The Charlotte News

Monday, August 17, 1953

FOUR EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that at Panmunjom, the Communists had released 400 additional allied prisoners this date, 73 of whom were Americans, plus 75 British, 250 Koreans, one Japanese prisoner who had served with U.S. forces as a houseboy, plus one Japanese civilian who had served with the South Korean Army. The Communists promised their largest group of returnees yet the following day, with 450 set to be released, of whom 75 would be Americans. The total number of Americans released thus far had been 1,105, about a third of the 3,313 Americans to be released in total. The total number of released allied prisoners had reached 5,177 during the 13 days of exchange thus far, not quite half of the 12,763 to be released. All of the returnees this date appeared in good health. The U.N. Command had been returning about 2,400 Communist prisoners daily.

Some of the prisoners continued to tell stories of certain prisoners who had been popular in the company being held back by the Communists for having opposed indoctrination, while some had been convicted of crimes, such as "instigating against the peace", just before or after the Armistice had been signed. A sergeant said that seven men had been sentenced to from 1 to 3 years imprisonment.

Released Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Frank Noel told of his imprisonment by the Chinese Communists as being a thing of doubt and fear, doubt regarding what the captors would do next, and fear that an incautious word might be overheard by some fellow prisoner who had become an informant. He said that the Communists he had met trusted no one, especially their fellow Communists, and managed to instill the same feeling of distrust in their prisoners. Only a few of the prisoners became informants, while others said things to the Communists which they did not like, causing many to be relegated for weeks to the "hole", which was a cell so small that the prisoner could neither stand nor stretch. The prisoners whom the Communists despised the most went to a particular hole where they were confined for weeks without respite, even to go to the latrine. In winter, they froze and in summer, sweltered. A little food was thrown into them once in awhile and a Chinese guard was constantly on duty. He said that there were still Americans imprisoned who had been driven insane by the Communists, and was sure that there would be some retained after the Chinese would claim repatriation was completed. Mr. Noel had been captured on November 30, 1950 and in the early days of his imprisonment, the Chinese had taken some American officers into Manchuria, one of whom had said that the people in the streets were very friendly. Most of those officers had soon been returned to North Korea, but there were still some Americans in Chinese territory, those who had been indoctrinated by the Communist propaganda and had chosen not to repatriate. He believed that some, however, were not there by their own volition. He and another man had plotted an escape, which had never come to fruition because the Armistice had occurred before they were ready. He said he had seen shot-down Russian pilots while he was a prisoner at Pyoktong in North Korea and had heard from Koreans who hated Communism that at least three other Russians had been shot down in combat early in 1953, and that there were many other Russians who had engaged in the fighting in Korea. He had seen Russian truck drivers, Russian engineers, Russian intelligence agents and a headquarters which the Russians had maintained in Chonchong. He said that at age 48, he had learned that a man could endure almost anything.

At the U.N. in New York, Russia appeared to be assured of a seat in the upcoming political conference regarding Korea, to begin in October, provided the satellites of North Korea and Communist China wanted Russia present. India, however, appeared not likely to have a seat at the conference. A Western resolution, effected as a compromise to the U.S.-British disagreement over whether Russia and India ought have a role in the conference, appeared assured of passage this date by the General Assembly. The resolution provided that Russia would participate, as long as North Korea and Communist China approved, but that India would not participate as a neutral nation. Britain had favored participation of both Russia and India. The U.S. had originally opposed participation of both, except that Russia could participate as a member of the Communist delegation, not as a neutral or part of the U.N. delegation. Britain believed that Russia would not participate as a representative of the Communist countries, branded as aggressors by the U.N. The resolution, however, did not say whether Russia would be on one side or the other. South Korea's representative to the U.N. asserted that the resolution should make plain that Russia represented only the Communist side.

President Syngman Rhee of South Korea said again this date, in an interview with U.S. News & World Report, that he believed the peace conference would fail and that if it did not result in unification of Korea, the U.S. would resume the fight to accomplish the common objective of unification. Assistant Secretary of State Walter Robertson, in an NBC television interview the previous day, had said that the U.S. had not agreed during his talks in Korea with President Rhee that the U.S. would aid South Korea in resuming the battle unless the Communists broke the Armistice. President Rhee also said in the interview that South Korea might leave the peace talks in less than its 90 days of duration if it became apparent that the Communists had no intention to agree to unification, and that he had informed President Eisenhower that South Korea had no intention of accepting any neutralization of Korea.

In Tehran, Premier Mohammed Mossadegh had crushed a bloodless coup attempt to unseat him, staged by supporters of the Shah, the Shah having fled to neighboring Iraq as Communist mobs, estimated at more than 100,000, had screamed the previous night for an end to the monarchy. The Premier jailed the top leaders of the opposition and dissolved the remnants of the parliament. The Shah had not abdicated his throne, but the Government was thought to be readying a regency council to take over his powers. The leader of the coup attempt, Maj. General Fazellah Zahedi, was hiding in the hills. He had claimed that the Shah had given him an imperial decree ousting Premier Mossadegh and proclaiming General Zahedi as premier. Police and troops were forming an armed hunt for the rebel leader. Tensions had now subsided in Tehran.

The President had told Congress in a written report this date that Western nations ought strive for greater self-help toward collective security, as the U.S. could not do the whole job. He said that the Mutual Security program of aid to foreign countries for the first six months of the year was now shifting emphasis from Europe to Asia and the Pacific to check Communist expansion. He suggested that ratification of the European Defense Community treaty, expansion of trade and greater investment of private capital in underdeveloped countries were three steps which ought be taken.

A Government Printing Office employee this date identified a fellow worker as a one time member of the Communist Party to members of the Senate Investigations subcommittee chaired by Senator McCarthy, looking at evidence that secret materials from various Government agencies, including the CIA and the Atomic Energy Commission, had been leaked to the Communists via the Government Printing Office.

In Greece, additional earth tremors, one regarded as a strong earthquake, had hit the Ionian Sea islands this date, as officials estimated the toll from the week-long earthquake devastation to be 600 dead and 700 seriously injured. Previously, it had been indicated that more than 1,000 persons were feared dead.

In Beirut, unconfirmed reports circulated in Lebanon that Syria's President Adib Shishekly had been assassinated in Damascus, but Syrian sources denied the reports. `

On the editorial page, "The Roots of the Trouble in France" wonders what was wrong in France with its present national strikes, beset by active Communists and paralyzed by a weak system of government which had frequently collapsed since the war. Under the 18 different administrations since the end of the war, France had maintained continuity of policy and personnel, having had fewer foreign ministers than the U.S. had Secretaries of State in the same period. While about a fourth of its voters cast their ballots for Communists, the actual number of Communists in France were not so numerous, as non-Communist dissidents voted for the Communist ticket because the Communists provided a wider voice than any of the splinter parties.