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Show I1 'I I I to come" they also signal our memories to the fact that many j of ' the vital components originally origi-nally intended for the U. S. satel- j lite program now appear to be "missing." j One of these is the same deter- I mination to succeed in conquering conquer-ing space, whatever the cost and sacrifice that greeted the launching launch-ing of the Russian Sputniks. Think back and try to remember remem-ber the way you reacted to the news that the Communists, subjugating sub-jugating a land of peasants and modern day slaves, has done something our big, modern country coun-try still is barely able to do. Think of the way everybody felt that we had been delivered a scientific "Pearl Harbor," of the way the nation and the western allies rallied together determined to do whatever was needed to overcome their scientific,, educational, edu-cational, propaganda, diplomatic and military disgrace. Think of the determination that carried down to every level of the country coun-try to perform any needed sacrifice sac-rifice to regain our prestige. And now ask yourself what would you have thought of anyone, then who might have proposed that we should have a tax deduction? History tells us that the Romans Ro-mans provided their people with "bread and circuses" to keep them entertained and from pondering pon-dering about their troubles and loss of freedom. Something like that is happening to the world today. The Communist world is taking tak-ing its people's minds off their sorry economic plight, permanent perma-nent depression and crushing arms burden by pfomising them the moon and giving them Sputniks. Sput-niks. In this country, we have seen that nothing shoves the recession re-cession issue off the front pages as fast as the grandiose predictions predic-tions of U. S. space exploration of the successful launching of the U. S. satellites.a nd the Pentagon Pen-tagon has promised us more of this in the months ahead. None of this will completely overshadow the recession issue, of course. But by design, or coincidence, co-incidence, we can look forward to more of it, which should also emphasize high spending on the arms that is helping to underwrite under-write the economy, spread more optimism throughout the country countering recession pessimism and have a soothing effect on the stock market too. We are entering the month during which Army and Navy men have promised a series of U. S. satellite launchings. Dr. Wernher Von Braun, the German born space expert, and Dr. John Hagen of the U. S. Navy's Vanguard Van-guard Project, have told told me that the country "shouldn't be surprised at anything" in the months ahead. Each also has boasted of two amazing component compo-nent parts in their respective Army Explorer and Navy Vanguard Van-guard satellites "which are only forerunners of more to come." These are Vanguard's solar battery bat-tery powered radio signal and Explorer's electronic "memory" which stores up and evaluates cosmic ray and assorted data while orbiting around the earth and, on signal, radios it back whenever Explorer is nearest a U. S. monitoring station. While these are indeed "amazing devices de-vices contained in the U. S. satellites satel-lites and are forerunners of more This fear that a tax cut xf aimed at easing the recession may only increase the deficit, cut U. S. tax income and curtail the U. S. space missiles program is why both parties are favoring a bipartisan ban against a tax reduction. But the pressure persists. per-sists. 1 Another of the components originally intended for the U. S. satellite program was the determination deter-mination to knock brass hats together to-gether to end costly interservice rivalry in the Pentagon which caused the U. S. program to bog down in the first place. Would you have believed anyone then who told you that we would have accelerated rivalry Army, Navy and Air Force satellites in the works? That each would""1? appearing before CongressiVl appropriation committees for the funds to outdo the other? That each would be planning to decentralize de-centralize their combined satellite satel-lite missiles testing facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida, building build-ing test centers of their own? Have we forgotten the storm following the Russian Sputniks which demanded that the Army missiles expert, Colonel Nicker-son, Nicker-son, who was court martialed and "exiled" to Panama for criticizing criti-cizing Pentagon missiles policies, should be rescinded. Was there any room then for the thinking that now still refuses to rescind the insubordination of General Billy Mitchell, unhonored prophet pro-phet or the Air Age, until his death? Whatever happened to Dr. Oppenheimer, to Gen. James Gavin? Who has even heard of Dr. James R. Killian since the headlines head-lines screamed his appointment as Presidential missiles "czar?" Or of more coordination of Allied Al-lied effort in NATO? Doesn't the steam seem to have gone out of demands for revamping the entire U. S. educational system when a billion dollars is proposed pro-posed for modernizing post offices of-fices while none is urged for school construction? Our satellites have been shot skyward. We are indeed making progress in more ambitious directions, di-rections, such as an early shoot to the moon? But does the same determination, enthusiam and national effort that greeted the Russian Sputniks seem to be up there with our satellites now? |