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FOUR
THE MICH1GAN DAILY
il.JiSiAY', MAY 8, 1451,
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Israeli-Syrian Problem
FANDER HQLLANDER'S stirring defense
of Israel in his Sunday editorial "Bor-
er Clash" revealed his keen insight into
he Arabian mind. However, he was un-
iindful of several facts, which made his
nclusions exaggerated.
On April 6, both Israel and Syrian ac-
cepted these adjuncts to their Armistice
provisions: (14 The withdrawal of all
military forces from the demilitarized
zone. (2) No further fighting within the
zone or across demarcation lines. (3) The
responsibility of thee Chairman of the
Mixed Armistice Commission to determine
when normal life might resume in the
zone.
At the same time, Colonel Bennet C. de
bdder, Acting Chief of Staff of the UN
CURRENT MOVIES
PH
Jq
t The State .. .
FOLLOW THE SUN, with Glenn Ford
and Ann Baxter.
H OWEVER YOU look at it, the scenario
they have cooked up to dramatize the
life and trials of Golfer Ben Hogan is a
lazy one.
There is no doubt that the basic story of
Hogan's "comeback" is first-rate copy at
sports page level, but it is so badly impaired
here by the false selectioi of embroidery
that the net result waters down the dramatic
punch of the original. Adapters of yester-
day's newspaper yarn have two strikes
against them to begin with, unfortunately,
and the writers of this script allow them-
selves little artistic latitude in their cau-
tiously formed product.
"Follow the Sun," as a result never
comes close to achieving the believable
characterizations of "The Stratton Story"
or the contagious spirit of the first Jol-
son picture, both of which might be term-
ed satisfactory benchmarks for the la-
mentable practice of filming the biogra-
phies of living people./ Still, if producers
insist on committing this iniquity with-
out the perspective of time, honest drama-
tic values are still an initial need. These
are not met by introducing tangents, as is
done here by a quick glance at the tang-
led love life of another golfer. Nor will
sloppily motivated complexes that are
true neither to the real Hogan, nor justi-
fied in the make-believe Hogan suffice.
Glenn Ford enacts the sports-hero stero-
type with the same modesty that Cooper and
Stewart have used. But why Hogan should
be an "unpopular" champion under his in-
terpretation is a mystery. Anne Baxter is
his ever-loyal wife. Dennis O'Keefe tries to
be the sub-plot and the comic reliefs all
at once, which leaves him too busy to make
a convincing golfer.
Hogan incidentally fires his own shots in
the picture. The tournament scenes them-
selves are good, and compensate a little fo#,
waning dramatic interest.
-Bill Wiegand
Truce Supervision Organization, said: "As
long as the Israeli-Syrian General Armis-
tice Agreement is in force, territory con-
trolled by Israel is West of the demilitarized
zone demarcation line, the demilitarized zone
having a 'special status'."
On April 26, both Major Gen. William E.
Riley, Chief of Staff of the UN Truce Super-
vision Organization in Palestine, and Ralph
Bunche, former Acting Mediator for Pales-
tine, concurred with Ridder. Bunche said:
"The restoration of normal civilian life in
the buffer zone was the goal, but this pro-
cess can be neither automatic nor left to
the discretion of the parties.tNeither party
can validly claim to have a free hand in the
demilitarized zone."
The official UN position was that neith-
er Israel nor Syria could exercise mili-
tary or civilian authority in the demili-
tarized area. But Israel claimed that tie
zone was in Israeli territory, and conse-
quently that she had the right to under-
take drainage of the Huleh Marshes. This,
of course, irritated the impulsive Arabian
and fighting ensued.
If we are to stand on the side of progress
in the Middle East, we cannot help but ad-
mire the energetic undertakings of Israel.
But in this case, the Israeli move was a fla-
grant violation of UN directives. The Israeli
were, as Riley said, too impatient and blun-
dered into the clash.
As is so often the case with the petty Is-
rael-Arab squabbles, both parties were equal-
ly in the wrong. Syrian forces were hardly
justified in entering the demilitarized zone.
The way was open to appeal their griev-
ances to the UN Truce Commission. Similar-
ly, the Israeli should have consulted the
Syrians of their reclamation plans, and had
that failed, they could have aired their case
before the UN.
In his editorial, Hollander did touch up-
on an important factor in the feud, namely,
that incorrigible Arab sovereigns, attempting
to preserve an outdated political, economic,
and social order, have been trying to divert
the discontented minds of their peoples from
their domestic squalor towards a blind be-
lligerence against Israel.
Israeli leaders don't seem to recognize this.
If they did, Israel should logically concen-
trate on consolidating its present precarious
position and refrain from in any way anta-
gonizing the easily provoked Arabs. The im-
patience of the Israelis in the Huleh inci-
dent only served to acid fuel to the peren-
nial "Westward Ho!" cry of the Arab leaders.
Actually, this is a two-fold problem.
The Arab peoples must recognize that
Israel is an established, de facto state and
turn their attention toward reforming the
domestic Arab order, and oust the time-
servers of that order. Only when the Arab
World undergoes a sweeping reformation
will Israel be assured of peaceful neigh-
bors.
As for Israel, it is incumbent on her lead-
ers to convince Mr. Hollander's "ignorant
peasants"-not only by words but by ac-
tion-that the Israeli harbor no aggressive
designs in the Levant. She could do so by
biding her time and refraining from any
future antagonism of the Arabs.
-Khalil Mohammed Abusamra
MATTER OF FACT
By JOSEPH ALSOP
ATHENS-It is easy to sum up the im-
pression of American policy making that
is left by a tour in the Middle East and
Eastern Mediterranean. Evidently the men
who make our national policy are like dis-
tracted cooks confronting an enormous stove
covered with dozens of different pots, all
bubbling away - simultaneously. The cooks
only watch the most conspicuous pots-
Western Europe, for example. The other
pots get no attention until they either
scorch or boil over.
Even from the perspective of Athens,
it is all too clear that Iran must now be
placed in the category of pots that have
boiled over, like China in the past. When
this reporter left Teheran, the American
and British motto was that "time would
cure all things, and that in time an
agreed settlement of the oil nationaliza-
tion issue could be arranged with the
Iranian government." Even then, it seem-
ed that time was more likely to produce
an explosion than a settlement, unless the
Foreign Office and State Department
could concert strong preventive measures.
The explosion has now occurred with the
political triumph of the National Front
leader, Dr. Mohammed Mussadegh, an aged
extremist who lives in a private world of
violent dreams. With Dr. Mussadegh as
Prime Minister, it is pretty safe to predict
that one of two things will have happened
in Iran within the next few days. Either
the British will have moved troops into
southern Iran (presumably flying them from
Suez) in order to protect their oil proper-
ties, or the Iranian extremists will have
seized the British oil properties by main
force.
In addition, there are signs that Dr. Mass-
adegh is contemplating a deal with the So-
viet Union, and that the Shah, the only
relatively stable element in Iranian politics,
is again planning to flee. Certainly it is
childishly unrealistic to talk about "nego-
tiating" with Dr. Massadegh, as Foreign
Secretary Morrison has been talking. A min-
or disaster is the best result that can now
be hoped for from the long neglected Iran-
ian situation; a major disaster, engulfing
all the vital region of the Middle East, is
all too possible.
Meanwhile, the situation in the Eastern
Mediteranean is clearly in the other ca-
tegory, of pots that neglect will cause to
scorch. At present. the opportunity still
exists to tie the Greek, Turkish and Yugo-
slav armies into the Western security
system. But it is troublesome to do what
is really necessary in order to exploit this
great opportunity-to offer the Yugo-
slavs a sensible and adequate program of
arms aid, and to give the Turks and
Greeks the guarantees they want against
aggression.
Moreover, there is the crucial problem of
the Mediterranean command. Until recently,
it was thoroughly taken for granted that
Adm. Robert Carney would be the Medit-
terranean commander of the future. Carney
even journeyed to Ankara and Athens to
discuss liaison arrangements. If Adm. Car-
ney were given the Mediterranean command,
he could easily tie in the NATO area in the
Western Mediterranean with this area in
the Eastern Mediterranean. A British com-
mander, for various local reasons of pre-
judice and sentiment, can not possibly wield
the same authority.
But the American Chiefs of Staff, with
unparalleled short sightedness, accepted the
Atlantic command for Adm. William Fech-
teler. As the British Chiefs of Staff must
have realized at the time, this made it in-
evitable that a British appointment would
be regarded as "only fair" here in the Medi-
terranean. And it is also troublesome to dis-
entangle this silly mess, and name a British
commander in the Atlantic and an Ameri-
can commander in the Mediterranean.
Because of the search for an easy way
out, the command problem is fumbled; the
Turkish and Greek requests for guarantees
are met with empty words; and the Yugo-
slavs are "aided" in driblets. Thus, the op-
portunity here is passing. If suspicion and
disgust increase much further at Belgrade;
if neutralism gains much more ground at
Ankara, the opportunity will simply cease
to exist.
On the surface, this sort of missed
chance may not seem very grave. In fact,
however, the Turks, Greeks and Yugoslavs
represent a potential of seventy fighting
divisions. These divisions are in being, and
are located on the most sensitive Soviet
flank, the flank of the always distrusted
satellites. With reasonable equipment and
good air support the Turks, Greeks and
Yugoslavs could, in case of trouble, drive
to the Danube, threatening the whole
satellite area.
In short, throwing away this splendid op-
portunity in the Eastern Mediterranean will
be like passively accepting a gigantic de-
feat in war. Equally if the Western world
loses control of the vital oil resource and
strategic positions in the Middle East, this
will also amount to a staggering military
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ON THE
Washington Merry-Go-Round
with DREW PEARSON
WASHINGTON-It isn't often that the newspaper denials issued by
high public officials catch up to them so quickly as is now shown
by the MacArthur Senate hearings.
Usually a newspaperman's word counts for little compared with
that of a cabinet officer, the president or a general-especially a gen-
eral as high as Douglac MacArthur. However, the Senate hearings
have now shed interesting light on some of these denials. Here are a
few illustrations:
1. Home by Christmas-When the Associated Press cabled from
Korea that MacArthur had made a statement promising to bring
American troops home by Christmas. it was promptly denied. Not
only did Gen. Floyd Parks, the Army Press Relations Officer at the
Pentagon rush into print with a statement claiming the AP had mis-
quoted MacArthur. But MacArthur personally cabled a denial to Ra
Henle for use on his Five-Star Final radio program.
"At no time have I ever attempted to predict the course of
termination of this or any other military campaign," MacArthur
cabled on Nov. 28-
Last week, however, it was disclosed that MacArthur officially
informed the President that he expected to bring American troops
home by Christmas. In other words, the AP had not misquoted Mac-
Arthur after all.
2. U.S. troops on Chinese border-On Nov. 8, this column reported
that "the State Department had warned that if we approached the
Yalu River area, the Chinese would react in about the same way as
the people of Los Angeles if a Mexican army should approach Boulder
Dam which supplies much of their water. Therefore the State' De-
partment long ago urged that UN troops stop this side of the Man-
churian border ... the Joint Chiefs of Staff heartily concurred in this.
"However, when MacArthur reached the neutrality belt," this col-
umn reported on Nov. 8, "he wired Washington for permission to send
South Korean troops beyond to the Manchurian border. He said they
were to go on mopping-up missions and as military police to maintain
order.
"However, MacArthur's intelligence was faulty and the South
Korean troops found themselves badly outnumbered. When they
got into trouble, MacArthur wired Washington for permission to
. send U.S. troops to rescue them. While the Joint Chiefs of Staff
didn't like this, they found it difficult to overrule the commander
in the field."
This story was denied from Tokyo at the time. Again only a few
days ago, MacArthur stated that at no time did he receive any warning
that Chinese troops might intervene.
When grilled by senators, however, MacArthur confirmed the in-
formation carried in the Nov. 8 column. He admitted that the Joint
Chiefs recommended halting UN troops on a defensible ridge south
of the Manchurian border, thatthey wanted South Korean troops only
to go into North Korea, he explained, "but that tactical conditions
were such that South Koreans were not able to do the job."
3. Arms to Japan-Another hot dispute has been over the ques-
tion of using extra arms for arming South Koreans or using them to
defend Japan. On March 31, 1951, MacArthur was asked by Freeman
Magazine why he was refused more arms to the South Koreans. Here
is his reply, dated April 5:
"The issue is one determined by the Republic of Korea and the
United States government and involves basic political decisions be-
yond my authority."
However, MacArthur's cable to the Joint Chiefs, dated Jan.
6, 1951, does not jibe with this. Taking exactly the opposite posi-
tion, he recommended: "that the over-all interests of the United
States will be better served by making these weapons available
to increase the security of Japan rather than arming additional
Republic of Korea forces."
He was referring to additional arms which Washington was mak-
ing available for the South Koreans if MacArthur agreed.. Signifi-
cantly he did not propose that these extra arms be used for Ciang
Kai-Shek's troops though he has told members of Congress that he
repeatedly urged such a step.
4. Wake Island transcript-Following the New York Times pub-
lication of the Wake Island conference story, MacArthur issued a
statement casting doubt on its authenticity and stating that no tran-
script was made of the Wake Island conference.
Since then General Bradley has stated that five copies of the
transcript were sent to MacArthur in Tokyo, and MacArthur, under
cross examination by senators, has also admitted that the transcript
is accurate. Anyone comparing the official transcript with the New
York Times story, which MacArthur belittled, can see that it, also, is
accurate.
5. No directives violated-Testifying before the Senate, MacArthur
stated that in his long career as a soldier he had never violated any
order from a superior. However, on Dec. 6, his superiors, the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, gave him a directive categorically ordering him to
make no speech, press release or public statement concerning foreign
policy without clearing it first with the State Department; and no
statement, speech, or press release on military policy without clearing
it first with the Defense Department.
(Copyright, 1951, by the Bel Syndicate, Inc.)
"We've teen Using More Of A Roundish One"
DORIS FLEESON:
Sideline Issue
WASHINGTON-What happens to the ordinary business of govern-
ment in times like these, when all attention is concentrated upon
war and mobilization issues with a few scandals thrown in, is illus-
trated by the case of the Federal Power Commission.
Very shortly President Truman will have it within his power
to remake the commission by the appointment of two new mem-
bers of the five-man group. Chairman Mon Wallgren, his inti-
mate friend, has announced his retirement; Commissioner Claude
Draper, elderly Republican who has spent 21 years at FPC, is
telling friends that he will leave soon.
This leaves Vice-Chairman Thomas C. Buchanan, advocate of
consistent FPC monitoring of what constitutes fair natural-gas rates,
in splendid isolation. By and large, his two remaining colleagues--
Commissioners Smith and Wimberly-supported the Kerr bill, vetoed
by the President after a hard battle, which would remove natural-gas
producers from FPC jurisdiction.
Cynical observers within the immediate circles touched by FPC
are suggesting that Sen. Robert Kerr, by reason of his effective and
well-timed blasts against General MacArthur, now has a claim upon
the president's gratitude which will enable him by the patronage
route to accomplish what he failed to do legislatively. There is:no
evidence to support the charge that the senator from Oklahoma has
ulterior motives or his been slyly moving into FPC by the back door
of the White House.
What has been happening at FPC is even more serious from the
standpoint of the taxpayers in whose presumed interest this and other
public regulatory bodies are established with large staffs and supported
in a style to which they rapidly become accustomed. Sen. Alexander
Wiley of Wisconsin, the Republican conservative, called attention to
it in a protest against the great increases the Phillips Petroleum Co.
has effectively leveled against the people of his, state.
With outward piety FPC, after three years, accepted a Phillips
motion to limit its hearings to a purely juridictional question. In
his lone dissent, Chairman Buchanan pointed out that, while
appearing to put first things first, the ruling had the effect of
delaying three years the time before FPC could look into the ques-
tion of whether Wisconsin consumers were being overcharged,
Since the Natural Gas Act makes no provisions for preparations
even if FPO should finally so determine, the extent of Phillips'
victory is obvious.
The whole point of the Kerr Bill was to exempt independent
natural-gas producers from FPC regulations, a move which Senator
Douglas of Illinois, field marshal of the opposition, charged would
mean soaring prices and stymie effective control of all rates. Presi-
dent Truman vetoed the bill in one of his outstanding displays of
political courage, though it had narrowly passed the House and passed
the Senate.
Since then, however, FPC, under the chairmanship of his own
intimate, has allowed the Truman victory to fade into emptiness. In
no single case has it asserted the powers to set fair-trade standards
which the President intended to solidify.
This has tended to transform FPC, in line with so many regulatory
bodies established with high hopes and maintained against great odds,
as a ratification agency rather than a fair-trade monitor. ' the ten-
dency has been confirmed by state action: Kansas and Oklahoma
have, by enabling acts, taken back to the states regulatory powers and
Texas is debating so. It is nortoriously easier for utilities to put over
their plans in state legislatures.
The difficulty of making a new fight on the issue in a country
steamed up over General MacArthur, Frank Costello and mink
coats is obvious. It is really all up to the President by his choice
of aggressive men to carr?, out policies in which he claims to be-
lieve. And he is an embattled and overburdened man.
Yet it would be more honest to the taxpayers either to kill their
supposed protective agency outright; at least, they would then save
the taxes that support it.
(Copyright, 1951, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
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MUSIC
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r w n o ice:
i
SUNDAY AFTERNOON'S May Festival
Concert illustrated a pretty paradox:
how the music of a living composer may not
be contemporary music, and how music
written in a contemporary style may not be
living music. Constant Lambert's Summer's
Last Will and Testament is in the exagger-
ated pathetic-expressive mode of the late
nineteenth century, and should be consign-
ed to the moth-balls along with the dreary
oratorios of Elgar and Sullivan. Prokofieff's
Third Piano Concerto has all the character-
istics of a "modern style": clarity, athletic
bounce, and a captivating insolence. Yet it
is dead music; its idiom is dated-a dry
perpussiveness alternating with a pseudo-
Tschaikowskyian lyricism-and the impulse
behind it is trivial.
The chief disappointment occasioned by
Summer's Last Will and Testament was
the brutal treatment of the lyrics of Tho-
mas Nashe. The Elizabethan song is not
enhanced by the sugary chromaticism or
the bloated expressivity of Lambert's set-
tings, nor is a movie-music orchestral
accompaniment the correct support for
poetry written to be sung to the lute. The
worst indignity was inflected on the song
"Adieu, farewell earth's bliss." Loud notes
in the brass obscured such lovely lines as
"Dust hath closed Helen's eye," and the
choral setting of the moving "I am sick,
I must die" had all the richness of a Fred
Waring arrangement. I wonder if Lambert
has ever heard a song by Dowland or a
madrigal by Weelkes?
The orchestra hardly performed to the
limits of its ability, and Mr. Johnson's di-
rection left me with the feeling that he
rarely had the situation under control. In
the Prokofieff Concerto the orchestra. fre-
quently drowned Mr. Kanell out-and Mr.
THE FINAL CONCERT of the 1951 May
Festival offered some very outstanding
singing and an interesting reading of an
interesting symphony. As one who clamors
for the programming of more contemporary
American music, I was eager to hear Paul
Creston's third symphony; as one who has
always championed the voice of Eileen Far-
rell, I was sorry to learn of Miss Munsel's ill-
ness, but delighted with the substitution.
Miss Farrell possesses one of the few
great vocal equipments on the contem-
porary scene. Vocally and musically she
led the performance of Verdi's Requiem,
and both voice and musicianship left one
hankering for more. The "more," in the
form of arias by Gluck, Mascagni, Verdi
and Puccini, was a rich fulfillment. Her
voice is dramatic, full-bodied, resonant
and brilliant; it has considerable flexibi-
lity and is well controlled, although the
wide range is not entirely uniform. Inter-
pretively the concert was a revelation, for
Miss Farrell, known largely as a Wagner-
ian soprano, proved equally at home in
the Italianate style. Vocally she is not a
Flagstad, but interpretively she runs her
peer a very close second.
The Creston third symphony, which re-
ceived its first performance less than a year
ago, is an interesting, and in some ways
beautiful work., In idiom it is entirely con-
servative; this conservatism is a safe and
pleasant haven in our dissonant mid-cen-
tury, but it is also a bit studied and pedantic.
As a craftsman, the self-taught composer is
on sure ground, and his handling of the
orchestral medium is sound. He uses Gre-
gorian melody (which is his particular in-
terest) with sensitivity and understanding,
and its superimposition onto the orchestral
XetteP4 f
TO THE EDITOR
The Daily welcomes communica-
tions from its readers on matters of
general interest, and will publish all
letters which are signed by the writer
and in good taste. Letters exceeding
300 words in length, defamatory or
libelous letters, and letters which for
any reason are not in good taste will
be condensed, edited or withheld from
publication at the discretion of the
editors.
Wheat to India. . .
To the Editor:
WOULD LIKE to clarify some
points with regard to the recent
discussions in your column about
wheat for India.
The following facts will throw
light on the "trade war with Pak-
istan." The India-Pakistan trade
agreement which came into force
on February 26, 1951 states: "Pa-
kistan has undertaken to allocate
250,000 tons of food grains, mainly
rice, during the current calendar
year and 150,000 tons of rice aild
275,000 tons of wheat next year.
This clearly shows that the trade
war between India and Pakistan
no longer exists.
With regard to the second point
in Senator Ferguson's letter it
should be made clear that India'
has asked for wheat from the
United States on a long-term loan
basis and not as a gift. She has to
ask on a long-term loan basis be-
cause there is a danger of infla-
tion in the country.
With regard to the third point
in the Senator's letter, it is against
India's foreign policy to send stra-
tegic materials to any country
and, moreover, she expects to uti-
lize these materials in the future
for constructive internal develop-
ments.
In view of these facts, there is
no, reason why the United States
Congress should not take a liberal
attitude and help a struggling
democracy.
-Hiru Shah
I.
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FALSE FACTS are highly injuri-
ous to the progress of science,
for they often endure long; but
false views, if supported by some
evidence, do little harm, for every
one takes a salutary pleasure in
proving their falseness.
-Charles Darwin
Sixty-First Year
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BARNABY
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