The Charlotte News
Wednesday, December 23, 1953
THREE EDITORIALS
Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that in Panmunjom, the time had run out this date for non-repatriating prisoners of war to change their minds, including 22 such American prisoners. An Indian spokesman for the Indian Command guarding the prisoners said that as of midnight, there had been no new requests for repatriation. The U.N. Command had ended its efforts the previous day to woo any of the Americans, the lone Briton or the 327 South Koreans to return home, after having done so with special broadcasts of Christmas music and a lengthy letter to the prisoners. The broadcasts had been greeted by wild demonstrations, as the prisoners danced, sang, shouted and cheered in unison, led by an American sergeant from Rhode Island. The piece identifies other Americans observed in the demonstrations. The Americans, the Briton and 77 of the South Koreans had not been interviewed individually, and the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission approved a request from the Americans and the Briton to meet allied and Communist news correspondents inside their compound the following day. The Commission refused a request by the Communists to extend the interviews beyond this date.
In Versailles, Louis Jacquinot, French overseas minister, withdrew this date as a candidate for the French presidency and his place on the 12th ballot was to be taken by Rene Coty, an independent Republican. M. Jacquinot had been put up by Rightists after Premier Joseph Laniel had withdrawn from the race the previous night, having led the earlier ballots but never achieving the requisite majority of votes in the National Assembly. The Assembly had been meeting since the previous Thursday in an attempt to elect a successor to President Vincent Auriol, whose seven-year term would expire in January. On the 11th ballot, no one had achieved the necessary 441-vote majority. A 12th ballot was scheduled for the afternoon.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this date that the cost of living had declined in November, reversing a steady trend upward for the previous eight months. The decline was by three-tenths of a percent, to 115 percent of the 1947-49 base period average, six-tenths of a percent higher than the same month a year earlier and 13 percent above the index registered at the start of the Korean War, in June, 1950. It was the first drop since February, indicating some stabilization of the economy. A sharp 1.4 percent decrease in food prices was primarily responsible for the drop in the index. The decline prevented 1.1 million railroad employees from obtaining a one-cent per hour pay increase they were scheduled to receive had the 115.4 October figure remained. No seven-cent candy bars in their children's stockings this year.
In Marinette, Wis., five children died early this date when the family home burned to the ground while the children were sleeping on the second floor. The father had left the home to call the fire department and when he returned, the flames had spread too rapidly for him to re-enter to save the children. He had sought to climb to the roof and enter a window, but heavy smoke and flames had forced him back, according to a witnessing neighbor. The father and his wife were hospitalized with first and second degree burns to their faces and hands.
In Richmond, Indiana, the police had overpowered the remaining two of the 13 convicts who had escaped from the Southern Michigan Prison the previous Saturday, cornering them in a hotel room early this date. Police had identified their stolen escape vehicle the previous night outside the hotel. One of the men had been described as a psychopathic killer, convicted of murder of a barkeep and sentenced to life in prison. The other man, convicted of burglary, had pulled out a .32-caliber revolver when confronted by the police, but one of the officers overpowered him, as three other officers grabbed the convicted murderer. Both, no doubt, would have been toast had Sgt. Joe Friday been among the capturing officers. That trigger-happy chain-smoker needs a rest…
At Fort Meade, Md., FBI agents were seeking to solve the second bank robbery on the Army post within 10 months, seeking a heavily bearded gunman who had ordered three female tellers to enter the vault while he escaped with more than $39,000. He had been dressed in Army clothes and posed as a customer. The previous March 19, a man had threatened two of the same bank employees and a male employee with a jar of sulphuric acid, taking about $20,000.
In Charlotte, an 80-year old man from Waxhaw became the 15th traffic fatality of the year after dying from injuries received in a collision of a truck and car the previous afternoon, dying of head injuries as a passenger of the 1949 Ford which had struck a pickup truck, with some dispute developing over whether the Ford had stopped for a stop sign. Two others, the driver of the Ford and another passenger, were also injured.
Also in Charlotte, former Associated Press reporter John McKnight, presently an overseas information expert for the U.S. Information Agency in Rome, came home to visit his brother, News editor Pete McKnight, being only the fourth Christmas he had spent in the U.S. in the previous 22 years, and only the second with his family. He had arrived home from Rome, where he also worked as an attache for the U.S. Embassy. He also had a brief reunion with Bill McKnight, professor at UNC, who had driven him from Chapel Hill to Charlotte. The three arranged to attend a family gathering in Greensboro on Christmas. John McKnight said that he would serve another year, starting in February, with the USIA and then hoped to settle down in Chapel Hill, where he wanted to write more books, in follow-up to The Papacy: A New Appraisal. He said that the work of the USIA was important in the battle for men's minds. At the Embassy, he arranged press conferences, briefed visitors and wrote speeches for Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce, whom he found "charming and brilliant", quoting a reporter as saying that she had two strikes against her but was still at bat. The three McKnight brothers are pictured.
Arctic air spreading across the snow-covered Midwest had moved eastward this date to western parts of the Atlantic coastal states and southward into Texas and the West Gulf area. In Duluth, Minn., a low morning reading was eight degrees below zero and in Minneapolis, it was two, and close to zero in Chicago. Snow continued to fall over most of the Great Lakes and part of northern New England, with eight inches recorded in Kansas City and about four inches in the Chicago area.
In East Hartford, Conn., a man reported having received a letter from his aunt the previous day, which had said that in Fairbanks, Alaska, they were having a mild winter, that it had been only 29 below zero the day before she had written the letter.
In Harrisburg, Pa., the cost of obtaining a marriage license would rise at the beginning of the year from $3 to $3.50.
In Louisville, Ky., a 300-pound
woman was playing the role of the wife of Santa Claus because she got
the blues
In Carlsbad, N.M., the fire chief sought to rescue a two-month old puppy from the bottom of a dry water well, after ideas anent the retrieval had come from dozens of people through the newspapers and radio publicity attendant the rescue effort. A five-year old girl had, nine days earlier, pushed two puppies into a narrow, 38-foot deep hole in her backyard. Her two cousins had rescued one of the puppies by lowering a burlap sack, into which the puppy had walked, but the other puppy would not comply. The cousins had kept the puppy alive by lowering bowls of milk and cereal, and the previous day a couple of Boy Scouts had sought unsuccessfully to drop a rope loop over the puppy and haul it to safety. One of the plans suggested by readers of New Mexico newspapers and wire service reports had come from a woman who suggested sending the rescued puppy down in a basket, hoping to lure the trapped puppy into the basket. A fisherman volunteered that they should drop a piece of net the size of the bottom of the hole, with ropes tied to the four corners and a piece of meat in the center, and they could then jerk the puppy out "like a catfish" as he sought the piece of meat. Someone else volunteered that they should slowly fill the well with corks to a depth of two or three feet, so that the puppy could crawl on top of the corks, then fill the well with water so he would float to the top. Another wanted to lower a little boy in a stout pair of coveralls on a rope into the 10-inch aperture and let him bring the puppy back to the surface. An elderly woman had suggested building a lattice-work ladder and letting the puppy climb out. A man had said that they should just kick the hole in on top of the trapped puppy.
In Columbia, S.C., a 250-pound
manhole cover valued at $19 had been stolen the prior Monday from a
construction shack. The short piece wonders what anyone wanted with a
manhole cover. Well, it might prove useful as a covert amid the copse, out from which
to peek to see if the coast was clear
On the editorial page, "The 22 Who Have Gone Astray" indicates that the present day was likely the last for the 22 U.S. soldiers who were resisting repatriation from their Communist captors to change their minds and return home. The explanation sessions were expiring this date and any official attempt to get them to change their minds would expire along with it. The non-repatriating soldiers would be listed as AWOL for 30 days, and thereafter designated as traitors.
It observes that most of the prisoners held by the Communists had chosen freedom, and most of the prisoners of the U.N. had chosen not to repatriate but to remain free. Dr. Mario A. Pei had written: "Freedom is where you can get out if you want to. Freedom is where, if you don't like it, you are at liberty to go away. That is your key test—the right to quit."
The new U.N. Far East commander, General John Hull, had said during the week that the men had the choice to return if they wanted to do so, as one such originally non-repatriating prisoner had done.
It finds that though they were few in number, their absence caused the heart to "grow heavy", as it was the nature of people who valued freedom to rejoice more over the return of one who had gone astray than, according to the parable, "of the ninety and nine which went not astray". It urges never to relax that regard for individual freedom.
"Emphasis on the Greater Values" indicates that Davidson College was following a wise course in modifying its athletic program to fit its financial resources, a policy which had been determined some time earlier. Davidson henceforth would schedule games with colleges with roughly the same scholarship programs and scholastic standards, allowing football contracts, for instance, with Harvard and Georgia Tech to expire and getting out of previously scheduled contests with Florida State and N.C. State. Its basketball schedule was to be re-arranged likewise.
During the 1920's, Davidson had been the "Little David of North Carolina football", at least once per year defeating one of the major programs in the area, having been the Big 5 football champion in 1926. But prior to World War II, Davidson teams had been losing frequently to the larger schools, and after the war, the losses became routine, causing the benefit obtained by players and spectators to be destroyed and the resulting pessimism to carry over to other activities of the College.
It concludes that the great number of assets at Davidson were too important to allow intercollegiate athletics to interfere with them by trying to match the large schools dollar for dollar to achieve athletic victories. "And these values last long after the cheers from the stadium have died away."
"A Chance for Democracy To Produce" indicates that the Eisenhower Administration had not been neglectful of hemispheric problems while concentrating on Europe and the Far East, that the President's trip to Canada had been a step toward cementing relations with that nation, and there was reason for hope from more attention being paid to Latin America as a result of the report by the President's brother, Dr. Milton Eisenhower, on his recent trip there. (No morons, incidentally, to our knowledge, ever complained about former Kansas State and now-Penn State president Milton Eisenhower using the moniker "Dr.", though neither a physician nor having earned a PhD. Those doing the complaining of late, we have to assume, must have gone to school at places where there were no PhD.'s on the faculty, or were so drunk most of the time when they attended college that they scarcely noticed. There is no reasonable objection to Dr. Jill Biden being referenced by her proper moniker indicative of high academic achievement and it is a rank absurdity for any dumb Republican, Wall Street Journal or other asinine commentator to suggest otherwise.)
Assistant Secretary of State John Cabot had stressed the need for a "concrete, constructive program" for reaching the objectives of peace, security, democratic practices, increased living standards, and economic development in the Caribbean, which had long earlier fallen behind the more temperate regions of the Western Hemisphere in the development of Western civilization. The problems had caused lethargy in those countries, "bordering on stupor", and presently, the people of the Caribbean were undergoing great unrest, as were underdeveloped peoples everywhere. Mr. Cabot had suggested a five-point program for developing the Caribbean countries, expanding trade promoted by stability in rules and terms, continuing investment of U.S. private capital in those countries favoring such investment, providing Government loans to aid in the construction of basic infrastructure and in the development of agricultural resources, direct aid for such mutually beneficial projects as the Inter-American Highway, and the dissemination of technology through scholarships, trainee grants, American libraries, and the Point Four program.
The Administration would be faced with a budgetary problem during the coming session of the Congress, and there would not be enough money to do all which ought to be done in the Caribbean, but Assistant Secretary Cabot had provided a timely warning to avoid the possibility of depressed living conditions causing a tendency to accept Communist propaganda. A relatively modest investment in his five-point program, the editorial urges, would convince the underprivileged peoples of the Caribbean that "'while Communism rants, democracy produces the goods.'"
A piece from the New York Herald-Tribune, titled "Jupiter at Twilight", indicates that a poet had spoken of "twilight's few great stars", which it assumes was a reference to Jupiter, the most visible star in the sky. The sky remained unchanged through a lifetime and could make a person feel small and humble. History had shown that "celestial countries" were more lasting than earthly ones.
Jupiter's diameter was ten times that of the earth and could become as distant as 576 million miles from the earth. "There is an awful lot of universe, a man thinks. There was a lot above Olympus. There is still a lot of it above a man's red barn."
Drew Pearson indicates that
Vice-President Nixon's round-the-world tour completed recently had
started as a political junket to offset Adlai Stevenson's
round-the-world tour, which had concluded in August, and that even
hard-boiled diplomats had admitted that Mr. Nixon's trip had been a
success and had won much goodwill for the U.S., dispelling the idea
that the country was an imperialistic warmonger. The Orientals had
liked what Mr. Nixon had said. He had stated to Prime Minister Nehru
in India that the U.S. would recognize Communist China if China were
to take a more reasonable attitude toward the West, starting with the
Korean peace conference. Premier Nehru had been so impressed that he
immediately wired the information to his Ambassador in China, urging
that he use the message to promote peace in Korea. Yet, to some of
the Vice-President's former colleagues in the Senate, recognition of
Communist China would be considered heresy and embracing of
Communism. Senators Styles Bridges of New Hampshire and Joseph
McCarthy would have "made the senatorial welkin ring
In Japan, the Vice-President had
stopped his 100-car parade through the streets of Tokyo to kiss a
couple of cute Japanese babies, not realizing that kissing in public
was forbidden in Japan, considered a sexual act, prompting the
Japanese to censor
Mr. Pearson notes that Administration leaders had made a special point of getting the three large news services to send special representatives with Mr. Nixon on the trip, an unusual accompaniment for any Vice-President. Trips abroad by Vice-President Alben Barkley under President Truman and Vice-President Henry Wallace under FDR had not received any special press coverage. Nor had that of Wendell Wilkie, following his defeat in the 1940 presidential election, or of Adlai Stevenson earlier in the year. But for Mr. Nixon, despite the high cost of cables, some costing a dollar per word, the press associations sent special correspondents, helping to make the trip a success.
James Marlow tells of paralysis besetting France at present and Secretary of State Dulles having just sought to motivate France to action by his warning that a complete reevaluation of U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis Europe might take place soon unless France ratified the European Defense Community and its European unified army among the six participating nations, France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries.
One of the principal ideas behind EDC was the fact that having France and Germany in a unified army would mean that neither country would be able to build individual armies to make war on the other. France had delayed its ratification out of fear that a rearmed Germany might lead to another war.
The U.S. had six divisions in Europe and France wanted assurances that those troops would remain, to keep Germany in check. The U.S. had provided verbal assurances, albeit not binding.
Soon after the inauguration, Secretary Dulles had told France that it had stalled long enough and that if there was much longer delay, the U.S. would need to re-examine its plans for Europe. Then on December 14 in Paris, at the NATO foreign ministers meeting, he again provided that warning, offending many in the French delegation. U.S. planners considered France necessary for EDC to work, but if it refused to join, the U.S. might let Germany rearm, though it would cause more problems and more delay. Nor had Secretary Dulles explained how any such action would be undertaken, as all of the EDC countries were members of NATO, each having pledged to come to each other's aid in case of war. Moreover, France and the other original members of NATO had unilateral veto power over allowing new members to join, and so could veto any attempt to have West Germany become a member.
Mr. Marlow points out that the U.S., Britain and France still had troops in Germany, and despite the peace agreement of May, 1952, the three countries effectively continued to occupy Germany.
The Congressional Quarterly indicates that appointed Presidential commissions to study matters were likely to become a campaign issue in 1954, with Democrats generally charging that such action was only delaying substantive action on whatever issue was involved, with Adlai Stevenson having said the prior September: "When in doubt, appoint a commission; and the areas of doubt are very wide… You might call it government by postponement." The President, in his first State of the Union message on the prior February 2, had indicated that the Congress rightfully expected the executive to take the initiative in discovering and removing outmoded functions and eliminating duplication in the Government.
The Quarterly points out that in the first 11 months of the new Administration, the President and the Republican-controlled Congress had created, or revised so extensively that they counted as newly created, 32 commissions, boards and other study groups, of which the President had created 14 and the Cabinet, six more, with the other 12 established by Congress. It lists those various commissions and committees, and indicates that the Council of Economic Advisers had undergone changes at the behest of the President and Congress.
A letter writer from Wingate comments on a letter of December 14, which had been dismissive of the notions of guilt by association and conviction without trial and stated that no innocent persons had been harmed by the Congressional investigations into Communists and Communist sympathizers, whom he regarded as "trash", this writer finding those concepts to be real dangers at present, especially given the practices of Senator McCarthy and others faced with witnesses who invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination. He cites Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam of the Methodist Church who was smeared by association from his HUAC appearance, not allowed to speak in a California city's auditorium, which the letter writer regards as the result perhaps of fear that they also might be deemed guilty by association. He thinks the phenomenon was causing people to be afraid to speak their minds out of fear of reprisal. Invoking the Fifth Amendment in the face of questioning as to whether the witness had ever been a Communist, did not necessarily imply that he or she had been. The burden of proof was on the accuser and thus everyone had the right not to incriminate themselves, loss of which right, or effective loss of it, resulted in a reversal of that burden and the presumption of innocence.
A letter writer from Myrtle Beach, S.C., indicates interest in the fact that the newspaper had included Charleston's channel 5 television programming in its television listings. He indicates that the most popular daily newspapers among television enthusiasts in Myrtle Beach were the Charleston newspapers because they carried all of the nearby television coverage, including that of Columbia and Charlotte. He finds the News superior in all coverage, except the tv listings.
A letter from Chapel Hill, from Benjamin F. Swalin, director of the North Carolina Symphony, thanks the newspaper for its cooperation with and help in promoting the North Carolina Symphony Society and its Charlotte chapter.
Framed Edition
Links-Date — Links-Subj.