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Show I i I If TrtE Western powers are waiting, as they have since 1948, for the next Soviet move In the ftruggle of Communism vs- freedom. This time, however, the Russians appear ap-pear to be on the defensive since all is not well betJlnd the Iron Curtain. This watchfulness and waiting Is due to the fact that virtually all top military and civilian aides of the former Soviet control commission commis-sion of East Germany and the ambassadors am-bassadors to the Western powers were summoned to the Kremlin for a conference on the heels of the East European revolts. The West would like to know what they talked about and what was planned behftid the walls of the Kremlin. Presumably, thy were recalled to explain what happened when 2, 001), 000 un armed Cast Germans suddenly arose and nearly overthrew over-threw their Corrtntisnist rulers. Also to explain why there is so much unrest In other areas of the worker's paradise that is supposed limit any effort to reduce taxes before be-fore January 1. And. in the opinion opin-ion of many government observers, it is doubtful if any appreciable reduction will come even then. The following statement from the American Book Publishers Council and the American Library Association is drawing tjie applause of serious, thinking Americans: "The freedom to read is essential essen-tial to our democracy. It is under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove books from sale, to censor textbooks, text-books, to label controversial books to distribute lists of objectionable books or authors and to purge libraries. "The actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition tra-dition of free expression is no longer long-er valid; that censorship and suppression sup-pression are needed to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption cor-ruption of morals . "We trust Americans to recognize recog-nize propaganda and to reject to exist behind the Iron curtain. No doubt new policies will emerge from Moscow shortly. Perhaps Per-haps they will ease Eaet-West tension. ten-sion. But it would be folly to expect ex-pect good frotn evil or kindness from brutality. D appears, after the Treasury Department's announcement of the large t deficit In the nation's peacetime peace-time history that those within the Republican administration who have been screaming for tax reductions re-ductions have been howling in the wilcVt-rness. The deficit amouted to 4 389,100,000, billion dollars more than was anticipated. At the same time, the Treasury retcrted it would borrow $5,500,-004.000 $5,500,-004.000 to $6,000,000,000 for eight months. Later another $3 to J6 billion will be borrowed. With such a deficit and the need to borrow to mteet government expenses, ex-penses, it is a sure bet that the administration will fight to the obscenity, we do not Deneve uiey need the help of censors to assist them in this task . . "It is contrary to the public interest in-terest for publishers or librarians to determine the acceptability of a book solely on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations affilia-tions of the author. A book should -be judged as a book. No art or literature can flourish if it Is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators No society of free men can flourish which draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say." There is a dangerous trend developing de-veloping in the United States toward to-ward telling the general public what books they can read an:i 1 which are not acceptable. Th- question arises: would this trend I develop, if not stopped now, inn telling the average American what weekly newspaper he can read and which are not acceptable. |