Show I i - The Herald Journal I I I I I I t I I I I 'Mil I Logan Utah Wednesday July I t I I M I M 11 1977 Earth turmoil dimmed a moon triumph By Edward C Ezell WASHINGTON (NEA) -hasFor manytheyears there of a office hung in NASA historian a poster based on the front page of a New York City tabloid Ned Armstrong is standing on the moon under the headline “So What!” historically Being minded the historian changed the exclamation point to a question mark -"- So What?" We can only give a qualified response to such a query about the Apollo program since just a decade has passed since Americans first landed on the lunar surface Only after many years will we be able to assess accurately the worth of Apollo the effort that national allowed 12 men to set foot on the moon British writer Anthony R MIchaelis recently listed chronologically what he considers man's most 10 significant “trium- technological phs": (c Pyramids 2500 BC) Roman Roads and Aqueduct (beginning 312 BC) Gothic cathedrals (c to 1500) Crystal Palace (1051) ' Transatlantic Cable 1150 He them to land and work on its surface and returning them safely to Earth was one of our major ac- technological complishments There was a time when such an adventure would have been widely and enthusiastically praised but the Apollo program took place during a difficult period for the United States in both its foreign and domestic concerns The unhappy war in Southeast Asia detracted from the glory that could have been Apollo's By the end of fiscal 1970 the war in Indochina had cost this country $1095 billion It was predicted that the "The ciated with the civil-righ- ts many US cities After Washington's 14th Street corridor was burned and looted in the summer of 1968 militant black leaders became increasingly hostile toward the space program in general and Apollo in particular For them the space effort for many they remembered that the lunar goal had been set originally to counter the Cold War challenge of the Soviets At home the domestic crisis surrounding the symbolised the misallocation of federal dollars that could have been applied to the nation's domestic problems A day before Apollo H's historic moon land- black activist Marion Barry (now ing mayor of Washington) asked the press: “Why should blacks rejoice Commentator James L Clayton noted in 1973 that these were conservative figurea that measured only the direct major monetary costs Cache Valiev asso- movement in especially when interest on war loans would reach $352 billion That was twice the eost of the Korean conflict and almost half the US cost of the second world war Ralph D Abernathy president of the Southern for eivil riots and violent the cost of arrested training and education of our youth the cost of suspended cultural progress” Against the backdrop of this unpopular war the importance of Apollo cost" including veterans' benefits and city)?" Americans demonstrations programs was diminished demands of black rights and freedom from poverty east another shadow on the lunar landings The summers of 1965 1966 1967 and 1968 saw critical domestic "ultimate conflict's noted: estimate does not include inflationary costs owing to the war the loss of services and earnings by the 45000 men killed in the war to date the eost of resentment abroad the depletion of our natural resources the postponement of when two white Americans land on the moon when white Christian Leadership Conference and members of 25 poor black families went to Florida for the Apollo H launch to protest the waste of federal dollars NASA Director Thomas Paine told them that it would be “a lot harder to solve the problems of hunger and poverty than it is to send men to the moon" He also noted that cancellation of the flight would not relieve the many difficulties of the poor and the hungry Although Paine gained the support of Abernathy and his group for that mission the nagging feeling remained that space dollars might be spent more wisely on n Earth A decade later the Apollo program is still controversial in some quarters To answer the "So What?” question we must determine what Apollo eost and what it accomplished Apollo 11 left behind a bitterly divided nation as it lifted off for the moon on July 16 1969 A decade later Americans are still wondering whether the money spent on the Apollo program might have been put to better use at home America’s money and technology have not even reached (the inner V ft For ar Limited Time Only! i Mall ' r ar (1050-100-0) ' a Sues Canal (1000) Eiffel Tower (1000) Atomic Bomb (1045) Apollo Program i' s ’ ' ' A I ” jV t r i (1061-107- 2) Alaskan Oil Pipeline (1077) Most historians could find some fault with this list But it does remind us that sending men to the moon permitting Reunion of astronauts this week LAS (UPI) space VEGAS select groups Nev -travelers US Twenty 13 tol2off- - in- cluding four men who walked on the moon have agreed to attend “America's Salute to the Astronauts" this week The four-dareunion of the space pioneers will our orig tow prices a 'V f it S fashiontops pants skirts dresses morel y include : banquet Junky & Misses sizes Saturday featuring live photo transmissions from Voyager II as it swings past Jupiter Television personality Hugh Downs will serve as banquet master of ceremonies during the Cache Valley Mall last night of the celebration at the Dunes HoteL r i i i: I f t i 4 1 4 i i a m i II m i e i i i nm ti i i a 4 I t I t I ( |