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Show 1 1 WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS U. G.-Russia Events Reach Climax; Moscow Parley Continues Uneasily; Soviets Sever Consular Relations I By Bill Schoentgen, WNTJ Staff Writer (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinion are expressed (n these columns, they are those of Western Newspaper Union's new analysis and not necessarily of this newspaper. Discussion FUEL OIL: Plentiful Last winter's serious fuel shortage short-age in homes and industries probably prob-ably will not be repeated this year, according to present predictions. The supply of fuel oil Is becoming so plentiful that there apparently is no need for an elaborate distribution distribu-tion system to be set up for the purpose pur-pose of doling it out. Stored supplies are 60 per cent ahead of last year at this time and crude runs from distilleries are half a million barrels ahead of a year ago. New refining facilities are largely responsible for eradicating the shortage. Moreover, oil industry officials say, there now is an ample supply of gasoline. Only thing that could put a crimp in that would be a national na-tional emergency or a transportation transporta-tion stoppage. Most of the major cities are well supplied with oil, and while there might be spot shortages in rural communities during the winter they probably would be only of a day or two duration. "Last winter," said one industry member, "part of the trouble was caused by snow tying up the railroads." rail-roads." That happens and attention is focused on it when there is an oi) shortage. It could happen again. RADAR NET: Inadequate What with one thing and another, Americans can't help now and then wondering what would happen if this country suddenly were to be attacked from the air. Biggest question in this connection is whether a warning of such an attack at-tack would be given in time for the population to evacuate probable centers of attack. Air force officials say they are doing the best they can with what they have to provide the nation with a radar warning network. What they have, however, is at best inadequate, they say. The present pres-ent radar system is not capable of detecting all approaches of foreign planes. Currently, a committee of leading scientists, headed by Dr. Vannevar Bush, is" carrying out a careful study of improvements in radar that could lead to an adequate air warning system. Political Pounding Kasenkina, the U. S. state department depart-ment pointed out as it ordered him out of the country. It was a sensational turn of events. In a note to the Soviet embassy em-bassy the state department asserted that Lomakin had, in effect, misled his own government with regard to the Kasenkina case so that the protests pro-tests which the Soviets made to the U. S. were "based on misinformation." misinforma-tion." In addition, the note charged that the consul general had "hindered the investigation of the competent police officials by refusing to allow al-low them to interview Mrs. Kasenkina" Kasen-kina" while she was under control of the Soviet consul. Then, even as Lomakin was packing pack-ing his bags and preparing to leave the country, Russia countered sharply by formally severing consular con-sular relations with the U. S. and repeating its accusations of bad faith. That seemed to prove that Loma-kin's Loma-kin's actions in the Kasenkina affair af-fair were not so much the expression expres-sion of his individual initiative as they were a direct reflection of Kremlin policy. However, no one was worrying too much about the breaking off of consular relations. The move did not mean that diplomatic relations were severed. Soviet consular activities in the U. S. were limited to arranging for mutual trade and travel between the two nations. Since there is practically prac-tically no trade or travel exchange taking place, the presence or absence ab-sence of a consul wouldn't make too much difference. To Escape Lying weak and ashen-faced in her hospital bed in New York, Mrs. Oksana Kasenkina finally got around to telling the story of why she leaped from the third-story window win-dow of the Soviet consulate. "I jumped to escape, not to kill myself," she said. She said that her "rescue" from the Tolstoy foundation's Reed farm was not a "rescue but an arrest," engineered by the Russian consul-general. consul-general. She did ' not want to go back to Russia. Although she loves her people, she stated that "I don't agree with the policies of Josef Stalin. I cannot agree with the regime in the Soviet." VIEWPOINTS: Religious It couldn't be called schismatic: It was thoroughly democratic. In such a way delegates to the first assembly of the World Council of Churches might have assessed the first two addresses which officially of-ficially opened the historic sessions in Amsterdam. John Foster Dulles, U. S. lay leader lead-er in many religious activities and THE AX WAS THERE RUSSIANS: Climactic Virtually every avenue of public thought in the U. S. was teeming with Russians, shadows of Russians and a few Red convertibles.' There was a feeling, however, that the international commotion had reached its climax and was ready to start subsiding, partly because be-cause public interest, flagellated into a state of high excitement, couldn't stand the stress and strain of it all much longer. Nevertheless, events having to do with Russia remained for the time being, at least, reasonably climactic: climac-tic: The Moscow talks were ready either to pay off or break down; Russia had broken off consular relations re-lations with the U. S. ; Mrs. Oksana Kasenkina, the window - jumping Russian schoolteacher, had told the story of how she had been strong-armed. strong-armed. Moscoiv In the Kremlin, where the three western ambassadors were trying to pound out some kind of tentative basis for negotiations with the Soviet So-viet Union, the Russians were playing play-ing their familiar game of hit-and-run. U. S; Ambassador Walter Bedel Smith, British Representative Frank Roberts and French Ambassador Yves Chataigneau had been drudging drudg-ing through a series of meetings with the implacable V. M. Molotov, Soviet foreign minister. Molotov, as usual, was hard, tough, adamant in his adherence to current Soviet policy on the Berlin and Germany problems. No progress prog-ress was made; the three western representatives were dispirited, although al-though they kept to their chore. The word was whispered about that this conference might break up in total failure. Then came a break, or so it appeared. ap-peared. Premier Stalin would meet again with the three envoys., In the ensuing discussions with Stalin hopes again were raised that the western powers might succeed in at least partially lifting the Berlin blockade and perhaps effect an area of agreement that could be used for a subsequent top-level meeting to iron out some of the major East-West East-West differences. But there were some who still could see the ax on the peace table. Somehow, there was a familiar pattern pat-tern behind these negotiations that went something like this: After Molotov had subjected his fellow conferees to hour after hour of his case-hardened refusals to come to terms, attempting by those tactics to wear his diplomatic opponents op-ponents down, the scene was set for Stalin's return. Stalin came on with his air of geniality and good will, apparently not only willing but eager to reach common ground. His attitude was so manifestly different from Molo-tov's Molo-tov's that hopes again soared. There was the danger. Lulled into optimism, the western envoys might be trapped into making concessions that should not be made. This same' kind of Molotov-to-Stalin play had worked before. Hit the Road Jacob M. Lomakin, Soviet consul con-sul general in New York, had conducted con-ducted himself improperly and discreditably dis-creditably in the affair of the Russian Rus-sian schoolteacher, Mrs. Oksana Watch That Credit Prospective home buyers who might plunge beyond their means simply because down payments are lower under the new housing law lave been warned by government lousing experts to avoid that trap. "Our only worry," one expert aid, "is that the lower down pay-nents pay-nents will encourage people to buy tomes they can't afford. When you educe th down payment, the Tionthly payments are more." internationalist-minded statesman, and Czechoslovakia's Joseph L. Hromadka of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, speaking speak-ing in a section discussion on "The Church and International Disorder," Disor-der," between them managed to strip much of the camouflage from the growing philosophical and spiritual spir-itual rift separating the East and West. Total result of Dulles' and Hro-madka's Hro-madka's addresses, taken together, was not to presage a religious split between the two blocs of nations but rather to define the problems at the root of current international disorders for those who are courageous cou-rageous enough to attack them with spiritual weapons instead of guns. DULLES . . . "Peace can never be stabilized except by institutions that seek to reflect moral law and that respect the dignity of the individual. indi-vidual. And the present methods of communism are incompatible with peaceful changes. "Collective action may at times be required, pursuant to the United Nations charter, to protect member mem-ber states or individual human beings be-ings in their charter rights. "Those who believe in moral law and human dignity must be concerned con-cerned to make social institutions reflect those ideals." HROMADKA . . . The world is seeing "the end of western supremacy suprem-acy within the realm of international internation-al order. "Now, three years after World War II, the western man hasn't yet recovered and is losing more and more the last remnants of his world leadership." He "hasn't much to offer along the lines of moral, philosophical or spiritual leadership." OUTPUT: U pshoot Total national output of goods and services, stimulated by inflationary forces which have been growing stronger since early summer, hit a record-breaking rate of 248.2 billion bil-lion dollars in the second quarter of the fiscal year, the commerce department has reported. That figure is 4.4 billion dollars above the peak reacned in the first three months of this year, accord-ing accord-ing to the department. Bubbling toothfully with confidence, con-fidence, Herbert Brownell Jr., campaign manager for Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York, nails up the sign which proclaims that the Washington, D. C, headquarters head-quarters for the Republican campaign cam-paign ticket of Dewey and Warren War-ren is open for business. Brownell also has the idea that business will be good. INSTALLMENTS: Regulated Just exactly what effect the newly new-ly imposed restrictions on credit buying would have on the hog-wild inflation that has been devastating the nation's moral fiber was not quite clear. Acting under authorization of the 80th congress, the government put the brakes on installment buying and extended the ceiling on its new regulations to $5,000 to control wildcat wild-cat buying of expensive new automobiles. auto-mobiles. This new order goes into effect September 20. From that day forward the law will require that the buyer of a new car pay one-third down in cash and take not more than 18 months to pay off the balance in installments of not less than $70. a month. Other hard goods stoves, refrigerators, refrig-erators, washing machines and related re-lated household articles call for a 20 per cent down payment with the balance to be liquidated in not more than 15 months. The order exempts anything costing cost-ing less than $50 or more than $5,000 a rule which set many Americans to asking caustically what they could find to buy for less than $50 and where they could get the money to purchase anything over $5,000. Actually, however, the credit curb seemed to amount to little more than putting the government's stamp of legal approval on a practice prac-tice which has been followed voluntarily volun-tarily by a considerable number of retail merchants. Many astute businessmen have been following the one-third down payment rule all along, as a protection pro-tection both to themselves and the prospective buyers. Upshot of it all was that few people peo-ple believed the federal regulation would do much to clear the InBa-Hnnary InBa-Hnnary atmosDhere. |
