Page 2
'Oh, notliing much. Just cleaning up from last niht.'
.fa Otor Opinion . . .
NS A Congress Drafts
lohn Greenbacker
Bitter Spanish Dept.
Sane Letter About w ar
Letters
Should Stop
Much has been said by college
students in the past year or two
concerning the selective service
system and U. S. position in Viet
Nam. Unfortunately, to the way of
thinking of many of us, student
comments have been, for the most
part, too radically stated either
in the form of burning draft cards,
staging "Get Out of Viet Nam"
marches, or circulating absolute
victory in Viet Nam petitions.
Therefore, we were pleased to
see a well-thought-out, non-emotional
letter, which originated at
the National Student Association
Congress this summer, drawn up
to express to President Johnson
some of the serious questions that
are in the minds of many U. S. col
lege students.
The letter, bearing signatures
of students from all over the coun
try, was presented to the presi
dent Friday.
Here is that letter:
Dear Mr. President:
In your discussion of the draft
with the summer interns several
weeks ago, you recognized many
of the questions that have been
troubling members of our genera
tion. We were pleased and encour
aged by your expression of con
cernpleased enough so we are
responding to your invitation to
give voice to our thoughts.
We set out to formulate our
views on selective service the
specific subjedt of your speech
but we soon realized what you
yourself must know; that the ques
tion of the draft cannot be discuss
ed fully in isolation from the sit
uation that has made it so press
ing a problem the war in Viet
Nam. In this letter then, we have
sought to articulate some of the
questions that our Vietnamese pol
icy has raised in the minds of
many of our contemporaries.
The basic and difficult truth is
that an increasingly large number
of American students are finding
it increasingly difficult to under
stand our position in Viet Nam.
Although Ambassador Goldberg's
speech clarified to some extent our
position on negotiations, it did not
answer many questions and raised
some new ones concerning our ob
jectives and interest in Viet Nam.
This confusion and dissatisfac
tion has led, in some cases, to out
spoken dissent. But more signifi
cant, we believe, is the fact that
for every militant dissenter there
are scores who find themselves
deeply troubled about a proper re
sponse to the demands of their
country. These are people devoted
to the Constitution. They are
strongly committed to the demo
cratic process and to law and or
der. They are people whose fathers
and brothers served willingly in
two World Wars and in Korea. And
they are people whose loyalty
and courage are the equal of those
who have preceded them.
Yet many of these same peo
ple, faced like their fathers with
the duty of bearing their country's
arms, find it difficult to square
performance of that duty with a
nearly universal conviction that
the present Selective Service Law
operates unfairly. Some find it dif
ficult to reconcile their deep sense
of loyalty to America with de
mands of personal integrity and
common humanity. But more, per
haps, are torn by reluctance to
participate in a war whose toll in
property and human lives keeps
escalating but whose goals remain
unclear.
Unless these deeply felt con
flicts can be resolved, the nation
may find itself faced with a situ
ation unparalleled in its history; a
situation in which some of the most
talented and dedicated young men
and women will refuse to meet
their legal obligations, while
countless others will tolerate and
even encourage ruses and devices
to evade these obligations.
There is doubt that America's
vested interests are sufficiently
threatened in Viet Nam to neces
sitate the growing commitment
there.
There is, in fact, doubt that
these vital interests are best pro
tected by this growing commit
ment. There is also some feeling that
a war which may devastate much
of the countryside cannot lead to
the secure and prosperous Viet
Nam we once hoped our presence
would help produce.
There is widening concern
about apparent contradictions
which seem to recur in official
American pronouncements:
While we continue to insist
that we will negotiate "uncondi
tionally," we seem unwilling to ac
cept full participation by the Viet
Cong as an independent party to
negotiations.
While we continue to reiter
ate our commitment to self-determination
for South Viet Nam, we
do little to dispel confusion about
our willingness to accept a coali
tion (or pro-communist) govern
ment should the people of South
Viet Nam eventually select such a
government in elections held un
der adequate international super
vision. Finally, Mr. President, there is
a growing conviction that unless
our goal is victory rather than a
negotiated settlement, failure of
the other side to negotiate has not
justified and does not justify
continued escalation.
This conviction leads to concern
about the nature and attainability
of our basic goals in Viet Nam,
and to a deeply-felt fear that the
course now being pursued may
lead us irrevocably into a major
land war in Asia a war which
many feel could not be worn with
out recourse to nuclear weapons,
if then.
We are grateful for your inter
est and look forward to hearing
your thoughts on these matters.
74 Years of Editorial Freedom
Fred Thomas, Editor
Tom Clark, Business Manager
Scott Goodfellow, Managing Ed.
John Greenbacker . .. Assoc. Ed.
Kerry Sipe Feature Editor
Bill Amlong .... News Editor
Ernest Robl .. Asst. News Editor
Sandy Treadwell .. Sports Editor
Bob Orr . Asst. Sports Editor
Jock Lauterer Photo Editor
Chuck Benner ... Night Editor
Steve Bennett, Lytt Stamps,
Lynn Harvel,, Judy Sipe, Don
Campbell, Cindy Borden......
Staff Writers
Drummond Bell, Owen Davis,
Bill Hass, Joey Leigh
Sports Writers
Jeff MacNelly ..Sports Cartoonist
Bruce Strauch .... Ed. Cartoonist
John Askew : .. Ad. Mgr.
The Daily Tar Heel is the official
news publication of the University of
North Carolina and is published by
students daily except Mondays, ex
amination periods and vacations.
Second class postage paid at the
Post Office in Chapel Hill N C
Subscription rates: $4.50 pe'r semes
ter; $3 per year. Printed by the
Chapel Hill Publishing Co., Inc 501
W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill N C
jjjj 1 pi
J '-"; I iff If '
4 ill W
vu i ! rap -ij-a zMt m 4. .fcj' .-. " mnm 'm
7 SCf--lC" L
f 7 -
I i. . mi mi mllO win ni il
i CQ
He mu T Hteu
Troelble For JJoli
"ByJOHN RODERICK
(AP) President Johnson
can expect an enthusiastic re
ception and some demonstra
tions against U. S. policy in
Viet Nam on his Asian tour
later this month.
But the government of Ja
pan America's strongest al
ly in this part of the world
is relieved he isn't coming to
visit it.
Officially, Washington said
Johnson wished to avoid em
barrassing Prime Minister Ei
saku Sato with a visit that
would tie Japan to allied par
ticipants of the Viet Nam war
who meet for a summit con
ference in Manila Oct. 24-25.
Besides the virtual certainty
of anti-American demonstra
tions and possible violence,
leaders of Japan's ruling par
ty believe a Johnson visit
could do little for the image of
Sato, already besmirched by
corruption in his own party.
There is little sentiment in
Japan in favor of U. S. prose
cution of the Vietnamese war
although Japanese industries
did a $35-million business
supplying the American mili
tary machine last year. That
figure is expected to exceed
$150 million this year with the
buildup of American troops in
South Viet Nam.
President Dwight D. Eisen
hower was forced to cancel a
visit to Japan in 1960 because
of ill feeling here over the
Japanese-U. S. security treaty.
The incident drove Sato's
brother, Prime Minister No
busuke Kishi, from office and
set back U. S. - Japanese re
lations. Speaking to Japanese news
men yesterday, Vice Foreign
Minister Takezo Shimoda said
a Johnson visit at this time
would stir up suspicion and
misunderstanding.
But the General outlook is
for big crowds and red-carpet
treatment when the U S
president visits Australia, New
Zealand the Philippines,
South Korea, Thailand 'and
Malaysia.
Government and press reac
tion from all six has been
enthusiastic. Here is a run
down on the reaction:
Australia Thousands are
expected to line the .streets of
Sydney, Melbourne and Can
n' -h.f f.apita1' for John
fonsA visit five weeks before
the Australian general elec
tions. Left.wmg groups are
preparing anti - Viet Nam
demonstrations, and the Syd
ney Sun commented:
"The President and his
enormous entourage should be
t ' lf tuthev don't already
know, that there is in Aus
tralia, as m America, a sin
cere minority opposition to our
Australia has about 4 500
troops fighting in V?et Nam
"lti?aUy Mirror sported,
served thSao Johnson
cer World vvLVf1 offi
fni . govemnS" 3nd Press
. t0 Ws visit has kL reacton
astic. nas been enthusi-
The chairman of the "Com
mittee on Viet Nam," Barry
Mitcalfe, said, "We will do our
utmost to see that the demon
strations are a law-abiding ex
pression of public distaste for
President Johnson and his
policies."
U. S. security officials were
due Saturday to begin plan
ning. Malaysia Tight security
is expected to head off dem
onstrations by Malaysian Chi
nese leftists. In a previous
demonstration, windows at the
U. S. Information Service li
brary in Kuala Lumpur were
smashed.
The newspaper Eastern Sun,
noting the Malaysian efforts to
secure U. S. . development
loans had been fruitless so
far, commented:
"Perhaps President John
son's visit to Malaysia may
make him realize the logic to
the Malaysian argument that
it will be wiser to help de-
.iDLSOHL
velopmg countries like Ma
laysia strengthen her econom
ic position than to give her
aid when it is too late to be
useful.''
Thailand The visit dram
atizes the highly sensitive na
ture of U. S. - Thai relations
brought about by the U. S.
military Duildup in Thailand,
mere are
On the editorial page of yesterday's Tar Heel
there appeared a most interesting letter to the editor.
Mrs. Kessell Schwartz, wife of one of the profes
sors that recently announced his decision to resign
from the Spanish Department, explained at some
length her personal reasons why she couldn't stand
Chapel Hill.
Mrs. Schwartz ended the letter with
some rather amazing suggestions as to
why she felt the people here were not
overly friendly to her. The charges of
petty gossip and anti-Semitism, under
any other circumstances, might be con
sidered paranoid on their face.
The letter's emotion can be under
stood, however, in the entire context of
the situation. Mrs. Schwartz's letter came after a long
series of others had been printed.
Every graduate student and professor that wrote
the paper attempted to explain the situation vaguely
or else attacked the DTH for bringing the troubles of
the Department of Romance Languages to light. The
emotion in print may have been high, but it's a sure
bet it doesn't measure up to the emotions of the in
dividuals that boil under the surface.
Mrs. Schwartz has given some indication of the
passions involved in her words to the public. It would
be a shame if this prompted others to do likewise.
Though the students that run this newspaper have
the greatest respect for its power to inform the public,
they know full well that responsible journalism is that
which operates for the public good.
Clearly no good can be served by this continuous
process of washing a fine academic department's dirty
linen in public.
The members of the Spanish Department, the
d.uoo or more
U. S. servirempn in Tho?io
and top Thai officials vie ww'ncn Department 'and the Department of Romance
Johnson's visit as a chance td&Languages a? whole would-be wise to refrain from
quiet local resentment at talk ' v , , . .v , v .
inauigmg m tne vituperative childishness of name-
abroad that the Texas-size na
tion is becoming a "U. S.
colony."
Johnson visited Thailand
five years ago as vice presi
dent and was popular ; as he
toured local markets and
shook hands.
South Korea President
Chung Hee Park said he is
"very happy" about Johnson's
visit. South Korea has 41,000
military men supporting the
United States in Viet Nam.
Christ Was Radica
In Matthew's Gospe
By NICHOLAS MEYER
(Editor's note The follow
ing is a reflection on the mov
ie The Gospel According to St.
Matthew, which played in
town last week.)
At last.
It seems it took a fairly no
torious Italian Communist and
a bunch of non-professional
actors to do it, but a life of
Christ has been finally put on
film. It even sticks fairly close
to the book. Mind, it is not
without serious faults, but they
are so completely different
from those of the picture-postcard,
tear-jerking Hollywood
versions of the Gospel, that
the film may appear great
simply by comparison. It is,
in fact, rather good by itself.
Christ (played by an engi
neering student at the Univer
sity of Madrid), looks like a
combination of El Greco and
a Viet Nam protester. He is
grubby, smelly-looking, beat-nick-y,
and instead of pom
pous serenity, possesses the
feverish eyes of a fanatic. He
is no milk-sop savior.
He does not dilute his pro
nouncements with a pacifying
gesture intended to soften his
meaning for incredulous, ra
tionalizing 20th century audi
ences, but when he smiles
there is no one in the entire
theater who doesn't smile
back.
The playing of the whole
thing seems to combine the
elements of a homemade mov
ie and a medieval passion
play, in which all the villag
ers (as they did in this film)
take part. . .
Needless to say, the film is
not in color, but in stark.re
lentless black and white. The
screenplay with few excep
tions is taken word for word
from the King James transla
tion of the Gospel according
to St. Matthew.
The miracles are performed
neatly and cleanly, but with
out throbbing organ music or
stereophonic Hallelujia chorus
es. In fact,! Christ is interred
in a dirty j white sheet with
flies settling on his corpse,
and when he rises it is to the
African Missa Luba music and
not anything of Handel's.
One may be tempted to won
der why Signor Pasolini, an ac
tive member of the Italian
Communist Party, should con
cern himself with the making
of a film about the life of
Christ. One may be further
tempted to wonder why this in
fidel's life of Christ is so much
better than those made by our
"Christian" film industry.
I think Signor Pasolini thinks
Christ was something of a
Communist, shocking though
the thought may be. And since
he has a point of view, he has
a distinct : advantage over
those directors who have tac
kled the subject without one.
The emphasis of the film is
on Christ "the son of man"
first, and a super-man, sec
ond. When he has nails driven
through his palms he screams
like a person, not some un
fathomable, unfamiliar god.
Christ, for a change, has a
personality. He is a "peace
creep," complete with beard,
making his society just as ner
vous with his presence as some
"peace-creeps" make ours. He
is a rebel among the rabble,
and there is nothing particu
larly glorious about his grub
by soap-box sound-offing, but
it does pbssess a kind of furi
ous beauty.
And this beauty is consid
erably more exciting and
moving than a series of pretty
pictures bound to each other
by tradition, but not imagina
tion or conviction.
calling in the newspaper.
In this way only can they save what is left of our
conscience, their good relations and the integrity of
one of the best departments in the University.
The pure nausea of any television program Jack
Paar has been associated with is too familiar a sub
ject to be exhumed at length today, but last Wednes
day's airing of the Paar production, "The Kennedy
wit," cannot go by unnoticed.
Such a program, as an idea, is truly unparalleled.
The late president was capable of producing some
wild humor and a well-edited, tasteful documentary
on the subject would have been a classic in its own
time.
Why did they give this marvelous idea over to
Paar for slaughter?
The shots of Kennedy were good, but they were
sandwiched in between Paar's disgusting monologue.
He never waxes nostalgic without getting maudlin,
and his bleary-eyed reminiscences vaguely suggest
the hard-luck stories of a Bowery rummy.
Half a minute of Paar on Kennedy is enough to
make anyone scream, "Oh, God!" in disgust and
swear off television forever.
One of the high points of the desecration was
when Paar so profoundly pinpointed the driving force
behind John Kennedy's humor: "He did everything
with such class."
For that phrase alone Paar would have done bet
ter to appear on television in a dirty T-shirt with a
beer can in his hand.
The lack of taste was even more apparent in his
derisive remarks about President Johnson. Paar had
the affrontery to compare the president's speaking
style to that of a folksinger's with aching feet.
Johnson may sound like the original Uncle Corn
pone, but he is the President of the United States.
It's also just a little unfair to set the president up
against a dead man, especially one that has been
beatified by the masses.
The big question is, why did the Kennedy family
submit themselves to this sort of thing. They allowed
a memory that was truly beautiful become irrepara
bly soiled.
It will be difficult, now, to erase the greasy
smudges of Paar's touch from an old portrait of fire
and presidential brilliance that is fast being dulled
by the ages.