Evening star. [volume], November 05, 1959, Page A-15, Image 15

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
DAVID LAWRENCE
Van Doran Didn't Take the 'Fifth 1
Shining Lesson to All Seen in Refusal
To Hide Behind the Constitution
Poor Charles Van Doren—
why didn’t he take the Fifth
Amendment from the start,
and claim his constitutional
right not to offer testimony
“that might possibly incrim
inate" him or tend to degrade
him?
If the young teacher had
done so, he would today be
the hero of the powerful cult
in America which defends the
use of the Fifth Amendment.
He would have'had back of
him the deans of many law
schools and the resolutions
of various “civil liberties” or
ganizations which have de
clared indignantly that no
teacher should lose his Job
Just because he takes the
Fifth Amendment.
Mr. Van Doren isn’t a
Communist, of course, nor
did he engage in any
subversive activity or asso
ciate in secret with persons
who are members of a party
affiliated with a foreign gov
ernment hostile to this coun
try. Yet he would today have
more defenders, especially
among some “intellectual”
groups, if he had Just re
fused to say anything about
“rigged" television shows and
had claimed immunity from
interrogation because it might
embarrass him or his friends
or interfere with his “asso
ciations.” He might have
been applauded perhaps as a
man who fights so-called
“McCarthyism.” This is the
characterization often given
to the tactics of congres
sional committees seeking to
expose fraud and trickery on
the part of individuals en
gaged in ,subversive activity
in the movies, the theater,
the press, labor unions and
schools and colleges.
For the last few years the
outcry has been that a man
who is hauled before a con
gressional committee and
asked Impertinent questions
Involving his life and char
RALPH McGILL
Labor's Role and Power in 1960
Strong Democratic Left in United States
Called Defense Against Communism
In attempting to antici
pate the place and power of
labor in the next Congress,
the summer conventions of
the two parties and the
autumn election, one thinks
back to the visit of Mr. Khru
shchev.
Mr. Khrushchev’s most
belligerent hours were those
he spent with the two Ameri
can labor leaders, the Messrs.
Walter Reuther and James
Carey. These two gentlemen,
representing the automobile
workers and electricians, are
generally identified with tfle
political left. Indeed, some
view them as in the far, far
left. Yet, Mr. K berated them
as stooges of Wall Street and
industrialists.
It is reliably reported that
after his visit to Britain Mr.
Khrushchev declared, out of
his irritation ..with the So
cialists of labor, that if he
were British he would support
the Conservative Party. Mr.
Khrushchev, as we saw in
this country, got along much
better with our capitalists
than with our labor leaders.
It is wryly amusing that Mr.
Khrushchev represents man
agement. It is the govern
ment which owns and directs
all Soviet enterprise.
And, as Mr. K reminded
Mr. Reuther and Mr. Carey,
a Russian worker cannot
strike because he is an arm
of the government. It was a
lecture, or tongue-lashing,
the two will not forget. But
they will also remember how
angry their guest became
when confronted with the
known facts of Soviet work
3-Party Coalition Rule
Expected in Israel
JERUSALEM. Nov. 5 (AP). j
—Premier David Ben-Gurion is s
expected to form a three-party j
coalition government with an c
eight-vote majority in the c
Israeli Parliament.
Authoritative sources said Mr.' i
Ben - Gurion’s moderately 1
socialist Mapai (Labor) Party t
—still the nation’s biggest after
the general election Tuesday— <
probably will join forces with t
the Progressives and the “free t
enterprise” General Zionists. ,
The 120 seats in the Knesset <
(Parliament) have not yet been
allocated on a proportional rep
resentation basis, but the Mapai
is expected to get 47 seats, a
gain of 7 over its representation
in the old Knesset. The Gen
eral Zionists should have 8
seats and the Progressives 6.
and the coalition also could de
pend on 3 Arab members who
usually support the Mapai.
There is little possibility, the
sources said, that the outgoing
coalition will be reconstituted.
The cabinet, composed of the
Mapai, the Progressives and the
Left-wing Achduth Avodah and
Mapam Parties, has been op
erating on a caretaker basis
since July. Mr. Ben-Gurion
resigned earlier that month
after the Achduth Avodah and
Mapam refused to support his
decision to sell Israeli-made
grenade throwers to West
Germany.
The new Knesset will con
vene the last of this month.
Mr. Ben-Gurion is expected to
start negotiations on his new
government team soon with
leaders of other parties.
"Although we stemmed the
trend of dissension,” he 73-
acter la being unjustly
treated. Even the Supreme
Court of the United States,
in an opinion rendered by
Chief Justice Warren, said
in 1957 that congressional
committees should not have
the power to hurt the reputa
tion of Individuals “for ex
. posure’s sake.” Here is what
the opinion said in part:
“The mere summoning of
a witness and compelling
him to testify, against his
will, about his beliefs, ex
pressions or associations is
a measure of governmental
interference. And when those
forced revelations concern
matters that are unorthodox,
unpopular, or even hateful
to the general public, the
reaction in the life of the
witness may be disastrous.
This effect is even more harsh
'when it is past beliefs, ex
pressions or associations that
are disclosed and judged by
current standards rather than
those contemporary with the
matters exposed. Nor does the
witness alone suffer the con
sequences. Those who are
identified by witnesses and
thereby placed in the same
glare of publicity are equally
subject to public stigma, scorn
and obloquy.”
But it will be argued that
Mr. Van Doren waited a long
time before he came through
with the truth, and then
only when it was apparent
he had no escape from the
testimony of other witnesses.
But he didn’t have to testify
before the New York grand
Jury in the first place and
Incriminate himself. He could
have taken advantage of the
Immunity amendment in the
New York State Constitution,
and he could later have in
voked the Fifth Amendment
before the congressional com
mittee, as so many other
individuals have done before
even when other witnesses
testify against them.
ing conditions and the im
potency of the so-called
unions.
What this emphasizes is
that there is in this country,
as in Britain, a democratic .
left and communism does not
like it. It is an inescapable
conclusion that a democratic
left strong enough to make
itself felt jn politics is the
best defense against commu
nism in that field.
The lesson so recently
learned was a grim reminder
of one from the immediate
postwar years. The Commu
nists then bloodily betrayed
and liquidated the Socialists
in what are now the satellite
countries after first making
them junior partners in gov
ernment. But they were far
away, and besides, being not
then well informed, many of
them looked upon a Socialist
as merely a Communist with
another label. But now Mr.
K has made us understand
that he, at least, does not
regard either the major
United States labor leaders
or the British Socialists as
allies, ke detests them as
Stalin did the Socialists of
the Middle European states
liquidated in his postwar
grab.
If we are candid enough
we must admit that the
democratic left has given us
a much truer picture of com
munism than has the demo
cratic right. Indeed, the
image given us by the luna
tic fringe of the Republican
Party was so false and dis
torted that when Mr. Khru
shchev came with his blar-
year-old Premier said, “there 1
still is the threat of extremist l
political elements which can >,
only be reined in by a change |
of the electoral system.”
Mr. Ben-Gurion was refer
ring to his proposal to change 1
from proportional to consti
tuency representation.
Although 24 parties entered ,
candidates in the general elec
tion, apparently only 10 drew
the 1 per cent of the ballots
needed to obtain at least one
seat in the Krtesset.
Political Outlook
Pleases Tawes
BALTIMORE, Nov. 5 (AP).
—Maryland Gov. Tawes says
Democrats should not worry
about the large number of
presidential candidates, be
cause it shows “the vigor that
is part of our Democratic tra
dition.”
Gov. Tawes, referring to
what he said were fears in
some quarters that the party
will not be able to agree upon
a candidate, told a political
meeting last night:
“It is my belief, furthermore,
that long before the convention
the choice will be narrowed
down to two, or possibly three,
contenders.”
I ..
for the finest from
Mexico in unusual
fashions
:
To this day, many who have
appeared in the past before
congressional committees and
confessed their misdeeds in
Joining or working in the
Communist Party are held up
to scorn. Some of the ex
communists claim they can
not get a job and are vir
tually "black-listed” either
in the theatrical world or In
the field of books or educa
tion, and that one who re
veals his own part in Com-*
munist activity suffers far
more than the man who
takes the Fifth Amendment.
Charles Van Doren in his
TV appearances didn’t vio
late any law of defraud the
sponsor who put him on the
show. But he did violate a
moral code—he misled the
people In an entertainment
for which the public paid
no admission. He is suffering
now and will suffer in the
future more penalties than
if he had violated many a
law. Certainly there is no
moral Justification for what
he did, but does unremitting
punishment by the public fit
the “crime”?
What will society now say
to Charles Van Doren? Will
it credit him with courage
for exposing every single de
tail of a harrowing experi
ence with his conscience, or
will it say he is a confirmed
liar and refuse to take him
back?
To err is human and to
forgive is human, too. But
most of all it is important
to remember that Charles
Van Doren scorned the use
of the Fifth Amendment and
took his medicine like a man.
How helpful to America it
would be if many of our hid
den Communists now work
ing against their own coun
try would confess their sins
and help break down the in
filtration-apparatus of a hos
tile government—something
far more Important than
what happens on the stage
of make-believe in the enter
tainment world!
(Copyright, 1959)
ney, his labored proverbs and
his shrewd sales pitch of
half-truths and evasions, he
made more of an impact than
he would have had so many
not been deceived by the
frantic fringe. They played
into his hands.
Labor cannot win the elec
tion or dictate the nominee.
But it holds a sort of balance
of power and can, if aroused,
give enough push to a candi
date to boost him to the top.
Labor, like a great many
voters, and some of the can
didates, must make up its
mind whether to believe there
is a chance for honorable
coexistence with reasonable
peace, or join the Cassandras
and return to atomic test
ing and fear of negotiations.
Among the Republicans
Gov. Rockefeller seems to be
gambling on fear. He wants
to resume atomic testing. Mr.
Nixon will support the Ei
senhower policy of summit
talks and negotiations. The
Democratic possibilities are
cautious, but in general lean
hopefully, toward trying for
peace. They remember what
a vote-getter peace was in
1952 when, nation of matrla
archs that we are, Gen. Ei
senhower’s promise of peace
wrecked the Democratic cam
paign. This was true in 1956,
and even today, when the
G.O.P. shamelessly has taken
over all of Adlai Stevenson's
platform of nuclear controls
and peace negotiations at the
summit. The President’s pres
tige is high because he seeks
peace. 0
Labor, one would now guess,
will largely be with the Dem
ocrats again in 1960. But it
is early. And fear could re?
place hope.
Integration Pace
In Delaware Hit
PHILADELPHIA. Nov. 5 (AP).
—Seven Negro students are not
satsifled with pace of desegre
gation in Delaware public
schools. Their lawyer asked a
Federal court yesterday to re
verse an order permitting grade
by-grade desegregation.
The petition was filed in the
Third Circuit Court of Appeals
by Louis L. Redding against an
order issued July 6 by the Cir
cuit Court in Wilmington, Del.
Mr. Redding said the order
bypassed his clients because
they wpud be out of school be
fore desegregation caught up
with them.
Judge Caleb R. Layton 111
last July approved a plan of the
Delaware Board of Education.
The plan, spanning 12 years,
provides for integregation of
one grade a year. The first
grade was integrated in Sep
tember.
Delaware Attorney General
, Januar D. Bove has until No
, vember 29 to answer Mr. Red
ding’s brief.
l -
l
IHfflHlllSiS
SENATOR CAUCUS -*f w i~«
i i\ i 1 « CH
1 I I
A // I klj
“Ask yourself, what would Ike do!"
POTOMAC FEVER
By FLETCHER KNEBBL
Big mystery of the TV quiz probe: How come everybody
inlfew York knew the combination to that bank vault where
they kept the questions—except the network presidents?
•* * *
Ike will visit nine countries next month. It’s the Three
Eye League of tourism: Ike, Italy and India.
*• * *
Harold Stassen loses for Mayor of Philadelphia. Dick
Nixon breathes easier. Now that Stassen isn’t tied down,
he’ll be free to run for Vice President—with Rockefeller.
•* * *
Revlon officials deny they knew their TV quiz sljows
were rigged. All they knew was that whenever a contestant
bit his lip, 3 million women were reminded to rush out and
buy lipstick. / i
** * *
Ike says the Nation is bewildered by the TV quiz scan
dals. We’re not sure whether a teleprompter is a machine
or a guy who hands out the answers.
*• * *
Democrats make gains in local elections around the
country. But Republicans will fare well at income tax time,
deducting their party under the depletion allowance.
** * *
The White House sees no reason to use military talent
in exploring the moon. The Army does. It knows several Air
Force generals it would like to send there tomorrow.
Spanish Teachers
Elect Officers
Mrs. Gulllermina Supervia of ,
the Sidwell Friends School has •
Seen elected president of the 1
American Association of Teach- ,
srs of Spanish and Portuguese.
Other new officers are Dr.
Graciela P. Nemes of the Uni
versity of Maryland, vice presi
dent; Mrs. Pilar G. Saenz of
Trinity College, secretary, and
Mrs. Rhonda Piste, Northwest
ern High School, treasurer.
The chapter will meet at 4:30
p.m. Saturday at George Wash
ington University’s Woodhull
House, 2033 G street, N.W.
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Jewish War Shrine
To Be Consecrated
The national shrine to the
Jewish War Dead will be con
secrated at special services at
7:30 p.m. tomorrow.
, Rabbi Jesse J. Finkle, na
tional chaplain of the Jewish
War Veterans, will officiate at
the service, which also will
honor J. George Fredman, a
former commander of the
veterans organization. The
shrine, located at 1712 New
Hampshire avenue N.W. with
the Jewish War Veterans na
tional headquarters, contains
a museum, a hall of heroes, a
library and a chapel.
CONSTANTINE BROWN
U. S. Need tor Spiritual Revival
TV Quiz Hearings Prompt Concern
Over State of Nation's Morals
When and how can we
expect the spritual revival
which is taking place in
Western Europe at an amaz
ing pace to begin in the
United States?
The hearings before the
House Special Committee on
Legislative Oversight have
disclosed some unpleasant
aspects of the mores of the
present generation. And “old
timers” who are concerned
over the Increase In juvenile
problems ask with justifiable
anxiety: “What will the next
generation be?”
Psychologists may explain
that the unbelievable behav
ior of Charles Van Doren
and the others who partici
pated in the colossal fraud
and hoax on television quiz
programs, as well as the
hooliganism in marly of our
cities, is the result of the
tumultuous and confused
times which have gripped the
world since the outbreak of
World War I. They and some
kind-hearted historians may
point out that in such tur
moil moral values ar9 lost.
How otherwise, they say, can
it be explained that an edu
cator in one of the leading
American universities was so
willing not only to participate
in what he knew was a de
spicable fraud but persisted
in lying before the grand
jury which examined him?
The fact that Mr. Van
Doren came clean before the
House investigating commit
tee is not to his credit. He
knew that the committee had
the goods on him and by
continuing his denials he
would only get into farther
hot water by exposing hinj,-
self to perjury before Con
gress as well as the grand
jury.
Here was a man supposed
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THE EVENING STAR
Wathlnftoa, 0. C., Tburtday, Novambar 5, »5t
ly destined for a great teach
ing career, to bring up an
American generation not only
in knowledge but also teach
it morality <as all teachers
should), who lent himself
to cheating on a grand scale.
And when he was caught lie
tried to lie out of a dif
ficult situation.
A more amazing example
of moral decrepitude was
the Rev. Charles E. Jack
son. Here was a minister
of the gospel whose only
role in life is to preach the
Word of God, including “Thou
shall not steal,” who be*
came a knowing partner of
a fraudulent program in
tended to boost the sales of
cosmetics or whatever other
wares were advertised. The
minister’s explanation that he
lent the prestige of the church
for such a fraud because
he wanted to obtain money
for a recreation center for
underpriviliged boys is un
convincing. There are a
number of American chari
table Institutions and indi
viduals who respond to such
requests. In any event, the
minister did build a (3,500
“shack” for himself as well
as pay personal debts and
contribute toward publica
tion of a book he had written.
Whatever further dramatic
discoveries may come at the
hearings there is one deeply
concerning thing which
shqpld be foremost in the
minds of all Americans:
What is happening to our
morals and to the spiritual
strength on which this Na
tion was built? It is through
spiritual strength and hard
work that the miracle of
America took place. It was
mainly through those two
essential qualities that the
United States reached in less
than two centuries the fore
most place among the na
tions of the world. We seem
to be losing both more rap
idly than other countries in
the turmoil which • has be
fallen the world since 1914.
In our own political system
as in other countries occa
sional dishonesty or lack of
scruples appears inevitable.
The old saying of “all is fair
in love and war” applies even
more to politics. But it is
really alarming when repu
table teachers and men of
the cloth are so thirsty for
dollars that they are willing
to cheat In the expectation
that they will not be dis
covered.
This column has shown con
cern for some time about the
apparent apathy of Ure Ameri
can people and thl gradual
loss of genuine national
pride. Teachers with na
tional reputations and study
groups in universities and
colleges suggest that old
fashioned nationalism and
patriotism be discarded since
we must prepare the coming
generations to live in one
world where national bar
riers will be eradicated. Fed
eral courts rule that prayers
in public schools are uncon
stitutional, when this Nation
was born and grew up in
faith in God and daily
prayers.
When and how this trend
may change is difficult to
say. In some Western Euro
pean countries, particularly
in France which until 18
months ago was on the brink,
the changes were personified
by a leader, Gen. de Gaulle.
But the real change occurred
in the hearts of the French
people themselves who re
fused to be led astray by the
so-called “modernists’’ and
backed the general in his
endeavors which now appear
to be fully successful.
A-15