Correspondents' Correspondence

...And there is now a growing disenchantment among them because the Mayor still has not taken decisive steps to deal with the myriad problems afflicting Newark...

...As one Israeli put it: "I'd rather see planes hijacked than have self-professed murderers for neighbors...

...The low salaries and dreary reputation of Newark have not helped him, and by now his reputation as a plodder is spreading...

...But hippies are still tolerated in little Laos and Nepal, where the supply of drugs and metaphysical experiences are limitless...

...Most of the young visitors who are tagged hippies, incidentally, manage to see more of the predominantly rural life of Asian countries than their cleanshaven, well-trimmed elders, who tend to huddle at the Hilton and munch imported hamburgers.--Louis Kraar Looking to the 92nd Washington--Even now, weeks before the general election, it is apparent that the 92nd Congress will convene with some old faces gone and some new, interesting ones present...

...To obtain a working majority the liberals will have to hold all of the eight shaky seats they now have, plus capture most of the remaining five held by conservatives...

...Unlike the nation's first couple of black mayors, Gibson has not drawn a flock of bright young idealists to his office...

...Perhaps nowhere has the ban been more seriously pressed than on this island republic of Singapore, where Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew exhorts his young people to work hard and build "a rugged society...

...To ward off this last prospect, the practitioners of the "new politics" may focus their energies and talents on those key states where a few percentage points of the vote might make a crucial difference...

...Some believe that the Mayor is convinced his foes are waiting for him to make a big mistake, and that his fear of erring has frozen him into inaction...

...The kids were from neighboring Malaysia, and the resulting uproar forced Premier Lee to cancel a visit there...

...To many countries, including South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, hippies represent a threat to traditional values and the ruinous road to drugs, student demonstrations and rejection of the powers-that-be...

...And Malaysia's controller-general of immigration, Enche Mohammed Khalil bin Haji Hussein, allows that hippies can come to his country "because it's rather difficult for us to distinguish a hippie from a genuine hitchhiker--not at least on the basis of long beards and shoulder-length hair...

...The present consensus of knowledgeable observers is that the Democrats will make modest gains in the House, and that the Republicans will do the same in the Senate, but will not do well enough to take control...

...Reddin is a highly qualified and sympathetic police officer, but he is white...

...Nor are the prospects much brighter in the Senate, which by word and deed is already far more liberally inclined than the House...

...A traveler arriving bearded, barefoot or rumpled is usually refused entry...

...A former newspaper reporter, Malefronte knows more about Newark than most anyone around city hall, and Gibson apparently felt the need for his knowledge...

...These five will probably be replaced by three conservatives and two liberals (or possibly only one liberal, if Ohio elects Robert Taft over Howard Metzenbaum...

...Moreover, after spending a little time with local journalists and other knowledgeable Israelis, a visiting correspondent becomes aware of the extent to which international diplomacy is held in disrepute here...

...Well," Amir replied, "it's possible...

...But practitioners of the "new politics" should not be unduly optimistic, for the 92nd will break little new ground despite the congressional reorganization...

...All of these people, however, arc waiting for the Mayor to lead them, and he has shown little desire to do that.--Harvey D. Shapiro New Mideast Gospel Jerusalem -- "Before I got to Israel," an Australian newsman remarked to me, "I expected to find a nation with a Job complex...

...Basically, two courses remain open to progressive legislators eager to push through liberal social legislation...

...Many of the remaining seats are so safe that only a major upset would depose the incumbent--such senators as Henry Jackson of Washington, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Mike Mansfield of Montana, Edmund Muskie of Maine, John Stennis of Mississippi, and Stuart Symington of Missouri...

...The guerrillas' strength was overrated, he implied, but in any case it was clear what had to be done...

...Within a few hours 1 had an appointment with Shimon Amir, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Ministry...

...As a forecast, that analysis was pretty much right on the nose...

...As David Broder recently illustrated in the Washington Post, roughly the senior one-third of committee members would have to be "lopped off" in order to guarantee consistent liberalism among chairmen...

...The government of Jordan has to be strengthened vis-a-vis the terrorists, and all means should be used to do just that...

...When there is something against Israel he is very very outspoken...

...In general, Gibson has not used his power of appointment to full advantage...

...Some liberal theorists believe it would be preferable if the Republicans were to pick up the seven Senate seats (creating a 50-50 deadlock the Vice President could break) necessary to gain control...

...In admitting that need, though, he hung onto a rather stark reminder of l'ancien regime...

...Hell, they're all Davids here, and they can hardly wait to get their hands on Goliath...

...As far as the House is concerned, though, this is highly unlikely...

...According to many assessments, these are the eight liberals or moderates who face tough opposition: Democrats Quentin Burdick of North Dakota, Howard Cannon of Nevada, Albert Gore of Tennessee, Vance Hartke of Indiana, Joseph Montoya of New Mexico, Frank Moss of Utah, and Harrison Williams of New Jersey...

...One former supporter says, "Blacks feel it happened and it didn't...

...in the Senate, the liberals could even have a net loss of two or three seats--not a disaster, but an ill-afforded loss...

...Malefronte had long been former Mayor Hugh Addonizio's chief aide and confidant...

...Indeed, only twice in modern history has the House changed dramatically with one election: in 1932 with the New Deal sweep...

...In each instance the result would be a trade of one conservative for another...

...Kenneth Gibson's job would not be easy under any circumstances, for Newark exists in some nether region--not quite a suburb of New York City, but not really independent either...

...Under any circumstances, the Israelis would greet the notion with suspicion...

...That was brought home to me at the height of the airline hijacking crisis, when I inquired about getting some background material on Israel's position...

...Asian Hippie Scene Singapore--The one Western export that an increasing number of Southeast Asian countries insist they do not want is hippies...

...Singapore's Immigration Department frankly warns, "Anybody who looks like a hippie has got to satisfy the immigration officers . . . that his stay in Singapore will not increase the 'pollution' to our social environment...

...This anti-hippie stance recently caused a minor international incident when local police seized four shaggy-haired youths on the street and hauled them off to jail for enforced haircuts...

...Now it has a black mayor, and I recently returned here to see how he was doing...

...The second course for liberal reformers is to govern on the floor through sheer force of numbers, either overturning or bypassing the committee hierarchies...

...The primary election defeat of elderly conservatives like Phil Philbin in Massachusetts--ranking Democrat on House Armed Services--and George Fallon in Maryland--chairman of House Public Works--should not obscure one important fact: The congressional status quo can easily absorb a few setbacks...

...In his three months in office, Gibson has shown his backers to be masters of understatement...

...If that's uncivilized, so be it...

...Yet the true dividing lines in the Senate are by philosophy rather than party...

...It passed the Cooper-Church amendment, gave a strong showing for McGovern-Hatfield and against abm, and consistently adds more funding to social reform legislation...

...In his now famous essay, "Unfair to Goliath," Israeli satirist Ephraim Kishon describes the giant as the real underdog, the innocent victim of David's diabolical battle plan...

...This much is certain: If Hussein makes up his mind, he can do it...

...Call it a good reading of the Arab mind or a precise digest of the latest Israel intelligence efforts, either way, coming almost a full week before Hussein turned on the guerrillas, it was pretty impressive...

...There was also a touch of the prophet...

...Many blacks were delighted when Dominic Spina was replaced as director of the Newark police force, but soon disappointed when they learned of his retention in a high position in the department...

...Realistically, there are about 13 seats that could go either way (besides the five races where the incumbents are not running...

...Its economic base is tied to that of New York and its ability to levy taxes is tightly controlled by the State Legislature...

...All this is worth remembering amid the plethora of current suggestions for giving the guerrillas a place to call their own--say, the West Bank of Jordan now occupied by Israel...

...True, the progressives will not obtain a Senate majority in January, but perhaps a "down payment" can be made toward 1972.--Carrol W. Cagle Newark Freeze Newark -- Three years ago I joined the staff of New Jersey's Select Commission on Civil Disorders to study the Newark riots of 1967, and shortly thereafter I was in hot water...

...Clearly this is out of the question for 1971...

...Although white militants warned that Gibson was a tool of black extremists, his supporters defended their man as moderate and cautious...

...He paused before adding, "What and how to do it . . . that is merely a matter of technique and tactics...

...Gibson has the support of Newark's downtown business elite, and Republican Governor William Cahill is ready to cooperate...

...Of the 34 seats up for grabs this year, 21 are held by liberals and 13 by conservatives, although admittedly this computation represents a somewhat crude form of political shorthand...

...A magazine reporter had quoted me as saying that what Newark really needed was a black mayor...

...Right now, they are openly hostile...

...often Addonizio would begin a sentence and let Malefronte finish it for him...

...John Reddin's appointment to Spina's old job was also received poorly...

...and then in 1964 with the Johnson-Goldwater contest...

...The cliffhanging closeness of some of the Senate votes, too, indicates that a few key changes might make a substantial difference...

...The Gibson administration has experienced some difficulties in recruiting top-flight personnel...

...A high Israeli official told me, "U Thant is definitely anti-Israel...

...several foundations have also become interested in Newark...

...Sometimes, just sometimes, we get a majority from the 'swing' votes, but it's like pulling teeth...

...For many Gibson supporters, the unkindest cut of all was the Mayor's decision to retain Donald Malefronte as a mayoral consultant...

...The essay is a commentary on the 1967 war, and it is satire, but sometimes, listening to many Middle East observers, one wonders whether they aren't turning satire into gospel.--Herbert Dorfman...

...The appearance of many Newark streets has improved noticeably as the New Jersey National Guard continues its program of removing abandoned vehicles...

...When there is something against the Arabs he is very quiet...

...But beyond that the Gibson administration has achieved few visible, dramatic, or important changes...

...There was a lot of the spirit of David in the interview...

...Thus, with a Republican majority Milton Young of North Dakota would replace Richard Russell of Georgia as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, either Margaret Chase Smith or Strom Thurmond would replace John Stennis on Armed Services, while Wallace Bennett of Utah would replace Russell Long on Finance...

...We have a hard minority of 3540 liberals on most issues," one Democratic strategist said recently...

...Any philosophical change in the House will be virtually imperceptible...

...and Republican Charles Goodell of New York...

...It is definite that five of the 34 incumbents will not be returning, due either to retirement or defeat in a primary election: conservatives Spessard Holland of Florida and John Williams of Delaware, and liberal Democrats Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, Ralph Yarborough of Texas and Stephen Young of Ohio...

...Perhaps more revealing, though--and significant for the future--was his response to my next question: What if the terrorists win...

...This being the case, is there an opportunity to change the net philosophical composition of the Senate...

...Neither will happen to any significant degree in 1971...

...One object of particularly sharp attack is UN Secretary General U Thant...

...Again, this is a highly unlikely proposition...

...The facts speak for themselves...

...Amir was sure, for example, that if Hussein decided to "put his house in order," he could do it...

...He didn't mean that the Israelis were taunting anyone to knock the chip off their shoulder--but they are by no means suffering in silence...

...in a few others the barter would involve two liberals...

...Like the UN itself...

...First, they can try to take control of the powerful committees, either by institutional reform or by placing liberals in chairmanships through the slow, laborious workings of the seniority system...

...Gibson's in City Hall, but it hasn't done anyone that much good...

...When Kenneth Gibson was elected last June, most blacks and many whites thought the event heralded the beginning of a new era in this 300-year-old city...

...Sotto voce...

...No matter that one Thai intellectual noted that the Lord Buddha, if alive today, would doubtlessly be considered a hippie...

...The flower children may have borrowed some of their philosophy from the Orient, but Asians fear their own youth will be tainted by a yen to drop out...

...of Virginia and Thomas Dodd of Connecticut...

...In fact, not since the harrowing-but-glorious days of June 1967, it seems, has the Israeli voice been so outspoken and blunt, even in diplomatic channels...

...What if one day there is a terrorist government in Amman...

...These are the five conservatives: Republicans George Murphy of California, Winston Prouty of Vermont and Ralph Smith of Illinois, and independents Harry Byrd Jr...

...Israel has in the past gone into the territory of Jordan . . . ." The words may be indefinite, but they are not ambiguous...

...Still, much of the city's fate remains in its own hands...