Evening star. [volume], January 16, 1957, Page A-19, Image 19

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

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DAVID LAWRENCE
The Other Side of 2 News Issues
U. S. Case Cited in Ban on Press Visits
To Red China and at Sunday Oath-Taking
It would be most unfortu
nate if, when the press itself
is involved in controversies with
the Government, only one side
of the case were presented to
the public. It so happens
there are two disputes going
on lust now.
One relates to the White
House decision not to make a
public ceremony when Presi
dent Eisenhower next Sunday
takes the oath of office for his
second term, inasmuch as the
whole thing will be repeated
on Monday for the public, any
how.
The other episode relates to
the decision of the State De
partment in declining to issue
passports to 1 American cor
respondents who want to en
ter Red China. The adminis
tration has sound reasons for
both decisions and is supported
by many precedents.
First, as to the protests' of
the correspondents who want
to be present at the White
House next Sunday, there was
originally a plan to admit a
few persons from the press,
but it became apparent that
if one group—a representative
or two from the writing press
—were present, radio would
want coverage, too. and so
would the photographers. It
would not stop there, because
the movies and television feel
they should be admitted
wherever any other branch of
the press is admitted. In the
end it becomes a public show.
The primary reason for not
having a public ceremony has
been that somehow it dese
crates the Sabbath to have
such a display on a Sunday.
The last time Inauguration
Day fell on Sunday was March
4. 1917, when President Wilson
took the oath of office for his
second term in the President's
room at the Capitol just as
he finished signing bills and
as the 64th Congress was ad
journing at noon. Only a few
friends and the cabinet wit
nessed the event. No reporters
or photographers or movie
camera operators were ad
DORIS FLEESON
Budget Ordeal for Humphrey
Treasury Secretary Found Uncomfortable
In Having to Support Huge New Outlay
The Washington equivalent
of a bullfight is a press con
ference held by a cabinet
member forced to defend an
administration policy that the
reporters know he purely
hates.
The Secretary of the Treas
ury and Mrs. George Hum
phrey are delightful people and
members of the rather too
small group of Eisenhower
officials who relax and enjoy
the press. But charm could
not efface the fact that the
Secretary was having to sup
port an Eisenhow'er budget for
fiscal 1958 that:
1. Constitutes the Federal
Government’s biggest peace
time outlay with projected ex
penditures of about $72 billion.
2. Contains substantial funds
for virtually every aspect of
the welfare state installed by
Democratic Presidents over
the anguished protests of
Republicans.
3 Makes impossible a sound
ly financed tax cut, being in
fact very narrowly balanced
as it stands with extremely
optimistic estimates for in
creased tax revenues.
4. Contradicts, in general
mood and particular items.
DOROTHY THOMPSON
Sabotage on the Oil Pipelines
Nasser's Radio to Wreck Lines
Found Acted on by Variety of Forces
DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia.—
During the crisis precipitated
by the Israeli attack on Egypt
through Sinai and the joint
British-French moves, first on
all Egyptian airports and then
in the canal zone, oil installa
tions have been sabotaged, one
of them to a serious degree.
What actually happened?
Simultaneously with the at
tack. the Cairo and Syrian ra
dios transmitted an appeal
from the Arab Federation of
Trade Unions to workers in all
Middle Eastern oil fields to
sabotage the flow of oil to the
aggressors. This appeal was
made every hour as part of
the regular newscast.
The Federation of Arab
Trade Unions has refused to
Join the Free World Federa
tion to which American and
other free world unions belong
on the ground that their coun
tries are neutral. It is, how
ever, dubious whether mem
bership or nonmembership
would have affected them in
this matter.
The appeal did not define
locations It was addressed to
all workers in the Arab v/orld.
As a direct result of the first
broadcast—November 3—sabo
tage occurred in Qatar, a rela
tively small field south of Bah
rein ißritish), and in Libya
which produces no oil, but
where tank fires were started
in Bengasi, a shipping and oil
storage point. In Libya accu
sations were leveled by the
government against the Egyp
tian military attache, who was
withdrawn as the result of an
official protest.
In Bahrein. British buildings
were set on fire and a strike
was called. Further activities
were suppressed by British
troops stationed there. Martial
law was declared and workers
drifted back.
In Tripoli, In the Lebanon,
the pipeline was blown.
Here, again, the government
made charges against the
mitted. Tfce next day Wilson
took the oath again on the
east front of the Capitol, and
the Inaugural Parade was held
as usual. Nobody protested
then.
The press today, however,
includes television, and this
requires a lot of apparatus
and mokes every incident tele
vised a public affair. Thus
far the Senate of the United
States has refused to permit
any television or movie or still
cameras inside the Senate
chamber while it is in session.
When Senators take the oath
of office, they cannot be pho
tographed doing so. Reporters
may see and write about it.
but there is no show for
the screen. Some committee
sessions are televised, but
Speaker Rayburn has refused
to make a general rule to
permit it all the time.
Some committees allow pro
ceedings to be televised, but
witnesses have the right to ob
ject. A Federal court has ruled
that picture-taking interferes
with the orderly processes of
the law. The American Bar
Association at its last two
conventions went on record
against admitting photog
raphers and television and
movies to courtroom trials, she
Supreme Court of the United
States bars photographers and
television when it is in session,
though reporters are always
admitted.
There is, of course, another
practical reason why the ad
ministration doesn’t want to
make a show out of the Sunday
oath-taking. If the entire Na
tion saw the President on tele
vision Sunday taking the oath,
it would spoil the show for
Monday. Lots of time and
money are expended by or
ganizations here to arrange an
Inaugural Parade and all that
goes with it. To televise the
Sunday ceremony could make
the Monday affair a complete
anti-c lim ax. Officially the
White House did not give such
a reason but said merely that,
if it invited the reporters to the
both Republican campaign
promises and supposed anti
big government philosophy.
The actual budget figures
are not the only spending
which Humphrey had to ex
plain. The President will seek
still another’increase in spend
ing authority bearing no direct
relation to next year's plans
but signaling higher outlays
in future years.
The Secretary tried man
fully in his prepared remarks
to distribute the blame for a
state of affairs he said he did
not like. Everybody, he in
sisted. beginning with the pub
lic which looks to Washington
for help, is at fault. He in
cluded himself but carefully
generalized about “the admin
istration” whenever a reporter
mentioned President Eisen
hower's responsibility or re
marks.
Tension built quickly in the
conference but was slightly
relaxed when a reporter asked:
"Aren’t you encouraging Con
gress to cut this budget?”
Humphrey’s reply got some
what involved but it is fair
to say that his answer was
yes.
Egyptian military attache, who
was found to be in possession
of dynamite and small arms.
No sabotage occuired in
Saudi Arabia. Under the laws
of the Kingdom trade unions
(or "syndicates”) are barred.
Labor disputes and labor con
ditions are regulated by law
and appeals through a special
court. But on November 6, the
King of Saudi Arabia, who has
unshared jurisdiction in such
matters, announced an em
bargo on oil to Britain and
France pending settlement, and
next day Aramco confirmed
this.
In Jordan the pipeline to
Haifa in Israel was blown. This
was not committed by organ
ized workers. The country is
not industrialized and they do
not exist. The probability is
that the sabotage was com
mitted by Palestinian Arabs,
who equal the native popula
tion in Jordan. Since no oil
has been flowing through these
lines it had no effect.
With one exception, these
explosions occurred before No
vember 10. after which appeals
for sabotage ceased. The only
subsequent explosion occurred
December 10 in Kuwait (Brit
ish). From there an initial
news blackout has not wholly
been lifted. But apparently
workers blew up lines between
fields and storage tanks and
from these to the tanker ter
minus. and set fire to one im
portant well. This is inter
preted here as delayed action,
due to lack of planned organ
ization when the appeal came.
It is difficult to separate
the Federation of Workers
from other organized nation
alist or radical groups, open
or clandestine. The explosions
and sabotage committed by
workers and apparently in re
sponse to the radio appeals
wreaked no damage of a se
rious nature that would im
pede the flow of oil.
private affair on Sunday, it
would have to ask the members
of the diplomatic corps, prom
inent officials and their friends
—and there wasn’t room for
all these.
On the subject of letting
American newsmen enter Red
China with United States
passports, the State Depart
ment argues that the press is
not above the law. The ‘‘Trad
ing With the Enemy Act” for
bids the presence of Ameri
cans in countries with which
the United States is engaged
in hostilities. The armistice
signed at Panmunjom has
never been followed by a
treaty of peace with Red
China.
So far as the State Depart
ment is concerned, the press is
a line of business. To let down
the bars for one set of citizens
involves a discrimination
against all other American
citizens who today want to
visit in. or trade with Red
China. Whether the members
of the press like it or not, the
law of the land is that any
American who carries money
into Red China violates the
statute and can be punished.
To decline to prosecute one set
of violators and to apply the
law to others would be dis
criminatory. If Congress wants
to change the law or declare
the United States is “at peace”
with Communist China, it can
do so any day. But it is the
Treasury Department not
the State Department—which
today has the duty of enforc
ing the “Trading With the
Enemy Act.”
The press is subject to law
just as is any other business.
The Supreme Court of the
United States decided this in
1937 when it said the First
Amendment to the Constitu
tion does not immunize the
press from the organization of
labor unions by reporters nor
from any of the regulations
concerning working conditions
imposed by the Government
with respect to all businesses.
“Freedom of the press” does
not, of course, include free
dom to violate laws on the
statute books.
(Reproduction Rirhtt Reserved)
Where he really dropped his
watch, however, was in insist
ing that the Treasury would
oppose any tax changes which
would reduce the Government’s
income. Reporters pointed out
to him a passage in the state
of-the-Union message in which
the President called on Con
gress to consider specific tax
relief for small business.
“He only asked Congress to
consider it," evaded the Sec
retary. “Is it your idea that he
was fooling?” shot back the
reporter. After some sparring,
the Secretary said he would
not cut his throat if some
minor relief were granted, say
S2O million.
The final impression of most
reporters was that Humphrey
talked like a man on his way
out. What the President ap
parently feels are the political
imperatives of the “new Re
publicanism” have beaten
Humphrey on every stand he
took when he first came here.
His exhortations and pleas for
self-restraint are not realistic.
What a President Just re
elected in the second greatest
landslide in modern times does
not care or dare to do in the
way of more spartan fiscal and
monetary policy, lesser politi
cians certainly will not em
brace.
Quite different and more
enduring was the blowing of
the pipeline and far more im
portantly the destruction of
the pumps in Syria. The pipe
line itself is a small repair Job.
But even with the use of mo
bile pumps the action would
reduce the oil flow from Iraq
by two-thirds and those oould
be used only with permission
of the Syrian government, not
granted as I write. New pumps
will require six months to a
year to install.
And this job was not done
by amateurs. The explosives
used could not have been in
amateur hands and the work
revealed thorough engineering
skill. All evidence points to the
Job having been done by the
army, or by a clique within
the army, reportedly led by
one Capt. SarraJ, chief of in
telligence. The Syrian govern
ment has denied responsibility.
It may very well not have been
in collusion. The effect on
Syrian revenue is disastrous.
But all governments (that
really govern) are responsible
for acts of their armed forces.
Nasser, when I talked with
him, brushed off SarraJ as be
ing "only a captain,” but since
the sabotage he has been pro
moted, not demoted.
There have, therefore, been
a number of forces, organized
and unorganized, official and
unofficial, engaged in the war
against oil production and
shipments in and from the
Middle East.
Except for the affair in
Kuwait, sabotage has halted
since the cease-fire.
Meeting in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 18 (/P).
—King Faisal presided over a
top-levM meeting on Iraq-
Amertcan relations yesterday.
It came on the eve of the de
parture of Iraq’s Crown Prince
Abdul,. Illah for the United
States. The Crown Prince and
Prime Minister Nurl Said at
tended the meeting in the royal
palace. (
LOUIE —By Harry Hanan
f EffT HI II
POTOMAC FEVER
FLETCHER KNEBEL
One top Democrat says that every time he hears of a Repub
lican wife paying S2OO for an Inaugural Ball gown, he thanks
heaven that Adlai Stevenson was such a good loser.
• * * *
Ike’s drought inspection trip was a success. Farmers found
the Eisenhower team doesn’t take just a negative position of
being against sin. It’s also in favor of rain.
* * * *
Secretary Dulles says that if Ike’s Middle East policy isn't
adopted we may get into war. Whereas, if it is adopted, things
will improve to the point where nobody knows what we’ll
get into.
* * • *
Retiring Gov. Shivers of Texas names an "Eisenhower Dem
ocrat” to the Senate. That’s a fellow who believes that Ike can
do anything—except out-live the Democratic Party.
* * * *
Kentucky's Senator Morton advises fellow Republicans to
become Eisenhower “moderns.” They ought to quit retreating—
and get in side-step with Ike.
* * • •
One housewife says her husband was way ahead of the do-it
yourself trend. For years, he’s been blowing his own horn.
• * • •
The United States expels a Russian military aide for trying
to buy secret information. The guy was an obvious impostor.
No real spy would buy information. He’d steal it.
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CONSTANTINE BROWN ~
A Good Case, With Confusion
Dulles Picture of Mideast Policy Plan
Called Blurred by Verbosity
There is no question that
the administration has a good
case in the plan to defend
the Middle East from further
Soviet encroachments. Unfor
tunately, the picture presented
Monday before the Senate
Foreign Relations and Armed
Services Committees was so
blurred and so cluttered with
unnecessary verbosity that
even the strong partisans of
the proposal became confused.
In order to make his point
about the reasons why Presi
dent Elsenhower wants Con
gress to give him standly pow
ers to send American forces
to the Middle East if neces
sary, Secretary of State pulles
stated: “Whatever may be the
correct constitutional view of
the authority of the President
to use armed forces of the
United States, the fact is that
the Soviet rulers feel more
deterred if the Congress has
spoken.”
This might have been a
pleasant sop to the members of
the legislative bodies had they
not remembered that on April
3, 1955, the Secretary of State
had said to the members of the
Foreign Relations Committee
that United States forces
might be utilized in the Middle
East "without congressional
authority in the event of an
emergency.”
The emergency in the Mid
dle East is unquestionably
greater today than a year ago.
according to the best available
military and diplomatic in
telligence. But for some of
those mysterious "security
reasons” the spokesmen of
the administration have not
spelled it out, either for mem
bers of Congress or the Ameri
can public as was the case two
years ago when a similar
resolution concerning Formosa
was passed with only six dis
senting voices in both houses
of Congress.
THE EVENING STAR, Washington. D. C.
wepmispat, January is. las;
Dulles, for instance, merely
hinted about the massive con
centration of Soviet forces on
the Iranian borders and the
shooting affrays between
Communist-inspired Kurdish
tribes and the forces of the
Iranian government. While
sounding the alarm about the
Imminence of a Soviet aggres
sion in the Middle East, he
tempered his statements by
saying that “if the Commu
nists obtain control of a
country they won’t be able to
keep it for any length of tune
because basically people are
against communism and athe
ism.” He gave Hungary as an
example of his contention.
It is true that Hungary did
attempt to shake off the Com
munist yoke imposed by Mos
cow, but the military forces
of the Kremlin managed to
maintain the Kadar puppet
regime and through him keep
the Hungarian people in servi
tude despite our capability
and that of the other free
peoples to'impose moral and
economic sanctions.
Members of the Foreign
Relations and Armed' Serv
ices Committees pointed out
that fact after Dulles had fin
ished his presentation.
Despite the blurred picture
offered by the Secretary of
State, the consensus is that the
Senate and House eventually
will give the President the
standby powers he is request
ing but with a less resounding
majority than was the case
with Formosa. But opposition
to the S2OO-million-a-year
discretionary fund is mounting
and it is highly improbable
that he will get his way. When
asked which of the Middle
Eastern countries will be of
fered assistance from that re
quested amount, Dulles ex
plained that “any country
which is playing around with
international communism will
not get any economic help
from us.”
This statement was received
with a grain of salt by a
number of members present.
What about Tito? He is cer
’tainly “playing around with
communism” extensively. Yet
he is not only receiving Ameri
can economic aid, but the State
Department is now consider
ing sending him additional
military assistance in the
form of some 76 jet fighter and
bomber planes and other im
portant military equipment in
opposition to the views of
Congress.
Tito’s so-called “inde
pendence" of Moscow is a mere
illusion. His record of the last
few months if properly ex
amined would speak for itself.
He closed the borders of
Yugoslavia to Hungarians who
wanted to escape the Com
munist tyranny and his repre
sentatives at the United Na
tions either voted with the
Communist bloc or abstained
from voting on any of the
academic resolutions offered by
the United States or by other
free countries blaming the
Soviets or the Kadar govern
ment for their barbaric atti
tude against the defenseless
Hungarian workers.
Police Lieutenant
Here Suspended
A second precinct lieutenant
has been suspended from duty
by his captain, who said he was
unfit for duty.
Capt. Alexander Douglass said
he relieved Lt. Louis Giersch, 41,
a member of the department for
15 years, after he observed the
officer stagger when alighting
from a car at Fourteenth and M
streets N.W., Monday night.
Deputy Chief Howard Covell
said Capt. Douglass told him Lt.
Giersch’s uniform was disar
ranged and that it appeared that
the officer had been drinking.
A-19