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Show f yy Montana 'r- -i r'ji BiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiHiiiinninmucuiiiim Tight Leash DESERET NEWS LETTERS SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiti We Stand For The Constitution Of The United States Not The Answer As Having Been Divinely Inspired 14A EDITORIAL PAGE THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 1969 Can U.S. Withdrawal Open Door To Peace? 1 ' What Nixon Is Doing For Peace THE DRUMMONDS By ROSCOE and GEOFFREY DRUMMOND - WASHINGTON But ha isnt doing anything to get peace in Vietnam. Thats the big criticism of President Nixon that he is letting the peace talks drift, has no plan of his own. This isnt true. It is only appearance, and the appearance is deceptive. The fact is that Mr. Nixon has undertaken a series of concrete actions designed to get the negotiations down to serious business and to get a settlement. The reason it looks as though he is doing nothing is that he cannot publicly talk about what he is doing because public talk would impair prospects of success. But if you add up his actions, it is evident that he is carrying out a carefully conceived plan to convince Hanoi that he wants a political settlement which both sides can accept. The President is incieasingly persuaded that Hanoi is in Paris to settle. Mr. Nixon is sending a whole series of signals to North Vietnam and to the National Liberation Front which he believes offer solid inducements for them to begin productive negotiations. He is sending them without fanfare. They are: 1 He is intentionally holding back any hasty retaliation in response 'to Hanois violation of the understanding that there would be no major attacks against South Vietnamese cities and no military use of the demilitarized zone. 2 He is making it dear that there fi-- U The job now is to find some mutual ground for a peace settlement that preserves South Vietnams integrity. Then a thorough review of U.S. foreign policy is urgently needed. Mote To Skyjackers So youre thinking of hijacking an airliner and forcing it to fly to Cuba, are you? It certainly seems to be the popular thing to do these days, what with 20 U.S. airliners hijacked to Cuba in 1968 and 10 so far this year. It certainly seems to be an easy way to make a laughingstock of the U.S., which so far has been able to do little or nothing to prevent this potentially tragic practice. And the comedians will love you for it, since hijacking jokes have become even more prevalent than that old standby, , the mother-in-lajoke. Before you board a Miami-boun- d plane with a pistol in your briefcase and plans for diverting the flight to Havana, a word of warning: Of those who have hijacked airplanes, the Canadian newspaper Montreal Star reports, more than half are serving time in Cuban jails or toiling in the cane fields at no pay. It seems that any hijacker found to have a criminal background or domestic problems is sentenced to five years in jail at hard labor as a penalty for illegal entry. Castro hasnt publicized the situation because he wants the world to think all hijackers are fed up with America, but its clear that what awaits most of them is not a red carpet but a rock pile. Now whos laughing? by the President as bearing on Vietnamese policy. But they bear crucially and concrete'y on Vietnamese policy, and Mr. Nixon let each speak for itself to These actions comprise the Presiown approach to getting the Paris peace talks in motion and then moving them to a conclusion. It deserves to be recognized that Saigon and Washington have already gone much further toward accepting North Vietnams conditions for a peace settlement than Hanoi or the NLF have gone toward accepting ours. The NLF demands that the elected government of South Vietnam be disbanded as a condition of settlement. Saigon doesnt demand that the NLF be disbanded, but agrees that it can participate in the political process of the nation if it abandons force. The United States has already accepted three of the four points Hanoi laid down: (1) early withdrawal of U.S. forces (whenever Hanoi will do the same); (2) neutrality for North and South Vietnam as provided in the Geneva Agreement; (3) reunification on the basis of popular wishes. The United States has not approved Hanois demand for an unelected coalition government in Saigon as part of the peace treaty; it favors free elections open to NLF candidates. Far from being vague and indecisive, tjie Nixon approach to Vietnam peace is revealing itself to be both active and animate. dents B. Drummond G. Drummond will be no resumption of the bombing except under great provocation. 3 He is encouraging private talks as the best way to negotiate. 4 He has helped persuade South Vietnamese President Thieu to reverse his previous refusal to negotiate directly with the Viet Cong. 5 He had Secretary of State William Rogers announce publicly before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Administration was seeking peace not through a military victory but through a political settlement. 6 He Is cutting back 2 bomber raids in South Vietnam by more than 10 per cent While economy is a factor, Mr. Nixon is cutting where he knows it will of the war. signal These actions were taken separately and were at no point publicly presented B-5- By SYDNEY J. HARRIS I was sitting in the car, letting the engine warm up, waiting for my mate. We were late for a dinner party, the weather was wretched, the laundry had put too much starch in my collar, and I could find only an unmatched set of studs to put in my dress shirt. My mood, in short, was fold and getting fouler by the moment. I switched on the car radio, turned to my favorite FM station, and was inundated by the flow of a Shubert trio within two bars, I had relaxed in my seat, starch and studs forgotten, all the irritations and inconveniences of urban living washed away by the eternal melody of Opus 99. Whatever is petty and provoking and transitory shrinks down to negligible size under the impact of great music. Its beauty is more than esthetic, in a narrow sense, it is therapeutic in the broadest human sense, because it restores to us a high-pressu- re Roll Bars On Tractors sane perspective about ourselves, our brief lives, our giddy little egos, and our ultimate fate, within the cosmos. This is what great art of any kind is meant for: to make us see more clearly both the stature of man and his insignificance; to draw sharply the contrast between our noblest dreams and our vain concerns with status and comfort and the satisfaction of childish needs. Art is not understood (or is dismissed socieas a toy) in our material-oriente- d ty because it is considered as just another product to cater to our boredom or to feel superior. make the culture-vulture- s It .is paid tribute by those who have not the slightest intention of taking its message seriously. Indeed, music especially has taken on the exact opposite of its proper role in our society. We are exposed to backin ground music everywhere we turn dentists offices, elevators, restaurants. This is so pervasive, we scarcely hear it any more; it is meant to pacify us, to narcoticize us, to make us behave like robots under a kind of melodic anesthesia. But the true role of music is to make us more human, not less; to be heard not merely by the ears, but by the soul; to integrate the personality, not to deaden it; to give us a more powerful awareness of our wasted potentialities for loving, not to lose itself in a humming of voice and a tapping of foot Music, like all the arts, is a process, not a product But we have turned it into a product, and in so doing have sacriin fact, have ficed its essential worth rendered ourselves almost incapable of hearing it as it was meant to be heard. For, as our whole environment becomes packaged in music, the message expires within the medium. Have A Heart , Mr. Computer Every farmer like every auto driver is convinced accidents happen to someone else, never to himself. Yet farmers and worse, their children are killed every year in accidents that never should have happened. One well recognized farm hazard is the rollover, when tractors, combines or other equipment operating on a steep grade suddenly roll over and pin the driver underneath. Use of roll bars is one method of reducing the danger from rollovers. Farmers are reluctant to buy and install them because of the expense and effort involved and besides, accidents always happen to someone else. Such safety devices should be standard equipment put on by the machinery manufacturers. But like car manufacturers, the equipment makers are not likely to take action until its demanded by the public which, in this case, means the farmers. If such farmers only realize that they may be preserving heir own lives as well as that of a neighbor, they can be a noving force in introducing safer farm equipment. WASHINGTON The mistake most people make when dealing with large corporations is that they think theyre writing to only ONE computer. What they dont realize is that big business now has dozens of computers answering mail, and these computers do not talk to each other. R. E. Mof New Orleans found this out the hard way. He had a slight problem with his Mr. cDonald i 4 American Express credit card club account The com- puter at American insisted McDonald owed it $183.97 for an airplane flight that he had never taken. Mr. McDonald had proof he had canceled his flight and had transmitted this proof to the computer. 'Express No Jets For Jordan? Mr. Bocliwald Trying to be allies to both sides of a war is just about as foolhardy as a persons trying to please eveiyone or being all things to all people. That is why the U.S. should carefully examine King Husseins request for American F104 jet fighters. The king seems bound to remind the U.S. of its promise for the planes, which Israeli-Ara- b y was made before the war in June 1967, current his to visit state during Washington. Should the U.S. honor its premise, it would not only be doing so when a new flareup is threatened in the Middle East, but less than five months after announcing an agreement to sell Israel 50 F4 Phantom jet fighters for slightly more than six-da- . Mr- - The computer refused to acknowledge Mr. McDonalds affidavit and kept writing to demand its money. Each letter was more threatening than the previous one, and Mr. McDonald realized he was dealing with a real uptight computer. So he wrote a letter to a Mr. Molloy who was listed as a customer service supervisor (all computers have mens names so people will think theyre dealing with human beings). This computer refused to answer McDonalds mail, though the dunning computer was working overtime with its letters of warnings and threats. So McDonald decided to write to Mr. Provo Hanoi. Losing The Meaning Of Music w $200 million. If a choice between allegiances must be made, as it seems clear that it must, it may be better to anger just one country Your editorial on switchblades (April 5) is a poor solution for the real problem of crime in America. It is only wishful thinking that gun legislation, or banning switchblades, will decrease the crime . rate in America. The New York Sullivan Law, old- - . est statute of its kind in the nation, has an almost unbroken record of discouraging guns without decreasing crime. For example: In New York City between 1950 and 1965, police operating under the Sullivan Law reduced permits to keep protection, pistols in homes of places of business by 77 per and the FBI Uniform Crime Report indi- -' cent cates that New York City murders in that same time more than doubled, from 294 murders in 1950 I to 702 in 1965. We all agree that switchblades are undesirable,; but until our legislators and judges decide to make crime unprofitable, the situation will continue to' exist. After we have banned guns and switchblades, and disarmed America, then what? Will all knives, ice picks, clubs, stones, pipes, sticks, etc., be next? Objects dont kill people people kill people. The Deseret News could do the country a great service by taking the lead in pr essing for increased penalties for criminals and by urging that we strengthen the judicial system in America, starting with the liberals on the Supreme Court. As soon as we get tough with criminals, crime will begin to diminish. TAYLOR TURNER ' Presumably, speculation about a partial U.S. troop withdrawal from South Vietnam within two months represents a new effort by the Nixon administration to hasten a peace settlement. Whether it works remains to be seen. The Communists answered President Johnsons bombing halt with increased military convoys to South Vietnam. But at least such a withdrawal holds considerable merit as long as it is neither damaging to U.S. nor South Vietnamese interests. The U.S. has said for weeks that South Vietnamese troops were being asked to take over a larger burden of the war effort. Let's put their ability to do so to the test. Furthermore, the withdrawal hinges on two important conditions: If there is no major flareup in the war, and if the Paris peace talks show some hint of progress. Critics may cry that such a move will only strengthen Hanois belief the U.S. is weary of war and make North Vietnam fight all the harder. It is true the Oriental mind is much more patient about such matters; Ho Chi Minh predicted some years ago the war might last as long as 20 years. But with a war that has all the earmarks of a stalemate, the U.S. would be derelict in not exploring every feasible avenue toward terminating it honorably. President Nixon has said repeatedly he will not accept a dishonorable peace settlement, and thats as it should be. The longer the war lasts, the more deeply the U.S. has become entangled and the thinner American military strength has become in relation to its over-al- l obligations throughout the world. This dangerous trend should be curbed. While Secretary of State Rogers said he hopes for some mutual withdrawal, he has not ruled out pulling back some U.S. troops even if Hanoi fails to reciprocate. H 'as only last month that Defense Secretary Laird declared he could see no troop pullout in the immediate future after an inspection trip to Vietnam. Thus its entirely possible the withdrawal announcement is an Administration trial balloon" to test not only North Vietnam's but U.S. public reaction as well. Vietnam has been a study in U.S. frustration, even with American superiority in weapons and personnel, because of political restrictions that have chafed U.S. commanders in the than two. TO THE EDITOR ART BUCHWALD Howard Clark, chairman of the board of the American Express Co. He also enclosed the entire file. Mr. Clark obviously cant answer letters personally, so McDonald heard from his administrative assistant, Mr. R.C. Bilsborough (isnt that a beautiful name for a computer:). Bilsborough said it was turning over the file to the senior vice president and general manager of the credit card division, who in turn referred it to its administrative assistant, a computer named Mr. Smith. Smith asked for copies of the proof McDonald had already sent to the first computer. It also indicated that McDonald should ignore any further letters from the dunning computer until the matter was settled. But this was easier said than done. The uptight computer wrote another nasty letter to McDonald saying it was washing its hands of the matter and turning it over to a collection agency. The computer whose name was Mr. Grayson said it was giving McDonald one last chance to pay up. McDonald threw this letter in the waste-pape- r basket, and sure enough he received a computer card saying Your Account Is Now Canceled Return All Credit Cards. This suited McDonald just fine, and he cut his credit card in half and mailed it to the computer. A few weeks later McDonald received a letter from a computer named Mr. J.S. Harris which read, It is with genuine regret that I learned of your decision to caned your American Express credit if in the past we failed to serve card you efficiently or courteously, it was because of those inevitable growing pains that seem bound to plague most expandwont you please ing organizations reconsider your decision? McDonald wrote back that he was deceased and had willed his money to science to develop a way of transplanting a human heart into a cold computer. ... GUEST CARTOON Discontinue ROTC? It has come to my attention that it will be the policy of the new superintendent of schools to discontinue the ROTC program as well as the driver training programs in the high schools of the city. It seems to me that we are changing for no reason. These two programs are possibly the two most substantive programs presently in the high school system. The safety of our country through an informed and trained citizenry should be our ut- most goal This should be second only to safety at home. By this I mean the growing death rate on the highways. Both of these goals can and are' being met through the ROTC and driver training programs. I personally have participated in the ROTC program, and found that it did me more good than any other class I took as far as moral and character guidance and patriotism. And I only hope that the driver training program will continue for my children. . Change for the betterment of any society is of the utmost importance; however, change for changes sake is the downfall of the institution it supposedly tries to benefit -J-AMES EARLE McGUIRE 1175 Westminster Ave. Moss Office Needed? It was with a great deal of disappointment that about Senator Moss opening an office in Ogden. Surely everyone is aware that these actions are merely preparations for his upcoming campaign for 1 wonder how it is possible for Sen. Moss to represent us for four and a half years without these extra offices and then all of a sudden there is a crying need for this Ogden office? As I mentioned, I find Sen. Moss conduct a little disappointing. There doesnt seem to be any justification for the taxpayers to pay for the senators campaign office. If Sen. Moss really believes in honesty in government, lets challenge him to explain his new office or at least promise us that he wont use taxpayers money for his campaign. How about it, I read Senator? AUL -P- EVANS Provo New Life For Dog On April 2 the Deseret News ran a story about our German shepherd dog, Murphy. He needed a new home because he was overprotective. Due to the story, some ranchers visiting in Salt Lake City saw the story and stopped on their way back to New Mexico and were delighted to have They put him in their empty horse Murphy. trailer and headed south. Murphy will work cattle and be a guard dog on their property. Thank you so very, very much. If it hadnt been for the story, no doubt the dog would have been wasted. Our little girl (the real owner) said goodbye to Murphy and that was hard for her, but the new owners want us to visit their ranch this summer to see Murphy in his new job, and that made her heart lighter. --MRS. TERRY PHELPS ' Build On Solid Base It seems apparent that the current of our society is not apt to achieve any great improvements if we proceed upon the current attitudes and practices. Much of the motivation behind many social and political movements of today uses an appeal to the more base and sensual attributes that can be developed within the heart and mind of mankind. This is foolish as it is like using termite-infeste- d lumber to build a house, only an external and temporary shell is produced that cannot stand or endure the tests of time. We extend great care and effort to purge and refine ores used in producing fine steel, yet seem " to suppose that we can establish or maintain a : ' great civilization by introducing impurities in our thoughts and actions. When impurities are rather than making an attempt to remove them from our midst or our thoughts, the current trend is to suppose, that it is smart or sophisticated to entertain these impurities in our souls. Such is not the case, however, as no amount of external dressing can cleanse and purify the soul or cure the cancer of hate and wickedness. Many today complain about not getting what they desire. However, quite often what is desired does not bring the expected joy and happiness sought, so unfulfilled and unsatisfied expectations become driving forces toward individual and social destruction. Our Father in Heaven knows both our desires and how they can be satisfied in an orderly and righteous manner if we only learn to be patient and trust in His wisdom enough to be obedient to the principles of righteousness and truth. MERRILL H. GLENN JR. 264 No. State, Apt. 9 sin-sic- k Ntwsd'V . Helper intro-duce- Blasts of War . |