THE PEOPLE'S FORUM
THE PEOPLE'S FORUM Vietnam Dear Sirs: I am looking for an American who can tell me, a German, what the war in Vietnam is about. In 1946, Ho Chi Minh was the ruler of all Vietnam and was...
...Duncan's story, I am not happy with at least two of his slanted conclusions: Concerning education, he writes that an educational official had told him that in science courses twelve per cent of the classroom time was set aside for teaching Marxist-Leninist-Mao Tse-tung philosophy and that all students must spend six weeks each year performing manual labor...
...Samet does not say is that this was done at the height of a bus drivers' strike and the Negro drivers were, at that time at least, nothing more than strikebreakers...
...It was former President Eisenhower who wrote in his book, The White House Years: "I have never talked or corresponded with a person knowledgeable in Indo-chinese affairs, who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly eighty per cent of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader...
...The "formerly white schools" in question are, with three exceptions, now essentially all Negro schools...
...Mrs...
...Our bombings of North Vietnam seem to be a way of testing this alliance as well as of provoking the Chinese...
...Robert Shillaker La Crescenta, California Joseph Barry Replies to Hatch Dear Sirs: Far from "attacking" Harold Wilson, as stated by John Hatch in his letter in the People's Forum of your May issue, I have the greatest esteem for him...
...They did not vote for war as hypocritically waged by Lyndon B. It seems to me to be time for the small-circulation, nonconformist press which is trying to restore sanity and civilized ways to American foreign policy to give up trying to reform either of the two major parties and campaign for a new party in American politics—one uncompromised by a past record of stupidity, hypocrisy, and barbarism...
...military buildup and the sending-in of "military advisers...
...Christiansen is correct about the use of the Negro identification except in the case of housing advertisements...
...Samet envisions...
...Duncan offers little of value except as Western apologist for the continued exclusion of China from a world of nations...
...It was no other than Lyndon B. Johnson who said then: "It would be wrong to send American GI's into the mud and muck of Indochina on a blood-letting spree to perpetuate colonialism and the white man's exploitation in Asia...
...Dean Ewing reported that she ordered a subscription, starting with the first issue, to include two extra issues for sending cash with order, but never received the two extra issues...
...It may be surprised at the reception it would receive...
...T. C. Douglas, M.P...
...The corporation that published this book has already refunded thousands of dollars to all who have requested refund, and continues to make refunds...
...Lastly, I would be quite remiss if I did not clarify the role of our local mass media...
...More than fifty of 206 schools in the county are now integrated...
...John O. Brown, was denounced by four members of the Dade School Board as an "outside agitator" for politely suggesting this figure reflected "tokenism...
...3. About employment, here again, who ever said that all is perfect...
...I respectfully suggest that CORE undertake a series of dialogues with the paper to attempt to change these policies...
...Just two weeks ago, the coordinator of Miami CORE, Dr...
...4. In regard to mass media, the three television outlets and evening paper have been major assets in the civil rights struggle...
...It was about these positives that I wrote...
...we need Wilson's freedom actively to help us out of the impasse into which Mr...
...leaders and people...
...Why do you think human nature is basically different in Southeast Asia from what it is here or in England...
...Could it be that the possibility of a war with China, .which is being used to warn our government off its present course, is, in fact, the unannounced aim of the exercise...
...Now it is up to the CRB and CORE and other interested parties to follow up on the commitment...
...Dorothy Clark, in her letter, states that there is '"practically nothing of positive or constructive value in it [Facty This is a matter of opinion, but I can say that in a little over a year of publishing, Fact has contained articles on lynching, race relations, consumer frauds, car safety, smoking and cancer, imprisonment of innocents, narcotics addiction, Vietnam, church and state, capital punishment, tax avoidance by millionaires, and so on...
...They are encouraging Negro youth to participate to help meet the shortage of Negro police officers...
...Duncan's critical question seems to have no point...
...Elaine R. Samet Miami, Florida About 'Fact' Dear Sirs: Some of the letters in the People's Forum of your March issue contained misinformation about Fact...
...In my opinion, Mr...
...If, for instance, Britain did not need American support for the pound sterling, would Socialist Wilson support President Johnson's policy in South Vietnam...
...Our record can stand with pride in comparison with any urban area in the nation, but the job is far from complete...
...In fact, less than ten per cent of the Negro school children in Dade County attend integrated schools...
...But it is disappointing that the views of Barry Goldwater on Vietnam should win out...
...Duncan seems intended to have readers assume that practically all of the classroom time was given to teaching Communism and to manual labor...
...Duncan sheds tears over Mao's treatment of the landlords of Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorship...
...The present conflict is largely a continuation of the struggle that began when France tried then to reassert her control by force...
...Five thousand of the 38,000 Negro students enrolled in public schools are attending formerly white schools...
...Does not Mr...
...Bertell Ollman Department of Government University of the West Indies Mona, Jamaica Dear Sirs: In view of Captain Lyndon B. Ahab's fiercely determined pursuit of the Vietnamese white whale, can there be any further doubt that the recent national election was the most fraudulent since President Roosevelt made his "again and again and again" promises...
...On this I am in accord with Mr...
...Mrs...
...Samet says, "The powerful Miami Herald, through its editor, Don Shoemaker, has repeatedly praised" the Community Relations Board...
...In summary, let me reiterate that we are making progress in race relations in Miami...
...It is a waste of time to make the Administration see that bombing the North has no effect on the war in the South— they know it...
...We won't negotiate from fear...
...As one who was closely associated with the Saskatchewan Medicare Plan, I know something of the ferocious attacks to which it was subjected and the success which it has since achieved...
...R. Riddle Denver, Colorado Dear Sirs: You say it is difficult to assess the President's reasoning on Vietnam...
...When the Chinese respond, as they must at one stage, and the computers in the Pentagon say the odds are against Russian retaliation, our "no first strike" government will unleash a nuclear attack on China (a conventional attack could not be counted on to destroy all targets of military significance...
...At this point Mr...
...It is quite apparent that both the doctors who render the services and the public who benefit from them are eminently satisfied with the operation of the Saskatchewan plan...
...The real problem now, of liberals and of all sane people who voted "no" to Goldwater, is how to impress upon the government that we will not tolerate our country's beginning a war against China...
...Many of the book's buyers have been waiting until the publisher wins the anti-censorship battle which is now in the Supreme Court...
...All the arguments on this subject that I've seen in The Progressive appear to provide answers to what I believe is the wrong question...
...He has done more in the space of a few pages to illucidate the life in "the new China" than most of the reams that precede him...
...The excuse that we are fighting for the "freedom" of the Vietnamese people is just so much hogwash, and I am surprised that anyone so astute as the President should expect the American people to swallow that...
...But those Negro bus drivers are still on the job and more have been hired, long after the bus strike became ancient history...
...In your April editorial, after providing a biting review of the facts of our Vietnam defeat and the official lies which have accompanied our deepening involvement in this struggle, you conclude that what President Johnson needs is more liberal advice, and, suitably sugar coated, you give it to him...
...In this regard, the sheriff of the county was invited and did appear before the Community Relations Board to discuss his responsibility for eliminating the improper treatment...
...Isn't the real reason why we don't withdraw that the Pentagon wants as many footholds on the mainland of Asia as possible, looking towards an eventual war upon China...
...Humanity today faces the greatest problem ever encountered in all history—how to keep the champions of the H-bomb from running amuck and leaving the world a shambles...
...It is Britain's dreadful economic situation which so greatly limits Wilson's leadership and area for maneuver...
...The Miami Police Department has instituted a cadet training program to train young men for police work careers...
...Augusta Lyons New York, New York Dear Sirs: Congratulations to James A. Wechsler for his lucid report in the April Progressive of his interview with the so-called "model moderate of the middle," Senator Arbuth-not, over the Vietnamese crisis...
...I only wish he could be claimed by the United States...
...Many of us thought that the landslide election of Johnson meant that the war in Vietnam would not be escalated...
...Why do you think the Vietcong, or North Vietnam, or China will...
...If these subjects are not important, then I'd like to know what Dorothy Clark thinks is...
...The failure to solve it will render all other problems inconsequential...
...Of the seven school board members, three are strong in their support of integration and the others do not offer strong opposition, if at all, but all support the principle of law and order rather than defiance...
...Where possible, new schools are being located where they will draw pupils from Negro and white areas...
...The people of America voted against Barry Goldwater because they believed a victory for him would mean war...
...It will take a new party in power to solve it...
...He has pledged his cooperation...
...Indeed, in previous articles for The Progressive, I hailed the advent of the Labor Party in Britain as a turning point for the better in Europe...
...The James S. Duncan article on China is invaluable, but I favor your editorial conclusion, not his...
...Thank you for a timely and intelligent editorial, "A Time to Talk," in the April issue...
...The question put by Mr...
...He does not indicate whether or not his information was gathered purely from observation (a most difficult and improbable task) or personal interviews or communication with Chinese political leaders...
...Did the bombs dropped there put you in a mood to negotiate...
...The publisher has positively not advertised the book since the Post Office seizure...
...In Canada, the New Democratic Party is doing everything possible to persuade the government to implement a national medicare plan based on the Saskatchewan experience...
...If people like Mrs...
...How many Viet-cong guerrillas (not to mention their wives and children) have we already burned alive with napalm bombs without reducing the Vietcong will to fight...
...Friedrich Jaeger Hagen/Westfalen West Germany Dear Sirs: I have sent the letter below to the President, the Vice-President, and every member of Congress: Do you remember Pearl Harbor...
...However, I do see signs of progress, strong forward steps...
...2. The rate of school integration could and should be stepped up...
...Many of his statements regarding the leaders are threadbare, oft-heard cliches...
...What Mrs...
...While I am pleased for the most part with Mr...
...Hyman J. Hirshfield, M.D...
...I hope we will be successful in this regard and that fairly soon our neighbors in the United States will introduce similar legislation...
...Although both myself, as chairman of Miami CORE, and attorney Donald Wheeler Jones, president of the Miami branch of the NAACP, formally requested the Dade County Community Relations Board to follow up this recommendation, not one mention of this matter has yet been made by this board or by the Metropolitan Commission...
...In the name of God, stop the slaughter...
...The James S. Duncan article in the April issue of the Progressive should be an eye-opener to many of your readers...
...Samet would join with local rights groups and work to eliminate our many local problems, instead of writing glowing and inaccurate accounts of our situation, we might truly achieve the community Mrs...
...Unfortunately, Socialists always seem to inherit bankrupt countries...
...Duncan says he asks the professor: "Obviously your students receive excellent Communist training . . . but what time is there left to give them sound education...
...Duncan know that the chief purpose of the revolution was to do away with landlordism in China forever...
...Nevertheless, in each of nearly fifty demonstrations conducted by Miami CORE in 1963-64 at least one, and usually more, of the civil rights demonstrators was physically assaulted by Miami or Dade County policemen...
...It takes more strength and courage to walk away from an unwisely begun fight than it does to keep on raising the ante...
...In 1946, Ho Chi Minh was the ruler of all Vietnam and was negotiating with France in that capacity...
...Joseph Barry Paris, France Medicare in Canada Dear Sirs: I wish to congratulate you on the editorial, "Physician, Heal Thyself," in your April issue...
...Perhaps, but this same newspaper continues to feature "Negro" crime stories, "Negro" housing and employment advertisements, and, in fact, has never once editorialized in favor of a single civil rights venture or civil rights leader...
...True, the Miami Herald has been more conservative but, by no stretch of the imagination, segregationist...
...If it is as clear as the critics maintain that the Vietcong for reasons of place, peasant support, source of equipment, and other factors are not seriously affected by the bombing of North Vietnam, then we must ask what aim is the Administration really pursuing...
...Action is being taken...
...If ever an intelligent piece of reporting reveals the true substance of some of the allegedly sane and responsible men in high government positions, this did it admirably...
...Far from it...
...This offer was initiated only a few months ago...
...May I give Mr...
...At the time she subscribed, the offer of two extra free issues for cash with order was non-existent...
...Mrs...
...Figure it out any way you want to and you will find the students will have seventy-five to eighty per cent of their classroom time to devote to "sound education...
...Richard Dunn Circulation Director Fact New York, New York Duncan on China Dear Sirs: I am pleased to find a few glitters of light filtering through the liberal press of the United States concerning China...
...Author Samet, referring to an earlier incident in Dade County, wrote: "Negro bus drivers were hired for the first time on the county owned bus line...
...Michael S. Taylor New York, New York Dear Sirs: James S. Duncan's informative, up-to-date picture of Communist China lets much light in on the subject...
...Indeed, the problem of police brutality with regard to the Negro community is so severe that the recent Dade County grand jury recommended the establishment of a county-wide civilian police review board...
...But what can we do now to oppose it...
...Duncan know that at least ninety per cent of the economy of China rested on farm land and that pestilence and starvation were the common lot of the peasant farmers under such landlordism...
...William H. Burnett Albuquerque, New Mexico Dear Sirs: Special thanks for the April Progressive...
...Superintendent Joe Hall is proceeding with plans to integrate the teaching staffs of every school in the county, utilizing the talents of the best teachers available, regardless of race...
...The Geneva Agreements, which ended the fighting in 1954, stipulated that by July, 1956, elections were to be held in both parts of Vietnam leading to the formation of a unified Vietnamese government...
...Samet writes, "Pictures of police with snarling dogs or cattle prods, pursuing civil rights demonstrators along Miami's hotel-lined Collins Avenue, do not glare on television screens...
...1. Sure, we have a problem with police treatment of minorities...
...National Leader New Democratic Party of Canada House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario Canada Miami's 'Revolution' Dear Sirs: I must respectfully take strong issue with Elaine Samet's article, "Quiet Revolution in Miami," which appeared in the April issue of The Progressive...
...This is indeed a "unique offering" for readers of The Progressive, notwithstanding the editorial comments regarding U.N...
...Enclosed is a photostatic copy of her order, and as you can see, the subscription offer does not include two extra issues for cash with order...
...It is as great a pity for us as for Britain...
...Christiansen some specifics...
...And what can we do to obstruct it, once it gets under way—assuming, of course, that the computers are right, and the Soviet response doesn't put us all to sleep for good...
...It was an American Senator who made a sharp statement in 1955, challenging the U.S...
...Norman Thomas New York, New York Dear Sirs: Although James S. Duncan may be "an exceptionally well-qualified observer," nowhere in his article does the author substantiate any of his comments or criticisms...
...Chicago, Illinois Dear Sirs: James S. Duncan's article on Communist China is one of the best written and most coherent of the general coverage articles I've seen in years...
...Does not Mr...
...In the present circumstances, nothing is too much...
...It has continuously referred to the NAACP and CORE as "extremist groups," and the civil rights bill of 1964 and voting bill of 1965 as "unnecessary...
...L. Christen son Waco, Texas...
...The "voluntary ignorance" of world conditions and "inaccurate concepts of life imposed on their masses" are equally apt descriptions of U.S...
...Did the endless Nazi bombings of England make Churchill and his countrymen think of negotiating...
...She further states that she has been unable to obtain a refund for a book she ordered but did not receive because of Post Office seizure, and that we nevertheless continue to advertise it...
...Samet also stated, "Largely through its [Dade County Council of Community Relations] efforts the public schools have been desegregated without major trauma...
...Johnson is thrusting us...
...Christiansen...
...In the interim between becoming a nuclear power and possessing second strike potential, China's only protection against a preventive attack is her treaty with the Soviet Union...
...You have much sympathy for the President...
...I am well aware of all our unfinished business, having been intimately involved in human relations work in Dade County for the past thirteen years...
...Christiansen reread my article to determine that nowhere have I indicated that the civil rights fight in Miami has been won...
...Peter Christiansen Chairman Miami CORE Miami, Florida Elaine Samet Replies Dear Sirs: May I suggest that Mr...
...others have accepted our offer of a Fact subscription in place of the book on a dollar-for-dollar basis...
...Peter Woo McGill University Montreal, Quebec Canada Dear Sirs: The Progressive, a magazine I highly esteem, seems to have a propensity for drawing moderate conclusions from radical facts...
...admission of China...
...What is the war in Vietnam about...
Vol. 29 • June 1965 • No. 6
