Friday. April 21, 1961
University Daily Kansan
Page 11
Avoidance of War Keynotes US Defense Policy
By Raymond G. O'Connor Assistant Professor of History
"THE QUESTION OF NATIONAL DEFENSE: A CRITIQUE OF OUR MILITARY PREPARATIONS AND POLICIES," by Oskar Morgenstern. Vintage, $1.25.
Of all the problems confronting man at the present time, the threat of war and thermonuclear annihilation is generally accepted as the most critical. Professor Morgenstern, an expert in "game theory" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has written one of the most comprehensive and thought-provoking of a deluge of publications devoted to America's defense strategy and the way in which all-out war may be avoided.
THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN the Western World and the Communist bloc, coupled with the astounding technological advances in weapons systems, has created a situation in which "the problems raised are
Poet Crusades
(Continued from page 1)
wherever they might be. We do not accept reprints, but since we are concerned with finding new talent,
this doesn't bother most of the contributors."
He said that most of the manuscripts that the journal has now have been solicited, but that considerable interest throughout the country in writer's workshops, schools of creative writing, ski lodges, coal mines, bars, lumber camps has been created.
MR. HERSHBERGER has published three books of poetry, "The Landsmith," "Random Verse," and "Man and the Moment." He enjoys skiing and mountain climbing and has spent considerable time doing both in the western U. S. and Europe.
Following his discharge from the Marine Corps, Mr. Hershberger attended the University of Nevada, Kent State University and came to KU from a teaching position in Puerto Rico.
He is married and the father of two children, Geoffrey and Haidee who are named after Geoffry Chaucer and one of Lord Byron's characters in "Don Juan."
'Misfits'a Real Film Letdown
(Excerpted from a review of the movie "The Mistits" by William Murray in the April 10 issue of the New Leader.)
THE MISFITS is, I think, the saddest movie I have ever seen. I'm not referring, a la Louella Parsons, to the personal tragedies of the participants — Clark Gable's Death, Marilyn Monroe's breakdown, the Arthur Millers' divorce—but to the movie itself, certainly the year's greatest disappointment. . . .
Apparently, everybody involved, with the exception of Huston, was so concerned with his own personal integrity, with the preservation of his own little slice of immortality, that the movie was forgotten. . . .
The Misfits is a flight from reality into that private American dream world of the Self, a world in which it is assumed that everything large and popular is corrupt and that only the individual is worth saving.
The first evidence of this flight was the use of the small screen and black-and-white film, most of it shot through a dark filter. Now I've been to Reno and Pyramid Lake, where a good deal of the action was filmed, and the first thing that strikes you about the country is the space and the light. In the movie, people do talk about space and light, but one is not allowed to see it or feel it.
About half-way through the film, a woman behind me said, "My God, Miller's trying to make a ghetto out of the American West!" It may have been an uncalled-for remark, but I knew exactly what she meant.
The real mystery of the movie is Huston, who has always been able in the past to make his kind of film within a commercial framework, without flinching or running away from the pressure money brings to bear on the artist. . .
harder than the most difficult ever solved in science." A major obstacle to the solution of these problems, as Morgenstern sees it, is the complacency of the American people. Almost angrily, he decries the apathy that prevails in the face of the terrifying existent threat, not only to our institutions but to human life itself. Then, clearly and dispassionately, Morgenstern presents the alternatives and provides a blueprint for peace.
In short, the people must be made aware of the nature of the crisis and the sacrifices necessary to maintain the Western position, while at the same time efforts must be made to minimize the risk of war. Militarily, this involves the establishment of "invulnerable retaliatory forces" by both camps, so that each side is secure in the knowledge that a surprise attack will not be decisive. An essential element in creating this security is the immediate implementation of a vast and necessarily expensive civil defense program to ensure that the population will survive a thermonuclear attack. Russia, the author shows, is far ahead of the United States in this respect, and her defense position is thereby strengthened. The retaliatory forces themselves will consist primarily of guided missiles, against which no defense exists, and the least vulnerable of launching platforms is the nuclear powered submarine.
When each side possesses an adequate number of these vessels neither will be likely to risk an attack, knowing that sure, instant, and devastating retaliation would follow.
WITH THE CREATION of a thermonuclear stalemate, the prospect of "limited" war emerges. Here the nature and extent of the conflict must be determined by the aims or objectives, which must be defined and declared at the outset. In this way the chances of hostilities expanding will be minimized. Morgenstern cautions that "mathematical rigor in these areas is not to be expected," but the past furnishes examples where armed conflict has been confined to the achievement of limited ends and the high stakes provide an added inducement for success in the future.
In pungent, provocative chapters the author surveys the other facets of world competition and the steps which might reduce tensions. The nature of the challenge is exposed and proposed approaches are outlined on the role of research in strategy; economic rivalry; intelligence and secrecy; diplomacy amidst technological change; and the dilemma of arms controls. No review could do justice to the wealth of information and ideas presented in this impressive effort to help men control the forces they have unleashed, forces which the
CLIP THIS COUPON
SALE ENDS APRIL 22ND
Men'—Child'—Ladies'
Any Matched Suit
SUIT
Or Any Plain 1-Pc.
DRESS
69℃
Beautifully Dry Cleaned.
Hand Finished. No Limit.
No limit — but you MUST bring coupon in with your order.
TROUSERS
• SLACKS • 5 TIES
• SPORT SHIRTS
• SWEATERS
• BLOUSES
• SKIRTS (plain)
39C
Note: No Limit. But Coupon Must Accompany Order. Minimum Order 25c
SHIRTS 17c ca.
Laundered to perfection! Starched as you like!
Reg. 22c
SHIRTS ON HANGERS ONLY 5c EACH ADDL.
Drive In and Save — Open 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. Except Sunday 1300 West 23rd St. VI 2-0200
author fears may destroy the creator.
TOO OFTEN ONE HEARS that war now is so horrible that it is "unthinkable." Morgenstern believes, as do other writers such as Herman Kahn in his recent "On Thermonuclear War," that unless men do think about it to the point of taking corrective steps, it will be too late. The eminent British scientist, civil servant, and novelist C. P. Snow has recently reminded us that "One of the overwhelming facts of our time is that the cardinal choices which lie before nations must be made by a handful of men acting in secret." By cardinal choices he means "those which determine in the crudest sense whether we live or die — as nations and individuals." Perhaps war has now become too serious a matter to be left to the generals or the politicians. When the experts predict casualties in terms of "mega-deaths," i.e., millions of dead, it is time to reappraise the social usefulness of this extreme form of human competition.
Step-in fashion . . . for any-occasion wear. Multiple stitching front, kimono sleeves, round neck and step-in full skirt ... all this and lovely styling too, in easy-care Dacron and cotton. Your choice of soft colors. Sizes,5 to 15.