Evening star. [volume], October 19, 1955, Page A-29, Image 29

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
DAVID LAWRENCE
Segregated Schools in Russia
Son of Ex-Envoy Kennedy Notes
Color Line Drawn in Central Asia
For months the Soviet radio
has been conducting a propa*
ganda campaign against the
United States on the ground
that there is segregation of
schools in the South as be
tween Negroes and whites.
Now comes evidence of Rus
sian hypocrisy. They them
selves practice segregation,
though little has been known
about it.
Robert F. Kennedy, who has
just finished a tour of a
“closed” section of the Soviet
republics fn company with
Justice William O. Douglas of
the Supreme Court, makes the
disclosure about segregation in
a coyp righted interview in
U. S. News & World Report
magazine.
Mr. Kennedy, who is a son
of Joseph P. Kennedy, former
Ambassador to Great Britain,
took leave of absence from
his post as counsel for the
Senate Subcommittee on Per
manent Investigations, paid
his ovpi expenses, and made
a first-hand study of condi
tions in the central Asian re
gion of the Soviet Union,
where up to now no visitors
from the United States have
been permitted to go.
Few people realize that this
region of five Soviet republics
has a population of about 30
million persons and corns a
bigger area titan India before
its partition and is larger than
all of Western Europe. The
people are for the most part
of Turkish and Iranian stock
with a strong Mongolian strain.
Following is the colloquy
after Mr. Kennedy was asked:
“How do they (the Russian
soldiers understand the lan
guage?”
- “A. I don’t think they have
any problem with that—in
performing their duties they
probably don’t have much con
tact with the local people. In
addition, more and more peo
ple now understand Russian.
This is so despite the fact
that the Russians maintain
one set of schools for their
DORIS FLEESON
California May Make or Break Adiai
Pressure on Him to Enter Other
Primaries Will Mount Steadily
Adiai Stevenson may well
find his political future de
cided June 9 next in California.
His friends in the state ar
ranged that when they pub
licly urged him to enter the
California presidential primary
on that date.
By their action, they have
taken away Stevenson's power
of choice over entering State
primaries. Perhaps he never
had such power, but he
thought he had. Now he must
go into California to win, and
the pressure on him to enter
other State primaries will
mount.
Stevenson supporters in Cal
ifornia concede the foregoing
They add plaintively: “But
you people in Washington
don’t understand California!”
To this practical politicians—
of both parties—would say
amen. Anyway, the reasoning
behind the sudden appeal to
Stevenson, as given by an im
portant participant, runs as
follows:
The decision to act now was
triggered by the California
visit of Carmine DeSapio. the
Tammany leader who with in
creasing boldness is pressing
the nomination claims of Gov.
DOROTHY THOMPSON
Assessing Position of West
Geneva Spirit Causes Relaxation
That Tends to Blind Average Man
Although as I write I have
had very little time in Europe
and that spent only in Lon
don and Paris, it is possible to
make a few generalizations
summarizing the views of some
of the most competent ob
servers and analyzers, in and
outside of governing positions.
My object in making this
journey is to try to assess the
position of the West, as a
civilization, culture, and power
in the late'months of 1995. Is
the West, as a whole, advanc
ing, retreating, or holding its
own during tiie rising of the
East under the sponsorship
and protection of the Russian
Soviet Union? Is there reason
lor confidence that it will
command the future with any
degree of the authority and
prestige it has had in the
past?
One need not travel from
one's own study to ask that
all-important question, nor,
necessarily, to approximate a
reasonable appraisal. A friend
of mine once said, rather
ahrewdly, “The intelligentsia
travel; the Intelligent stay at
home." Everyone who reads
and thinks beyond his per
sonal affairs is asking the
same question, and the best
minds of our world are con
tinually expressing themselves *
on it, or offering information,
available to anyone with time
to read, that should throw
light on the answers. None of
us is short of “information.''
But there comes a time when
one feels that one must test
one’s views, observations, in
formation, or even hunches—
that sixth political sense that
may rightly be heeded—
against those of others, bet
ter equipped or closer to pri
vate intelligence than one
self. preferably In the form of
candid conversations.
children and one set of schools
for the children of the local
people. It is a segregated
school system.
“Q. Why is that?
"A. The explanation the of
ficials gave us is that people
like their own schools
“Q. It isn’t a racial ques
tion?
“A. I believe that is a rea
sonable assumption. In every
city that we visited in central
Asia the schools were segre
gated—the Russian school
children in one school, the lo
cal children in another.
“Q. Is there a difference in
color between the Russians
and the natives?
“A. Oh. yes, they are com
pletely different
“Q. I mean in color.
“A. Oh. yes. The Russians
are European, white. The na
tives are Mongolian—a dark
race."
Mr. Kennedy says he found
the people friendly but that
Communist Party leaders were
inclined to be hostile. He adds
that their so-called labor
unions are dictated to by the
Russian government and that
the whole Russian system is a
form of slavery, since every
body must work for the state.
“How do you account for the
fact that so many people in
America who call themselves
‘liberals' are so enthusiastic
about Russian things and want
us to recognise them and play
ball with than?” Mr. Ken
nedy was asked.
“I think the same groups
have made mistakes before,"
he replied. The Interview then
went on:
"Q. It seems to me every
thing you have said would be
anathema to any real lib
eral.’—
"A. That is what I cant
understand either. . . .
"Q. Did they make a great
many concessions to you over
there?
"A. Some concessions, at
least over the old policies—
the fact that we are allowed
Harrlman of New York. That
visit had been long planned
for Columbus Day. the idea
being to demonstrate to the
important Italian vote in San
Francisco and elsewhere that
in the Democratic Party.
Americans of Italian descent
are getting great recognition.
But in between the invita
tion and DeSapio’s arrival in
San Francisco on Columbus
Day, something happened. It
was the Albany clambake at
which former President Tru
man, who had been on record
as pro-Stevenson, turned the
sunshine of his smile on Har
riman and Harriman in turn
seemed to back away from his
own “I’m for Stevenson” state
ments.
With a HarViman boom thus
launched, the DeSapio visit
looked different to bis pro-
Stevenson hosts. National
Committeeman Zlffren, State
Chairman Snyder, Attorney
General Brown and others.
They figured that the Netv
Yorker qrould land in a haze
of rumor about his plans for-
Harriman in which Zlffren and
company would inevitably get
deeply Involved.
Democrats generally would
On this trip, which was
carefully planned in advance,
I have, to far, received ex
ceptional co-operation from
the governments of the coun
tries I have visited—in Great
Britain I was able to see three
of the most Important cabi
net ministers, high function
aries in their own and other
ministries. In both countries
I have talked with leading
Journalists, industrialists,
trade unionists and military
men whose judgment I have
reason from long experience
to trust. Mine is frankly a
brain-picking expedition.
But this generalization can,
I think, already be made:
All the people I have seen,
of whatever party or occupa
tion, realize—if preferably not
for direct quotation, and for
reasons I respect—that since
the Geneva Conference we
have entered one of .the most
critical periods in Western his
tory.
They observe that the “spirit
of Geneva” or Vco-existence”
has engendered a public re
laxation (or even compla
cency) that tends to blind the
average citizen to the signifi
cance of the most recent de
velopments.
’ Every Western country, with
the exception of the United
States, has problems to tax the
abilities of a political and ec
onomic genius, or those of the
leaders of the best-governed
countries, of which Great Brit
ain is certainly one. Every lead
ing country has challenges
unique in its history if one ex
cepts periods of drastic revo
lution. And the problems of
each are compounded by the
problems of all.
To speak first of the “all,"
there Is a crisis within NATO
that has *♦— Htl y
to travel hr Central Asia at
all, and. in» addition. I think
they showed us things and
allowed us to do things they
wouldn't have permitted a
year ago, but I don’t think it
adds up to a great deal. Since
they have changed their policy
nobody had gained but them.
The fact that Justice Douglas,
five Senators and Bob Ken
nedy were able to go to Russia
—what is that for America to
get out of it? . . . Why don’t
they announce they are going
to withdraw support from
Communist organizations in
India. Burma or Malaya, or
even Italy, or France or this
country? Why don’t they
actually come through and
withdraw stmport and stop
supplying money to their
forces within the countries
that are trying to overthrow
the local government*?’*-’^
Mr. Kennedy suggested, too.
that the Russians should with
draw their troops from Poland
and Eastern Europe, allow the
unification of Germany, and
give back independence to the
people of Estonia. Latvia and
Lithuania. He went on;
"Let’s have something like
that Or let’s aUpw complete
arms inspection. S think they
should make some,definite con
tribution other than tipping
their hats and smiling .
"I am hopeful, like every
body in the world, that what
happened at the Geneva Con
ference and what will happen
at the meetings of the foreign
ministers will mean peace for
us all. However, on the basis .
of what I -saw and learned in
Russia. I am very distrustful
that we will get anything other
than umllwi
"We are dealing with a gov
ernment to whom God, the
family or the individual means
nothing and whose practice it
has been in the past to make
promises and treaties to serve
their purposes and to break
them when it has been to their
advantage. It can only be sui
cidal for us during this period'
on the basis of smiles eo
strengthen Russia and weaken
ourselves."
(BaarotfueUm BtehU Rwervtd)
be misled, the Zlffren group
told each other, and the hos
tile California press, which is
most of it, they feel, would
have a field day. Over the
long distance telephone to
Stevenson in Chicago, it was
explained that unless they
acted promptly, the Stevenson
leaders in California would
never get out from under an
avalanche of gossip about
"deals’* and “coalitions."
Since nearly all party lead
ers in the State are for Steven
son, they felt they could safely
issue their appeal. The na
tional committeewoman, Clara
Shirpser. who was elected with
Kefauver support, was the only
major holdout. She said it
was “premature."
In the Zlffren view, Steven
son can get the nomination
apd be elected while Kefauver
cannot. Zlffren wants to put
California solidly with the
winner, feeling it is the best
possible way to build the party
at home.
Senator kefauver is not like
ly to be daunted. As for po
litical reporters, when they
consider, too, the three-cor
nered fight between Republi
cans Nixon, Knight and Know
land of California, they expect
to see a lot of California in
the spring.
since Geneva. AH that Geneva
really did was to air the con
viction common to Russia and
the United States that an in
tercontinental- war Involving
the great powers could not, in
the thermonuclear age, be won
by anybody and that it should,
therefore, be excluded from
calculations. This produced a
universal feeling of relief and
therefore, certainly, a diminu
tion of popular tension.
But it did nothing to dispose
of issues whose outcome will
drastically, and perhaps per
manently, affect the power
constellation of the world, and
the pattern of world civiliza
tion which always accommo
dates itself to power.
Contrary to what is, per
haps, a popular conception,
the spirit of Geneva does not
abolish war. Its implicit mean
ing is that wars henceforth will
be localized, conducted with
out direct military interfer
ence by the great powers. But
just such “marginal" wars are
the ones by which the status
quo can be continually altered
and by which, step by step, the
whole power constellation can
be changed.
As Gen. MacArthur pointed
out months ago in his speech
calling for universal and total
disarmament, these marginal
wars—like Korea and Indo
china as they turned out—are
the ones out of which the
West is least equipped to pull
an advantage, and the kind in
which revolutionary organiza
tions, supported by the Soviets,
can best and most safely func
tion.
But Geneva, by exorcizing
the fear of general war, or of
a direct Russian attack, has
led to a crisis in NATO—or
speeded up a latent crisis. If
there is no big bogey in eight,
some of its members can now
(or think they can) indulge in
the luxury of quarrels among
themselves. It is to this that
I shall devote to next report
LOUIE
ijiiiji .
POTOMAC FEVER
fLETCHER KNBBCL
A Congressman says Gov. knight of California is a “serious"
candidate for President. He has to be. If the Republicans catch
one of their candidates with a smile on his face, they hang hlm 4
as a Democratic spy. v
'*a * »
White House Economist Hauge says "economic growth”
comes before a balanced budget 0.0. P. slogan: “Vote Repub
lican! We’re the only party that keeps the Government broke
on purpose."
# * • •
Footnote on the Princess Merger* t-Capt. Townsend ro
mance: Now it’s the American husband who complains: “Will
you please take your nose out of that paper and say ‘GoOd Morn
ing’ to me?” . • ■ .
• as*
London newspapers urge the British to donate money for
New England flood victims. This is no kind of news for folks who
are Soaking wet They might perish of acute shock.
• a • •
Democratic Senator Kefauver says he isn’t sure he’ll run for
President. If he does, he’ll have to make several assumptions.
He’ll have to assume his election—and assume another name to
get nominated.
sees
British Ambassador Making says a big war'is impossible ex
cept between “lunatics." Just no way to avoid the darn thing,
.huh?
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—By Horry Honan
CONSTANTINE BROWN
Krishna Menon's Veiled Threat
Demand for Top-Level Peiping Talks
Tied to Hint of Formosa Trouble
India’s ambassador to the
United Nations. V. K. Krishna
•Menon, is as frequently a
spokesman for the Peiping
regime as he is for his own
country. Last week be hinted
"diplomatically" to Secretary
of State Dulles that unless we
“liberalize’’ the present stalled
Geneva negotiations by agree
ing to top-level conversations
with the Chinese Communists,
the present voluntary cease
fire in Formosa Strait might
soon come to an end.
The fact that the men in
Peiping have not yet lived up
to their promises and are still
holding 19 Americans whom
they had agreed to free seems
to have impressed but little the
roving representative of Indian
Prime Minister Nehru.
Mr. Menon pointed out to
\ Mr. Dulles that the Chinese
.were very liberal when they
recently qffered to repatriate
some 45 renegade Americans
who, incidentally, have com
pletely espoused the Chinese
Communist cause and would
like to return to this country
to better serve their present
masters.
Mr. Menon seemed surprised
when told that our only pur
pose' in sending Ambassador
Alexis Johnson to Geneva to
meet Communist Ambassador
Wang was to establish an ex
change of citizens— Americans
held illegally In Communist
China for Chinese students in
this country who may wish to
return to the Communist
heaven. We have fulfilled our
promises. The Communists
are still defaulting on theirs.
Mr. Mown was told that until
all Americana whose fate was
the subject of the Geneva dis
> cussions are free to leave Com
munist China, the negotiations
are bound to remain stalled.
According to available in
formation, Mr. Menon’a veiled
IHB EVENING STAR, Washington. D. C.
wsasaaoAT, ocroaeaie, mss
threat that the Communist
forces could soon be launched
against the Nationalist gar-
Msons on Quemoy and the
Mateua has made little im
pression on the representatives
of our* Government who are
determined to resist any Red
blackmail.
There Is no question that
the Communists have had for
some time the capability to
take the islands if they want
to pay a very heavy price and
If Washington decides not to
allow the 7th Fleet and the
Pacific air forces to protect
the islands. There is a strong
feeling among our military
that the twice might prove too
' heavy for the Reds to want to
pay it.
Moreover, the men in
Peiping still don’t know defi
nitely what America's atti
tude will be in the event of
such an aggression. And for
that matter nobody in Wash
ington knows it either. The
final decision rests with Presi
dent Eisenhower who will con
sult the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
If the Communist attack is
considered as threatening the
security of our defenses in the
Pacific and the Chief Execu
tive decides that the offshore
islands are important to our
security, the American forces
in the threatened areas will be
ordered into action.
This is an entirely different
situation for the Chinese Com
munists from that in Septem
ber, 1950, when they had com
pleted their concentrations on
the Yalu River and in Novem
ber of that year when they
launched their mass attack
into Korea. Moscow and
Peiping had then received posi
tive Information (hat the
United Nations forces under
A-29
Gen. HacArthur would not be
permitted to retaliate against
the Red lines of communica
tions and supply centers in
Manchuria. The Reds cannot
hope now to operate with the
same assurance since they
cannot safely interpret the
mutual security pact we signed
with China last year.
Thus Mr. Menon’s veiled
hints that unless we we good
boys and agree to a meeting
between Mr. Dulles and Chou
Enr-lai, possibly before the end
of this year, have bad little
effect on Mr. Dulles and his
chief advisers.^
The consensus of responsible
officials is that the Com
munists have not been par
ticularly skillful in their meet
recent propaganda drive. Mr.
Menon, who is merely India’s
ambassador to the United
Nations and has no diplo- -
matic role in the United States
itself, made an unusual call
last week? on Ms. Dulles soon
after the Communist heavy
artillery had subjected Que
moy to a severe bombardment.
He was full of “misgivings and
forebodings.” But the circum
stances made him too obvious,
even if he had been dealing
with novices in international
matters.
Russio Snubs West
On Military Traffic
LONDON, Oct. 19 (JP). —Rus-
sia. which granted Communist
East Germany sovereignty Sep
tember 30, will continue to con
trol "tor the present” military
traffic between West Germany
and West Berlin.
A note to this effect, broad
cast by the Moscow radio, has
been sent to the Western Big
Three. It replied to a United
State-British-French note of
October 3 warning Russia it
would still be held responsible
for keeping isolated Berlin free
and open to the West.