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July 20, 1960 - Image 4

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Michigan Daily, 1960-07-20

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£ idyigau Baitg
Seventieth Year
- EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSrrY OF MICHIGAN
'hen Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Truth Will Prevail" STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.

DREW PEARSON:
Convention Bitterness
May Block Congress
LOS ANGELES-A most important question to watch as an after-
math of the Democratic conclave here is whether the current back-
stage bitterness will affect the stack of unpassed bills waiting in the
legislative hopper back in Washington.
The minimum wage bill, medical aid to the aged, a billion-dollar
bill for schools and teachers' salaries all await passage. And. the two
key men who can control their passage are the gentlemen from Texas
who were unmercifully whipped in almost every move made at this
convention.
Speaker Sam Rayburn, behind-the-scenes campaign manager for
Lyndon Johnson, is 78 years old and has been in Congress 47 years. He

s

VESDAY, JULY 20, 1960

NIGHT EDITOR: MICHAEL BURNS

Congolese Upheaval
Teaches West Lesson

STRIFE in the Congo Republic is sending
thousands, both white and Negro, to Europe
and neighboring African countries seeking asy-
lum from the bloody anarchy sweeping the new
country under the guise of nationalism.
Like many African colonies, the Belgian
Congo long hungered for independence and
insisted upon this status. Belgium, seeing the
results of suppression in South Africa, released
the colony with its blessings.
But the independence ceremonies forewarned
of future tension and unrest in the new state..
Premier Patrice Lumumba, in his speech at
the ceremonies, sharply criticized the Belgian
government for withholding freedom from the
Congo for so long. The Belgian representatives
kept a straight face and did not refer to
Lumumba's remarks in their addresses. Earlier,
a native strike had secured the elected of
Joseph Kasavubu as president.
THEN OPEN rebellion swept the African
fledgling state. Troops mutinied. States
seceded. Chaos ruled in the absence -of order
which the Belgians had maintained. Lumumba
and his cabinet were not able to control the
troops who pillaged, tortured and raped white
and Negro alike in a senseless quest for control
of the country, pay increases and ouster of
1,000 Belgian officers.
Katanga broke away from the Congo and
formed a new government which is now at-
tempting to join Kivu and Kasai provinces to
its independent state. The Belgian government
has announced it will give aid to the seceding
units, but has reserved official recognition until
the picture of the Congo's future becomes
clearer. Congo Republica has withdrawn recog-
nition from Belgium.
Congo wants Belgian forces withdrawn im-
mediately and resents the arrival of the United
Nations peace brigade. Lumumba has threat-
ened to call in Russian troops if the Belgian
paratroopers do not abandon the country
hastily.
Also, the Congolese leader has warned the
UN that he will call on "Bandung Treaty"
members for aid in suppressing the violence if
forces are not sent and the Belgians ousted.
The "Bandung Treaty members" are partici-

pants in the Communist Bandung Conference,
in which Indonesia signed no treaty. The
statement, however, refers to Red Chinese
troops entering the country.
WHETHER LUMUMBA carries out his threat
or not, the situation he has caused in the
country is of shocking proportions. Others in
this immature republic have added to the fire,
and the countermovements against Lumumba
have arisen. Perhaps this is not the best time
for reflection and speculation as to what would
have been the best course when Belgium still
had control of the Belgian Congo,
The demands of immature colonies for inde-
pendence have prove nto be more powerful than
common sense. The Congo was evidently not
ready for independence and when they received
it, the country erupted with confusion, violence
and anarchy. Nations holding colonies should
examine the Congo situation thoroughly to
see what happens when a new nation is given
its powers of statehood before it is ready to
accept and execute the responsibilities inherent
in those powers. Colonial powers should be
firm and not yield to the demands for freedom
which lead to chaos and enslavement by lead-
ers unschooled in the arts of governing.
THE WAVE of nationalism is strong and
there is an undeniable tendency on the part
of the West to push for freedom and self-
government for all. The threat of Communist
charges of "imperialism" has forced countries
to release control of colonies which their better
sense tells them is dangerous.
The West should not and must not be
frightened into a position of granting inde-
pendence to every country where self-seeking
demagogues are spreading the germ of nation-
alism. Communists will seize upon any policy
which the West makes to provide propaganda.
The West must realize that the standards of
responsibility and maturity in granting self-
government do not change with a shift in
political propaganda winds. For the result
may be more dangerous than keeping a dis-
gruntled populace under control until the
proper time, as other inexperienced colonies
attempt to join in the Congo line.
-MICHAEL BURNS

was whipped by a young upstart
campaign manager for Senator
Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, who
has never even run for office.
SENATOR JOHNSON IS 52
years old, has been in national
politics, either elective or appoin-
tive, for 25 years and has ruled
the Senate for 10 years. He was
outmaneuvered at every turn by
a young senator from Massachu-
setts who has been in public life
only 14 years.
Rayburn and Johnson are proud
men. They are also sensitive.
Underneath their smiles and af-
fable handshakes lurk blazing
tempers. Will they go back to
Washington to pass the legislation
that will enhance the chances of
the two young brothers who rub-'
bed their political noses in the
dirt?
In public statements they will.
They will clasp hands and vow
unity. But public pronouncements
and legislative production are two
different things especially when
some of the key legislation faces
bitter Republican opposition and
probable White House veto.
There's another factor which
few people know about. George
Meany, powerful AFL-CIO presi-
dent, undercut Johnson in the
backstage huddles in the hotel

rooms of Los Angeles. In Wash-
ington, Johnson had worked close-
ly with Meany in regard to the
labor legislation. Meany's Capitol
Hill lobbyist, Andy Biemiller, was
in and out of Johnson's office like
a shuttlecock during the Land-
rum-Griffin labor bill fight. But
the AFL-CIO secretly threw its
weight against Johnson in Los
Angeles even for the job of Vice-
President.
Just three weeks from now op-
erations resume in Washington.
The two bills the AFL-CIO wants
passed most are minimum wages
and medical aid'for the aged.
Johnson and Rayburn will largely
control the fate of these bills.
* * *
DESPITE PRESIDENT Eisen-
hower's action in slashing Cuban
sugar imports for this year by
700 000 tons, the -best-informed
American sources in Havana do
not believe that Fidel Castro's re-
gime faces any major economic
crisis in the near future.
The chief reasons are: Castro
has bolstered his financial posi-
tion considerably by increasing
both gold-and-dollar reserves and
over-all Cuban exports; his trade
missions have drummed up new
customers for Cuban sugar all
.over the world.
As of mid-June, Castro had $175
million on hand in gold and dol-
lars - a jump of $45 million over
the high mark for 1959 and $25
million above the total reserves
when Fulgencio Batista fled the
country 18 months ago.
Cuban exports as a whole this
year are expected to bring in
about $707 million, even counting
the loss of $14 million that the
United States would have paid as
bonus price on the 700,000 tons
cut from the sugar quota.
This means that exports will
exceed the 1959 total by some $86
million. Drastic curbs on imports
are due to save the treasury an-
other $25 million this year - and
have also helped numerous do-
mestic manufacturers of consum-
er goods which no longer need to
compete with foreign goods.
Economic missions from Ha-
vana have covered two-thirds of
the globe during the last 14
months. Prime immediate objec-
tive in all such junkets has been
to open new markets for Cuban
sugar and expand existing ones.

4. r4SL & ~J lfAl04frAS jwfQS5-r C..

MAX LERNER:
Candidate Shapes Campaign Angle

1

TODAY AND TOMORROW
Kennedy and Johnson
By WALTER LIPPMANN

1 OS ANGELES-In his first two
acts after getting the Presidential
nomination, candidate Kennedy
managed to make a blunder and
start a commotion.
His little speech after his nomi-
nation, by omitting any mention
of Adlai 'Stevenson, showed an
unnecessary lack of generosity
and raised a serious question as
to whether Stevenson will get that
long-dangled job as Secretary of
State.
And his choice of Lyndon John-
son a shis Vice-Presidential run-
ning-mate plunged the conven-
tion into a furious debate as to
what this move shows about Ken-
nedy's thinking on his larger
campaign strategy, and his qual-
ity as a political leader.
KENNEDY ACTED out of a po-
litical instinct which, if properly
understood, sheds a good deal of
light on his political quality. He
refused to let the Vice-Presidency
go to a free convention choice.
He made the choice out of mo-
tives and reasoning which must
have :seemed good to him. This
was his first act of leadership
since his nomination. It must be
set down as an act of major polit-
ical cynicism, by a man who is
confident that he will get away
with it.
Put most baldly, Kennedy was
faced with two choices in making
his decision. One was to pick a
running-mate who would symbol-
ize his concern about the liberal
farm vote and civil rights vote, on
both of which his support is pretty
shaky. The other was to pick one
who would symbolize his concern
about the disaffected Southern
states and the economic conserva-
tives within the party.
9 *.9
ON GROUNDS OF sheer politi-
cal cynicism the Kennedy decis-
ion may be wrong or right, but
the important fact is that it was
made on these grounds by a
man whose every move is being

watched for indications of what
kind of man he is.
I don't know whether it was the
result of pressure from Johnson
and the Southerners, or whether
Johnson had to be persuaded. You
can buy both versions here at Los
Angeles, but the question is not
crucial. Whether he had to be
pushed or did the pushing, Ken-
nedy must take responsibility for
the decision.
Nor is it even a question of
Lyndon Johnson's own basic qual-
ities. I happen to think that he is
a man of great ability and matur-
ity, and that on civil rights he is
a Southern moderate with a con-
siderable fund of realism. He will
be available to use his persuasive-
ness among his former colleagues.
BUT THIS FIRST act of Ken-
nedy's was a crucial symbolic act.
If he capitulated to pressure his
courage must be questioned. If he
took the initiative then his basic
drive toward liberalism must be
questioned.
One of the favorite defenses
offered here by some of the Dem-
ocratic intellectuals who believe
Kennedy's liberalism is that he is
following a pattern set by Frank-
lin Roosevelt when he ran with
Garner in 1932 and when he later
scuttled Henry Wallace as Vice-
President in 1944. This is part of
the larger perspective which sees
Kennedy as the Roosevelt of 1960.
He may be, but not on any evi-
dence I am yet able to see. The
civil rights picture in 1932 was
not what it is in 1960, nor was
Garner in any sense a symbolic
Roosevelt choice.
As for the 1944 decision, it came
after Roosevelt had established
the pattern of his presidential
leadership over the course of 12
years. Kennedy is not yet Presi-
dent, and the nature of his lead-
ership and political direction is
exactly what is in question,
* * *
DURING THE EARLY days of
the convention the argument for

Kennedy as a militant liberal was
based on the fight he put up
against the Johnson candidacy
and the forces behind it, and also
upon the civil rights plank. If
Kennedy's defenders used this
reasoning they cannot regard the
choice of Johnson as anything
but a refutation of their logic and
a repudiation of their hopes.
There is serious question as to
whether Kennedy's move was a
smart one, even if it is seen in
terms' of political cynicism. I
don't believe that the Democrats
can take the support of the liberal
farm states, the trade -union
groups, and the big-city Negro
voters for granted. Nixon will
prove a formidable antagonist

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Experimental Theatre Unfeasible

and will know how to exploit
every point at which Kennedy is
vulnerable with these groups. The
Democrats will have to give some
evidence that their platform dec-
larations are more than words.
Kennedy 'and his advisers may
discover one, of the truths of
American political history-that
for the Democrats the courageous
decision 'on liberal principles al-
most always turns out to be the
politically smart decision as well,
and the one that plays angles
without principles leaves only a
dusty answer behind, without vic-
tory. I hope they won't make this
discovery too late.
(copyrighted Column
Unauthorized Use Prohibited)

BORING THROUGH so much of a convention
is to the spectators, no one is likely soon to
invent a substitute for it. Behind all the hoopla
a convention is the way by which the men who
have political power in their locality meet and
confer face to face. They have to do more than
choose a candidate for President. They have
also to approve a platform and to agree to a
Vice-President. They have to coordinate these
three elements-the two candidates and the
platform. The Democrats did this by nominat-
ing Johnson after they had taken Kennedy
apd a platform which in its controversial
plank is addressed to the Northern states.
A combination of this kind, which each party
seeks in each convention, could not be worked
out if the men who have the poiltical power
did not all come together in one city.
JOHNSON was nominated by acclamation be-
cause the political bosses of the big Northern
states agreed with Kennedy that he added
the most strength to the ticket. The civil
rights plank in the platform is a formidable
set of declafrations and pledges, calling for
much more moral and even legal intervention
by the President of the Federal government
than the South has known since the end of
Reconstruction.
Kennedy's choice of Johnson cannot fairly,
I think, be interpreted as meaning that he is
nullifying, the platform, that he means to run
on one kind of civil rights plank in the North
and another in the South. For Johnson is a
Southerner but not a sectionalist. More than
any other man in public life, more than any
politician since the Civil War, he has on the
race problem been the most effective mediator
between the North and the South. He is the
man who induced the Senate to accept the
Editorial Stag
KATHLEEN MOORE, Editor
MICHAEL BURNS ........... Night Editor
ANDREW HAWLEY ......,..............Night Editor
MICHAEL OLINICK ............... Sports Co-Editor
SUSANJONES..................... Sports-Co-Editor

Civil Rights legislation which strikes at the
disfranchisement of Southern Negroes.
Johnson is, in fact, aware of and ready for
the advances toward equality which the plat-
form describes. But no one knows better than
he how much of and how fast an advance the
changing sentiments of the South is ready to
accept.
THE PROBLEM of accommodating the North
and the South on the race question is a
problem in both parties. Nixon, naturally
enough, has hopes in the South. Kennedy is a
Catholic, he is Eastern and urban, the platform
goes far on civil rights and it goes further on
the welfare measures than conservative South-
erners like. But Nixon cannot run in the South
as being softer than Kennedy on the issue of
civil rights. For if he does, Nixon will be in
trouble in the Northern states.
IT IS PROBABLY TRUE, as many good ob-
servers have been saying, that events abroad,
which cannot now be foreseen, may decide the
contest between Kennedy and Nixon.
As of now Nixon's main talking point is that
for nearly eight years he has been in the know,
has had access to all the information and has
been in a position to hear the arguments which
have led up to the decisions of the Eisenhower
administration.
Kennedy's main talking point is that in these
eight years the American position, relative to
the Soviet Union, has declined-and that it
must be due to a failure to develop American
power and to a lack of wisdom and skill in
conducting our affairs.
In my view, Kennedy has the better of
/Nixon on these points. As for their comparative
experience, while Kennedy thas not been on
the inside of the Eisenhower administration, he
has been a member of the Senate Committee
on Foreign Relations. He is, therefore, far from
bein gan ignorant outsider. What is more, he
is far less committed than is Nixon by the
mistakes and omissions of the past, and he is
much freer to set in motion that reappraisal
and revision of the Acheson-Dulles system of
alliances, which is now inevitable and impera-
tive:
To be four years older means nothing when
both men are in the prime of their lives. As

To the Editor:
MR. ANDREW HAWLEY's edi-
torial, "Experimental Theatre
Could Benefit University," along
with the pleas of Elmer Rice, echo
desires long expressed by members
of the academic community for
theatre which breaks the bonds of
conformity.
Even those who attempted to
soften the blows of Mr. Rice in
the panel presentation last week
are among the most clamorous
for freedom from what I call
"censorship by finance."
The essence of Mr. Rice's and
Mr. Hawley's argument for ex-
perimental theatre is that in a
university community, the pro-
ducers should be able to lead the
audience taste.
This thesis presupposes at least
two factors: First, that the local
audience will follow a greater lead
than is now given them; second,
that even if they are slow in re-
sponding, there are no financial
worries attached to play produc-
tion in a university community.

DO THESE FACTORS really
exist? First, the taste of the local
audience is not as easily led .as
it would seem. Box office person-
nel who worked the Drama Sea-
son of "Waiting for Godot" two
springs ago still laugh when it
is mentioned. The young man who
worked the checkroom avows that
he though the play was over at
the end of Act One, so many
people left. (They did not return,
incidentally, for the following
week's show.)
The production of the Beckett
tragi-comedy and one or two less
experimental plays brought the
Drama Season to its financial
knees.
9 * *
THE SEASON, FACED with dis-
continuation because of its shaky
financial foundation, was "saved"
this year by a group of local busi-
nessmen who bowed enough to
local taste to bring into the Men-
delssohn five very commercial
plays. I under stand the Season
is now back on a firm monetary
base.
The fact that the local theatre-
ioer would not respond to experi-
mental drama even as mild as
"Godot" indicates that there
would indeed be financial diffi-
culty were any group devote the
bulk of its talent to experimen-
tation.
Mr. Rice and Mr. Hawley seem
to see the university environment
as an angelic moneybags ready to
step in and save such a group
from creditors. In actual fact, this
is not the situation.
* * *
THE DRAMA SEASON lost too.
much money, and the University
dropped it. The local Civic Thea-
tre group is self-supporting. The
Dramatic Arts Center (which de-
voted itself to ag reat deal of
experimentation) is hardly heard
from any more, though I under-
stand they are doing a few things
now and then.
The moneyed Michigan Union
supports MUSKET-but MUSKET
does the most commercial kind of
theatre available, musicals, as
does the well-off Gilbert and

In addition, except for its dir-
ectors, designers, and staff per-
sonnel being paid as faculty mem-
bers or assistants with University
funds, all producing capital for
the Playbill comes from box office
receipts..
In short, it would appear that
the University is not willing to
play the role of financial "angel"
for local theatre. Any theatre,
then, including the experimental
caste, must support itself from
box office intake.
(In defense of the University
administration, it should be point-
ed out that the Mendelssohn does
lose money, and that policy seems
to dictate that while box office in-
take can support theatrical activ-
ity,' available money must be di-
rected toward higher faculty sal-
aries, building, etc.)
* * *
IN THE EDITORIAL, Mr. Haw-
ley's "accurate" generalization of
the "shortsighted complaints" of
the other panel members is un-
justified.
He summarized it this way:
"We want to have a big audience
and make at least enough money
to finance our productions." A
better summary would be: "We
NEED to have big audiences IN.
ORDER TO make at least enough
money to finance our produc-
tions." In the light of what I have
pointed out already, I might ask
in behalf of this viewpoint,.
"Where else . would the money
come from?"
* * *
IN HIS SUMMARY of the view-
point, Mr. Hawley continues: "We
want our young stars and starlets
to have fun with their work, be-
cause fun is all they get out of it."
This oversimplified draft of the
other panelists' viewpoint needs
interpretation, which, of course,
Mr. Hawley could not give in the
confining demands of editorial
space.
In actuality, the "fun" policy
(as opposed to serious training for
professional theatre) is dictated
by LSA's liberal arts attitude,
which forces. theatre courses to
forego professionally o r i e n t e d

REPUDIATE DEMOCRATS:
Rep ublicans Issue 'Truth Sheet'

CHICAGO (I)-Chairman Thrus-
ton B. Morton, of the Repub-
lican national committee has is-
sued a so-called "truth sheet"
which he said corrected "major
distortions and misstatements of
fact" made at last week's Demo-
cratic national convention.
Morton, United States Senator
from Kentucky, said in a state-
ment:
"Most of the misstatements
were first made in the keynote
address by Sen. Frank Church, so
we have based our truth sheet on
his speech, although some of his
misstatements were later repeated
by Kennedy, Johnson and others
who addressed the convention."
The statement added: "With
the convention rigged for the
Kennedy - Johnson ticket, the
Democrats were reduced to re-

Under Democratic Franklin Del-
ano Roosevelt it skidded from 32.2
millions in 1935 to 25.3 in 1945.
In 1947, under then President
Democrat Harry S. Truman the
farm population rose to 27.1 mil-
lion but skidded to 22.7 million in
1953.
'* * *
FRANK CHURCH SAID: Tight
money policies of this administra-
tion have sapped our vitality and
shackled our economic growth.
The truth is: In the eight years
of the Truman administration the
gross national product rose $32
billion for an overall gain of 8.9
per cent. Since 1953 the gross na-
tional product has risen $107 bil-
lion for an overall 26.8 per cent
gain.
Frank Church said: The work
of the Democratic Congress has

Frank Church said: Do we have
a wholesome prosperity?
The truth is: Comparing 1960
with 1952, the best Democratic
effort-there are seven million
more jobs now; labor income is
up 48.2 per cent; 162 per cent
morepeople receive social secur-
ity benefits; farm assets are up
25.7 per cent; assets held by in-
dividuals up 156 per cent; cost of
living up 10 per cent under GOP
as opposed to 50 per cent rise
under Truman.
* * *9
FRANK CHURCH SAID: We
enacted the first civil rights leg-
islation in 80 years.
The truth is: Both the civil
rights act of 1957 and the 1960
amendments to it were rammed
to passage by united Republicans

-tI

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