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minutes' rest during the preceding
twenty-four hours, resolutely faced
the bleak likelihood that sleep would
again escape,him tonight. An eleventh
hour mediation attempt by the Labor
Department, he was notified, had
failed. A crippling dock strike sched–
uled to simultaneously hit both coasts
would not be averted. This combined
with the already three-week-old walk–
out of railroad engineers which had
virtually shut down all trunkline raíl
traffic across the country.
lt
was be–
coming the most perilous threat to
economic well-being in the history of
the nation, which bad already had to
devalue its currency
twice.
Listening with loosened tie hanging
limply from his open shirt collar, the
President eyed his Secretary of State as
the older man summarized the fast–
breaking events in the Middle East.
Russia, now the dominant power in
the Jndian Ocean, the Baltic aod
North Seas, had methodically gained
such ao unshakable foothold
in
the
Mediterranean that she was now un–
deniably the kingpin in that area. U. S.
infl.uence in the region had danger–
ously dwindled.
The USSR had put diplomatic pres–
sure on key Arab states to withhold
their precious oil from "certain na–
tions" until those nations had come to
terms with tbe Soviet Union. And now
the Kremlin had warned European
leaders not to provoke a confron–
tation by asserting their rights in the
Mediterranean.
Russia's immense naval might from
the Bosporus to Gibraltar had for
sorne
time induded submarine bases,
many at ports formerly occupied by
the United States and Great Britain.
And Soviet aircraft carriers, unheard
of only a few years before, were now
the center of attention here as well as
in the Indian Ocean.
European leaders had met and were
calling upon the United States for
urgent help. Europe was anxious. But
what options were open to the U. S.
?
To back off would virtually end U. S.
influence in the area, turn Europeao
public opinion against the U. S., and
40
in effect give Russia carte blanche to
take over the entire area. But to back
Europe against the confident Mosco–
vites could invite a holocaust.
The Secretary of State finished and
sat clown at the table.
All
eyes
were
now on the President. And not just
the eyes of the ranking officials in this
room, but the eyes of the whole world.
Moving somewhat stiffly to the little
podium in one comer of the historie
conference chamber, the wearied Chief
Executive, only months into his lirst
term of office, reflected inwardly for
a moment on the "glory days" of his
election campaign. Talented, charis–
matic, he had based his run for the
Presidency on the pledge of seeking
peace
-
peace abroad and here at
home. He had conlidently promised
the electorate that he would succeed
where,
he
charged, bis predecessors had
failed. He had assured the public that
he would have the needed answers.
He somberly faced the assembled
statesmen and diplomats, weighted
clown by the double burden of im–
minent confrontation with a powerful
adversary that could spell cosmocide
and at the same time the pressing
dilemma of unyielding interna! strife
within
the
nation itself. The unnerving
fact was stark against the heat of the
Washington evening: THERE
WAS NO
ANSWER TO GIVE.
We of
The
PLAIN
TRUTH are not
here to criticize any candidate or polí–
tica! party. We hope that all who seek
office are well-meaning individuals.
But you need to fully understand
the terrible weight of the burden that
falls on government leaders. In most
of the Western wodd the leaders are
selected by the people, directly or in–
directly. And these men and women
are chosen largely on the basis of
various
promises they
have made and
answers they claim to have.
The great tragedy of our time,
however, is that the "answers" are
no!
bringing us what
the
world needs!
Where, in six thousand years of hu–
man history, have there been men who
could lead mankind to peace, hap-
(Text contim1eJ
011
page 43)
lf
Electe~~
1
F ELECTED, 1 PROMISE ...
Just before leaving office, former
President Harry Trumao made an
astute comment on presidential author–
ity. "Poor Ike, it won't be a bit Jike
the Army. He'll sit there and he'lJ say,
'Do this! Do that !' and nothing will
happen. He'll find it very frustrating."
Put simply, presidential power is
not
divine fiat to turn promises into
reality.
While serving their country, the
great and
the
near-grcat Presidents
have had at least one distinguishing
quality in common -
inability to keep
campaign promises.
And if tbese meo
of greatness have, in part, failed,
how much more would
men
and¡or
Harry S. Trumao
Robort
Cohen- llock
Stor
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Wornor
Woffe - 8/ock
Stor
John F. Kennedy
Sho/ Hotthon
-
llack
Stor