Evening star. [volume], December 27, 1961, Page A-22, Image 22

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

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A-22
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1961
Tempting Tshombe
There has been some doubt, en
couraged by statements from unidenti
fied United Nations "spokesmen” and by
Congolese Premier Adoula, that Moise
Tshombe really Intends to go through
with his agreement to end the secession
of Katanga province. The import of this
has been that he' signed the agreement
in bad faitfi and that he will find some
pretext for wriggling out of it.
Maybe so—although Mr. Tshombe
today is scheduled to send a Katanga
parliamentary delegation to Leopoldville
to participate in the drafting of the new
Congo constitution called for in the
Adoula-Tshombe agreement. But what
is one to think of the U. N. and its
intentions?
Last Saturday, at a most critical
stage of the supposed effort to end
its war in Katanga and bring that prov
ince back into the Congo, it was an
nounced that 1,000 troops from the
Congolese army will be added to the
U. N. military force. What could be
better calculated to encourage Mr.
Tshombe, if he wants to welsh on his
agreement, and to stiffen Katangese
resistance to the U. N. effort to end the
province’s secession? What earthly sense
does it make, especially at this time, for
the U. N. to be Importing “enemy” troops
into Katanga—troops whose military
performance heretofore has been notable
lor butchery, pillage and rape?
• When the announcement first came
It was wrapped in ambiguity. No U. N.
spokesman would say why a long-stand
ing policy against using Congolese troops
as part of the U. N. force had been
Changed. No one would say where these
troops would be stationed. Our own
Government, which has not favored use
of Congolese troops on the ground that it
would smack too much of intervention
in a civil war, remained silent—while
presumably our planes were flying in
the Adoula soldiers.
Three days later some enlightenment
came. A 90-man advance unit of the
Congolese troops, it was announced, is
joining the U. N. army at Kamina Base
—in Katanga, and the others, presum
ably, will be flown in later. To be sure,
it was stated that the Congolese will not
be used to attack Katanga. But as the
Associated Press reported in a dispatch
which certainly is not an exaggeration,
“their presence is likely to increase Mr.
Tshombe’s fear that one day the U. N.
may assist the Central Congolese army
to reoccupy Katanga by force.”
It may be that the U. N. authorities
think they have crushed Mr. Tshombe’s
ability to resist, and that they can
do as they please. If the Katanga leader
now tries to back out of his agreement,
however, and if the fighting should be
resumed, this Incredible decision to use
Congolese troops may very well be
Interpreted as evidence that the U. N.
planned it that way.
The Non-Divine Mr. K.
With becoming but perhaps some
what uncharacteristic modesty, Nikita
Khrushchev now has proclaimed to
iris countrymen that neither he nor
the Soviet Communist Party is infal
lible. Indeed, he has even gone so far as
to suggest that he and other mem
bers of the party’s hierarchy are ca
pable of making serious mistakes, and
he has exhorted knowledgeable Rus
sians to speak out against such errors
as vigorously and as sharply as pos
sible, without the slightest hesitation
or diffidence.
This is a far cry from the days
of the deified Josef Stalin, whose name
and remains have in recent weeks
been denigrated almost to the point
of complete degradation. During the
old Generalissimo’s time, of course,
everybody, Including Mr. Khrushchev,
Yawned upon him, and grovelled in
his presence, as if he were a veritable
■god, flawless, all-knowing, all-wise, all
good and all-powerful beyond human
compare. Russians who took a less
idolatrous view of the man, and who
dared to criticize him and his works
within the hearing of the secret police,
were swiftly and quite mercilessly
punished, thousands and thousands of
them being liquidated in a series of
blood purges that sickened and hor
rified the outside world.
Hence, byway of contrast, Pre
mier Khrushchev's open admission that
he is something less than a god, and
that he is prepared to accept criti
cism as a mere mortal with feet of
clay, must add up to a rather sensa
tional conversation piece in certain
circles cf the USSR. We venture to pre
dict, hov'ever, that the non-conformists
over there, the deviationlsts, the peo
ple who regard the Kremlin’s rule as
a sham and a curse, will remain silent,
or at least couch their criticism in
the gentlest kind of words. To that
extent, if Mr. K really wants to have
brickbats tossed at him, he will have
to depend on our side of the Iron Curtain
to keep on throwing them. Almost need
less to say, the barrage is likely to con
tinue heavy for a long time to come—
and with good reason.
Eleventh-Hour Delay
There is no end, apparently, to
the surprises of which the National
Capital Planning Commission is cap
able. And certainly high on the list
of unpredictables are the strange views
just expressed by the NCPC chair
man, Mrs. Elizabeth Rowe, on the SSO
- apartment-office-hotel develop
ment proposed by the Roman firm,
Societa Generale Immoblliare, in Foggy
Bottom. '
According to Mrs. Rowe, it is ques
tionable whether the land involved—
a 10-acre tract between Virginia and
New Hampshire avenues near the
river—should be developed privately
at all. Perhaps, she says, it should be
“reserved” for public purposes. Among
her concerns is that the so-called
“Watergate” development might domi
nate the Lincoln Memorial and the pro
posed National Cultural Center.
This, it seems to us, reflects fuzzy
thinking on several counts. The only
way the site could be “reserved,” in
the first place, would be to condemn
it, for it already is owned by the
Roman development firm. And we
cannot Imagine Congress, even in its
most generous moments, appropriating
the several million dollars which re
flects its current value for a park or
for some undesignated “public pur
pose.” As for the Lincoln Memorial,
that monument is fully a half-mile
away—surely too far to be “overshad
owed.” Nor have the officials in charge
of the Cultural Center registered the
slightest protest or dissatisfaction with
the proposed private project.
On the other hand, the apartment
project as designed by its entrepre
neurs seems to us a desirable and
fitting use of the site. It complies, for
example, with the policy often expressed
by the Planning Commission of en
couraging in-town apartments on the
periphery of the downtown core. There
are other apartments nearby. Its park
in needs would all be met by under
ground facilities. Its financing re
portedly is assured, with no Government
assistance whatsoever. Its developers,
futhermore, while they have requested
re-zoning, have Indicated a reasonable
ness as to the precise design.
Finally, the eleventh-hour ques
tions raised by Mrs. Rowe and other
commission members are particularly
ill-timed. Extensive proposals for a
somewhat similar development were
made as long as several years ago. If
they were objectionable, why did the
Planning Commission not say so then?
Why wait until the present developers
had Invested millions of dollars in the
purchase of land and the preparation
of plans?
This is patently unfair. The com
mission has the right, of course, to
take whatever position it chooses on
the zoning and other requests made
by the developers. But in turn the
developers (who presumably could pro
ceed in any event with modified plans
under existing residential zoning) have
the right to expect official decisions.
Other developers of worth-while proj
ects In Foggy Bottom have suffered
from Planning Commission foot-drag
ging and indecision in years past. We
hope there is not a repetition In this
Instance.
White Elephant
White elephants always are embar
rassing to those responsible for them,
and no amount of explanation now by
District highway officials will alter
the fact that the Connecticut avenue
streetcar underpass of Dupont Circle,
with the demise of streetcars, stands
as a monument to their own fallibility.
But is fallibility, after all, such a
sin? To hear some critics of the High
way Department, one would think
that Connecticut avenue was ripped
up a dozen or so years ago in the full
knowledge of future events. And all
this is being used, quite unfairly, of
course, to imply that nothing highway
officials say about traffic needs of the
future has any merit.
Rather, it seems to us, the lesson
of the underpass is that there are
no pat answers to the transportation
problem in growing urban areas, but
that expensive new facilities—freeways
included—should provide for as many
different forms of transportation as
possible. In the meantime, Highway
Director Aitken thinks the underpass
might be adapted to buses without
too great an expense. We hope so,
for this at least would put the white
elephant on Connecticut avenue to
limited labor.
And More Holidays Ahead
It Is a sad commentary on our
holiday driving habits that this year’s
season of peace and good will has
ended in violent death on the high
ways for more than 500 men, women
and children. Not since 1955’s “black
Christmas” death toll of 609 had traf
fic fatalities exceeded the 500 mark
for a three-day period.
Traffic authorities blamed this
year’s heavy toll on bad driving con
ditions, added to the usual prevalence
of carelessness and outright reckless
ness. And the year-end traffic-accident
story is not yet completed. Another
three-day holiday week end Is coming
up. We wonder how many more Ameri
cans will suddenly be converted Into
traffic statistics as the New Year
dawns.
i/ ’
vnw 1 A 7
O'- :■' ; ' Jhwl
'Now He Tells Us!'
LETTERS TO THE STAR
Off-Center Politics
Several letters have ap
peared recently on “left
wingers” and "right-wingers.”
Much of the disagreement
over the terms arises from
the fact that they have no
precise definitions. The terms
themselves imply the exist
ence of a “center.” from
which “right” and “left”
strike off in opposite direc
tions. The position of this
“center.” then, determines
whether any other position
is either “right” or “left.”
But this putative "center"
is a very elusive thing. It
moves In cycles, according
to the political mood of the
people. Certainly it is far
to the "left” from where it
was, say 50 years ago.
But. for all this lack of
precision, there is a general
understanding in the public
mind which equates “left”
with the liberal position and
"right” with the conserva
tive position. These two
broad movements are thought
of as political philosophies
(which they are) and this
tends to obscure the fact
they are also the Intellectual
framework of a contest for
raw political power. Here
emerges a contrast between
the ordinary citizen with no
ax to grind, and the pro
fessional. The adherence of
the former to one movement
or the other is rarely an in
tellectual choice, but is de
termined largely by his per
sonality or temperament. The
conservative position is pass
ivist by nature. It respects
tradition and the accumu
lated experience of mankind.
It seeks to maintain, rather
than to extend. The liberal
position is activist by nature.
It seeks innovation, reform,
the spectacular and revolu
tionary. This suits us as a
people. We crave excitement.
We are for the homerun, the
long pass, the sensational, in
everything from comic books
to foreign policy. Thus it is
not surprising that the lib
eral position has become
dominant in our political cli
mate, once it was espoused
by one of the great political
parties.
The professional, on the
other hand, is in there
strictly for political power.
He may be a sincere re
former. wishing only to bring
about improvements in so
ciety, which, of course, he
feels fully competent to pre
scribe. He may also be just
an opportunist, with a spe
cific objective, who would
work through any group
which promised to advance
his purpose.
The political program of
union labor will serve as on
illustration. Messrs. Reuther
et al are liberals, not from
intellectual conviction, but
for the purpose of getting
what they want for union
labor. If these gentle
men thought for a moment
that they might not be in
control when all political
power is concentrated in the
Executive department of the
Federal Government (which
is the fundamental tactical
objective of the liberal move
ment) and there would thus
be a danger that the spe
cial privileges and immuni
ties now enjoyed by the un
ions might be withdrawn,
they would be found far over
on the "right.” It would be
well to keep our attention
on the practical objectives
of those in positions of polit
ical power, rather than on
their philosophical window
dressing.
C. Glenn Whitlock.
Dam Site Protested
Arthur Brigham is quite
right in his statement that
the drawdown of approxi
mately 15 feet at the Rocky
Gorge Dam is at present only
a temporary condition.
However, should a dam
(such as the one proposed by
the Army Corps of Engineers)
be built at River Bend on the
Potomac River, a drawdown
of 15 to 20 feet during the
autumn months will be a nor
mal and annual one. Thus,
the mud flats which would
not be an unusual sight for
that time of the year. More
over, since River Bend Dam
would have a shoreline of
more than a hundred miles,
we would have that many
miles of mud flats when the
Pen names may be used if
letters carry writers' correct
names and addresses. AU let
ters are subject to condensa
tion. Those not used will be
returned only when accom
panied by self - addressed,
stamped envelopes.
drawdown occurred for flush
ing operations.
I take issue with Mr. Brig
ham on another point. He
mentioned clear water at
Rocky Gorge. On the day I
visited there a few weeks ago,
and during calm, bright
weather, the water was any
thing but clear. Rather it was
a thick, bilious green, pre
sumably because of algae.
River Bend, if constructed,
will impound admittedly pol
luted waters of the Potomac.
Would that be the same type
of "clear water”?
Caroline Freeland.
Clarification
John J. Daly’s account in
The Star of December 19 of
the gift of Studio House on
Sheridan Circle by Mrs.
Laura Barney and her sister,
to the Smithsonian Institu
tion. was evidently painstak
ingly prepared, giving facts
and details of much inter
est to many native Wash
ingtonians.
The object of this letter
concerns the last paragraph
of the article pertaining to
the Baha’i faith. Followers
of any religion are apparently
hypercritical of any mention
which does not exalt the
faith or present the true
facts. However, to term it an
"Oriental” religion gives the
general impression it is for
Orientals and not Western
ers. It is no more Oriental
than is Christianity, for the
cradle of all faiths, Judaism,
Christian. Moslem and
Baha’i is in the locale of the
Middle East, even though the
world center of Christianity
has moved westward to
Rome.
Studio House, no doubt,
was the place where the Ba
ha'i faith was first intro
duced in Washington, but
certainly not in America. Ref
erences to the faith in the
past tense lead one to think
it sprang up and has long
since died, whereas its mil
lions of followers scattered
throughout every continent of
the globe are increasing an
nually.
Both Baha'u’llah and Je
sus Christ may be called phi
losophers by nonbelievers, but
to term Baha’u’llah a phi
losopher is as repugnant to
Baha'is, as would calling
Jesus Christ a philosopher be
to a Christian. Philosophers,
we have many—but few of
them have been destined to
attain the exalted station of
the Holy Spirit. Referring to
those Holy Souls as philos
ophers greatly inferiorates
their rank, when it is our
duty to exalt them in the
mind of the average reader.
Furthermore, no mention
was made that Mrs. Laura
Barney is, and has been a
member of the Baha’i faith
since the turn of the cen
tury.
C. Newell Atkinson,
Chairman, Local
Baha’i Assembly.
'Reb' the Hero
Thank you for your front
page item on the little cocker.
“Reb,” who was the hero in
the pet hospital fire.
I live across the street from
the Ross Veterinary Home
and Hospital, and have be
come acquainted with “Reb”
on my way to work in the
morning, while he is waiting
for his friends at the hos
pital to let him in.
"Reb” is a well-mannered
friendly little dog, who ob
viously likes humans—even
those who kick at him in the
morning or try to send him
away.
My reason for writing is
the hope that some of the
ones who dislike animals—
especially the ones who kick
at animals—will make a res
olution for the coming year
to believe that a “dog is
man’s best friend,” and be
kind to animals.
The personnel of the Ross
Veterinary Hospital are to
be commended for their care
of then- charges.
Irene P. O’Connor.
Commend Mansfield
The city and The Star
can well be proud of your
Dick Mansfield’s contribution
in and around the Washing
ton area. The manner which
he weaves safety truths into
his humorous chalk talks is
to be commended. The young
people thoroughly enjoy his
visits. And I know that much
in the way of education is ac
complished because it is evi
dent that they are receiving
the necessary information to
form good safety habits. I
know that I, with my teach
ers, deeply appreciate what
he is doing. It aids us in our
endeavors.
So seldom we express the
thoughts that we possess. I
do want to say thank you for
what Inspector Mansfield is
doing for us in safety, and
especially this trip to our
school where he went out of
his way in order that our
young people might have a
Christmas program.
John H. Ward.
Principal, Beltsville Seventh
Day Adventist School.
♦* * •
We were tremendously im
pressed through our 5-year
old son with the kind of pro
gram which Richard Mans
field presents.
Two days ago he presented
a program at the Jack & Jill
School. My son, who neither
reads nor writes, came home
and related in detail five dif
ferent stories which Mr.
Mansfield had presented. He
did not just say, "He told us
about a car hitting a boy on
a bike.” He told the full story
of each of these instances.
Now, I would suppose my boy
is an average five-year old
and he came home with a
clear conception of what he
should and should not do. It
would be wonderful if every
youngster this age could
benefit from this program.
This is just wishful think
ing but can you imagine how
quickly our children could
learn to count, add and sub
tract if teachers employed
the same kind of presenta
tion? He has the ability to
communicate which is rare.
Thank you so much for
sending him to my son's
school.
Mrs. Elmer E. Hecker.
(Editor’s Note: While In
spector Richard Mansfield
(ret.) is unable to reach
"every youngster of this age”
through his talks on traffic
safety to school children, The
Star is glad that he is able to
reach many thousands of
them each year and he leaves
with them lessons _that they
seem to learn.)
Men of Free Will
Since “The Rambler” re
marked about the Harvard
applied psychology experi
ments (on December 15,’61),
I must commend his defense
of free will ("All theory is
against it, but all experience
is for it,” said Samuel John
son) and comment on the ex
periments.
The Harvard psychologists
are approximately 50 years
behind the times. Lenin
locked Pavlov up in a Krem
lin apartment years ago and
required him to write how re
flex-conditioning, previously
applied only to animals,
might be applied to human
beings. Pavlov’s resulting tome
became a guide to indoctri
nating unsuspecting masses
to the Communist way of
thinking. Where the theory
falls down is that while ani
mals must react as trained,
humans, once aware of the
tricks, can (and many do)
choose not to react in the an
ticipated way.
The fallacy inherent In the
whole theory that we have no
free will is shown in the
story of the early New Eng
land Calvinist who, starting
out to chop wood, was asked
by his wife: “Why do you
take your gun with you?”
“There may be hostile In
dians in the woods,” he an
swered.
*‘But don’t you believe that
you are helpless to defy fate
when your time has come?”
she persisted.
“Yes.” he said calmly, "but
perhaps today I’ll meet an
Indian whose time has come.”
Ruth Smock.
WATCHING THE WORLD
By CROSBY S. NOYES
Foreign Correipondent of The Star
Fantasy and Fact on Berlin Talks
PARIS.
As happens fairly often in
great debates, the whole
thing turns out to be rather
pointless in the end.
For a number of months
now the Western alliance has
been engaged in such a de
bate. In a series of high
level meetings and minis
terial conferences the pros
and cons of negotiating with
the Russians over Berlin
have been argued back and
forth. Tempers at times
have been hot. No one has
changed his position in any
essential way.
At times it has looked as
if the issue might cause per
manent damage to the al
liance itself. Spurred on by
the British, the United States
championed the cause of ne
gotiation at the recent min
isters’ conference in Paris
against lively French resist
ance. In the aftermath there
was a strong "French-be
damned” school which advo
cated, in effect, negotiations
at any price, even if it meant
going it alone against the
advice and consent of our
most important European
allies.
Throughout all of this
argument there was on the
Anglo-American side a strong
underlying presumption. It
was simply that Soviet Pre
mier Khrushchev, given a
chance to negotiate, would be
willing to do so. It was as
sumed, in fact, that Mr.
Khrushchev was desperately
anxious for a renewal of dip
lomatic contacts on Berlin.
And also—though this was
somewhat less confidently
predicted—that he would be
prepared to be reasonable.
Khrushchev "Fiction” Grows
Thus it was that the fic
tion grew up that the allies
could face the Russians with
demands which amounted to
reaffirmation of the status
quo in Berlin without offer
ing any substantial conces
sions in return. Mr. Khru
shchev, according to the ver
dict of some eminent Krem
linologists, "needed a settle
ment on Berlin.” His inter
nal political difficulties, plus
the enduring dangers of a
chronically unstable regime
in East Germany, demanded
a retreat from the limb onto
which Mr. Khrushchev had
climbed many months ago.
That this theory of the
Russian mood was regarded
as pure hogwash by other
equally eminent Kremlinolo
gists did nothing to assuage
the ardor of the partisans
of negotiation. Even the
A BOOK FOR TODAY
By DONALD MINTZ
How the Wireless Started in Britain
THE HISTORY OF BROAD
CASTING IN THE UNITED
KINGDOM. Volume I:
The Birth of Broadcasting
by Asa Briggs. (Oxford
University Press, 10s.)
"There appears to be no
serious reason why before we
are many years older, poli
ticians speaking, say. in Par
liament should not be heard
simultaneously by wireless.
. . . The same idea might be
extended to make possible
the concert reproduction in
all private residences of Al
bert Hall or Queen’s Hall
concerts. . . . Such depar
tures would expose us, of
course, to all sorts of logical
but unwelcome developments.
"There would be no technical
difficulty in the way of an
enterprising advertisement
agency arranging for inter
vals in the musical pro
gramme to be filled with
audible advertisements,
pathetic or forcible appeals
—in appropriate tones —on
behalf of somebody’s soap or
tomato ketchup.”
• These prophetic lines were
written in 1918 by a man
who had never heard a com
mercial, Arthur Burrows,
the first program director of
the BBC.
America seems to be in a
period of intense concern
about media of mass com
munications. We are learn
ing that we cannot contrast
our system of “free” broad
casting with the “controlled”
systems that are the general
rule elsewhere in the West
ern world. The issues are
less simple, for all media
are bound to be controlled
by some one, and the real
question asks who will do the
controlling, under what cir
cumstances and for what
purposes.
IT IS AN IDEAL time for
the appearance here of a de
tailed study of broadcasting
in Great Britain. "The Birth
of Broadcasting” is the first
volume in a projected series
of three or four being writ
ten by Asa Briggs, a profes
sor in the University of
Leeds, who is basing his work
largely on unpublished
source material.
Mr. Briggs begins the pres
ent volume with an outline
of the Inventions that made
voice transmission practical
on a large scale, continues
through the early years in
Britain, and ends with the
issuance of the charter of
the British Broadcasting
Corp, in very much like its
present form.
As a result of the unfore
seen operation of laws older
than broadcasting, voice
transmission in Britain came
under the control of the post
office. At first, and with
some reluctance, pioneer
stations were granted oper
ating permits. Then as fear
of interference with military
communications grew, the
highly discouraging results of
the probe conducted last fall
on Russian Foreign Minister
Andrei Gromyko failed to
convince top administration
leaders of the futility—to say
nothing of the danger—of
their quest.
In their eyes, any negoti
ation, even if it failed, was
better than no negotiation
at all. Indeed, it had some
how become an objective
which, as a primary respon
sibility to their people, they
felt honor-bound to pursue.
It would certainly be pre
mature to say that the great
debate is now over. Negotia
tion on Berlin is still the of
ficial policy in Foggy Bot
tom and Whitehall. The
leaders of both countries dis
cussed the chances at Ber
muda. Ambassador Llewel
lyn Thompson in Moscow has
his instructions.
Resistance Indicated
It would not be wrong, on
the other hand, to say that
the point of the exercise has
to a large extent vanished.
It has taken quite a lot of
effort on the part of the
Russians. Mr. Gromyko did
his best last September. Since
then Mr. Khrushchev and,
more recently, Ambassador
Mikhail Menshikov have
gone out of their way to
make it clear that the par
tisans of negotiation were
embarked on the wildest of
goose chases. Since the Ber
muda meeting between Presi
dent Kennedy and British
Prime Minister Macmillan,
the official Russian press
has assured optimists that
Mr. Thompson, when he
launches his new probe, will
encounter the most unyield
ing resistance.
Far from being anxious for
negotiations, Mr. Khrushchev
now seems in a mood to sit
tight and let the situation
in Berlin develop—as he ap
parently believes it is devel
oping—in his favor. Far
from being willing to reaf
firm the rights of Western
allies in the city as a min
imum basis for negotiation,
Mr. Menshikov has now
coldly informed us that on
these conditions, "There will
not even be a basis for ne
gotiations.”
It is not brilliant policy
to risk the wrecking of an
alliance in order to try to
do something which cannot
in fact be done at all. The
argument over negotiations
on Berlin has all along been
based on presumptions which
are now being reveale'd as
the purest fantasy.
post office sought a sharp
limitation on the number
and power of entertainment
broadcasters. The chosen in
strument was a broadcasting
combine composed of manu
facturers of radio equipment.
This was the British Broad
casting Co. which began of
ficial operations in Novem
ber, 1922, and was the pre
decessor of the present Brit
ish Broadcasting Corp., which
began functions on January
1, 1927.
If the initial concern of
the Government was the pos
sibility of transmission chaos,
the concern over program
content soon equalled and
then exceeded it. The old
BBC had a curious charter
which left it partly independ
ent and partly a more or
less acknowledged tool of the
“Establishment.” The fasci
nating intricacies of this
pragmatic compromise are
exhaustively explored by Mr.
Briggs.
BUT THE OLD BBC was
also partly a tool of its first
general manager, J. C. W.
Reith, the man after whom
the famous Reith Lectures of
the modem BBC are named.
Lord Reith remained with
the BBC until the late 1930 s
and the extent to which he
impressed his own views and
personality on it is remark
able. The calm (to us some
times stuffy) tone ( the utter
reliability of the news serv
ice, the celebrated cultural
talks which however, are a
small part of the BBC—these
are to a remarkable extent.
Lord Reith's doing.
These and many other
matters, some of them, like
the BBC’s conduct during the
general strike of 1926 of
great Importance and inter
est. are discussed in copious
and apparently highly reli
able detail in "The Birth of
Broadcasting.”
Over the whole story, how
ever, hovers the personality
of the general manager of the
commercial company who ad
vocated and presided over its
conversion to a public corpo
ration because “in view of
the magnitude of the public
obligations Involved, a com
mercial institution of any
sort, and however slight, ap
pears Invidious. . .”
Answers to Questions
By THE HASKIN SERVICE
Q. How many major relig
ions are there in the world?
—J. K.
A. There are nine principal
living and growing faiths in
the world: Christianity, ap
proximately 870 million; Mo
hammedanism, 430 million ;
Hinduism, 330 million; Con
fucianism, 300 million; Bud
dhism, 150 million; Taoism,
50 million; Shintoism, 50
million; Judaism, 12 million,
and Zoroastrianism (the
Parsees), 140 thousand.