oc
5
aetecied at great distances and in minute
‘ quantities. But special didiculties arise
with tests in outer space or underground.
Testing in outer space is largely a the-
oretical possibility, but underground testing raises troublesome detection problems
here and now. Neither tillout nor radia-
tion escapes, and the only way to detect
the test is to use seismographic instruments to pick up the earth tremors, Since
there is na sure way to tell from the
tremor’s “signature” on the seismogram
whether it was caused by an earthquake
or an underground explosion. inspection
teams are needed to make on-the-spot
checks of suspicious tremors.
Would a system of seismographs and
inspectors be pretty reliable?
The U.S. thought so when it entered in
the Geneva conference in October 1943.
_ THE CONGRESS
Might for Rights
“The country is dred of this bill, and
the Senate is tired of this bill” said
Republican Leader Everett Dirksen to a
colleague as the civil rights debate
dragged toward the end of its second
month. “All the political juice has been
squeezed out of it.” In the Senate, that
once formidable bastion of Southern tlibuster and fury, Majority Leader Lyadon
Johnson and Minority Leader Dirksen had
decided on a course of power and performance. Moving with sure control, they
worked to get roadblocks out of the way
of the substantial civil rights bill sent
over from the House (Tine. April gi. a
bill that notably strengthens Negro voting
rights by authorizing federal courts to
appoint voting referces. Among the tests
slight risk of detection. And by going to
a lot of expense. the U.S.S.8. could carry
met and bested:
G Senator Estes Kefauver. long a bannerwaving Democratic fiberal. but) running
for re-election this vear in segregationprone Tennessee. suddenly chose to attack
the vital voting-rights heart of the bill
with a crippling amendment. In the Judiciary Committee. Ketauver proposed an
amendment that would chaage a would-be
Negro voter's private hearing before the
voting referee into a public hearing open
to challenge by local officials. By ihe time
civil righis partisans realized that this
theory worked out by U.S. scientists. an
amendment through committee on a ore-
ground chamber would be muriled by a
Democrat John Carroll voted with the
Southerners to his subsequent chagr’n.
and Wisconsin Republican Alex Wiley
could not be found to vote at all.) But on
but learned in the Hardtack underground
test series in Nevada in September 19538
that no detection system using known
methods could be depended upon to detect explosions of less than 19 kilotons.
lf Russia entered into a test-ban
agreement, would she be able to carry
out clandestine tests?
Yes. Underground tests of much less
than rg kilotons could be carried out with
out tests much bigger than rq kilotons
without much risk. Under the “big-hole™
explosion in a very large. spherical underfactor of as much as 300 to 1. so that a
too-kiloton explosion would set up no
stronger a tremor than an unmuttled one-
third kiloton explosion, and would thus go
entirely undetected. Excavating a_bigenough hole
half-a-mile underground
would be exceedingly costly. but perhaps
worthwhile if the the U.S.S.R. very badly
wanted to test a nuclear device bigger
than 19 kilotons.
Is the Eisenhower Administration
worried about the evasion possibilities
opened up by the "big-hole'' theory?
Worried. but not enough to pull out of
the Geneva Conference. The Administration is going ahead. on the theorythat no
imaginable benctit the U.S.S.R. could gain
from a nuclear test would be great enough
to justify either a substantial risk of de-
tection (which some think would entail
a massive propaganda defeat for the
U.S.S.R.) or the great expense of excavating a huge undergruund chamber
(which would involve some risk beeause
it would be difficult to hide the excavation
work). More important, the Adminiatration believes that the U.S.S.R. genuinely
wants a test ban, partly because Soviet
leaders are worried about a problem that
also worries U.S. leaders: additional nations, notably Red China. may acquire
nuclear weapons. In the Administration's
view, Moscow's genuine interest in a test
ban
greatly
reduces
the
risk
U.S.S.R. might try to evade it.
that)
the
would gut the strongest part of the bill.
Dixie Senators had rushed Kefauver’s
vote margin. (In the contusion. Colorado
the Senate fleor the Johnson-Dirksen
team rallied their forces. smashed the
amendment bya decisive 69-tu-22 vote.
@ Dirksen resolutely reversed his own
month-old vote in the drive for unity.
voted to make it a federal crime to obstruct any order by a U.S. court—not just
an order concerning school integration.
Dirksen’s switch-over to the broader proposal helped line up a 68-to-20 majority
for this amendment.
G New York Republican Jacob Javiis.
wheelhorse for the civil rights team. tried
to delay Senate action on his proposal
giving permanert. statutory sianding to
the President's Commitee on Govern-
ment Contracts. now a temporary com-
mittee chaired by Vice President: Nixon,
Republican Dirksen backed Democrat
On a y-to-7 vote. the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee last week postponed
“to a later time” (translation: to a later
session of Congress) any hopeful attempt
to repeal the so-called Connally Reserva-
tion of 1944. a roadblock to etiective Us.
use of the World Court for settling international disputes. Both President: Ei-enhower and Vice President) Nixon bad
sought the abolition as a step toward
world rule of law. Secretary of Stare
Christian Herter and Atterney General
William P. Rogers toek strong stands ia
testimony before the commitiee. The
move to repeal was sponsored hy Mfinnesota’s Hubert Humphreys. had the sup
port of ather kev Democrats. More than
half the Senate favored abolition.
But the reservation. superimposed en
the resolution that commits the U.s. to
participation in the World Court. can be
abolished only by a treaty-ratifvine twethirds vote of the Senate. Party leaders
polled members, found too many up-forelection Senators afraid to stand on a
hot issue not vet understood by milliens
of voters. Rather than suffer 2 damaging
defeat. the Humphrey amendments supporters decided to mark time.
Pension Winds
Ulysses’ ancient Odvssey with a bagful
of spirited winds hid something in common with the voyage that Arkansas’ WEbur Mills. chairman of the soweriul
Hause Ways & Means Committee. embarked on last week. With Mills’s hand on
the tiller. the House committee killed off
by a vote of 17 to 8 (ten Repubticans.
seven Democrats v. eight Democrats) tie
Forand bill ( Tiae. April 43. which would
provide old-age medical and surgical benefits to Social Security pensioners at a cost
~to be paid for by increased Social Security taxes—estimated to run S$: b lien
in the first year and up to 37.5 billion
by 1980.
But the Forand bill. hardy perennial!
introduced by Rhode Island's Aime Forand, 64. is piling up bagfuls of mail at
the Capitol. so much in fact that the
Eisenhower Administration is working up
a substitute proposal. Conservative Desaocrat Mills fears the Senate will unleash
the old-age medical-tid winds before session’s end. is braced to stand against
them when a Senate bil comes sating
back to the House for approval.
BUREAUCRACY
Jeuhn-on’s move to force Juvits to “ston
tuulking and start) voting.” Red-faced,
Javits turned control of his amendment
over to Dirksen. who promptly put ioup
for brief debate, quick defeat by a 45-to38 vote,
Soon after the North's Javits. like the
South’s Kefauver. went down to defeat.
Senators adjourned to crest their fraved
nerves, prepare for this week's drive to
tini-h their long-delived fob ot buttress.
ing the voting rights of Negroes. So sure of
victory was Majority Leader Johnson that
he began praccicing eo office Visitors a tri-
umphant address celebrating the tinal vote.
TIME, APRIL 11, 1960
Election-Year Casualty
Cranberries Redeemed
Just
before
last)
Thanksgiving.
the
Health. Education and Welfare Depazment caused ao panic in’ the cranberry
market by claiming that a weed killer
improperly uscd ins some cranberry bags
might cause cancer in human-. The widely
publicized alarm left 60°; of the “sq crap
stil} on the market. Last week the Us,
swallowed the indignant growers’ see.
promised to pay Sto million in’ indemmities for the nation’s unsold. uncontaminated stocks of cranberries,
27