present world was that between the Soviet Union and Communist China, that in Hong Kong, one could find some clues as to the general nature of the relationship. Two experiences were necessary to keep in mind, one being the U.S. wartime experience with the Chinese Nationalist Government, whereby U.S. aid, which the Nationalists needed badly, had been the primary plum on which Nationalist Government officials rose in prestige and power, and conversely, the decline of those who could not obtain it. Now, the Communist Chinese Government officials similarly used Russian aid as a means for advancement. There were those within the Government who were extremely pro-Soviet, while some of the heroes of the Chinese civil war, who had no close ties to the Soviets, were tending to degenerate into figureheads. Russia aided China's industrial development and military buildup in a vital way, and so the ability to obtain that aid acted as a means for advancement, and, reciprocally, the Russians used the fact to promote the officials in China whom they regarded as most loyal.
Mr. Alsop indicates that it did not mean that Premier Georgi Malenkov was seeking to unseat Mao Tse-tung in China by promoting people personally opposed to Mao, as there was no indication that Mao's primacy in China and Asia had ever been challenged. But it meant that the Chinese Government as a whole was gradually becoming increasingly attached and obedient to the Soviet leadership.
The second primary experience to bear in mind, he indicates, in assessing the relationship between Communist China and Russia, was the Yugoslav rebellion under Marshal Tito. When that had initially occurred, most of the Yugoslav leadership had been made to suffer by Moscow. Stalin had applied the lessons of that rebellion to the Chinese, and his heirs to leadership were being far more astute and cautious than had been Stalin. For those reasons, the hope of any split between the Soviets and Communist China were "plain silly at this time."
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