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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

October 25, 1960: Contradictions Seen in Nixon's Cuba Stance, 'CompuCenter' is a Hit at Office Executives Show

James Reston reports today in a story datelined, "EN ROUTE WITH NIXON in Pennsylvania" that the Republican presidential candidate has the rule of law behind him in arguing against Sen. John F. Kennedy's position of aiding in the overthrow of Fidel Castro, "But in the anti-Castro mood of the nation the Democratic nominee may have the spirit of the American people working with him. And in an election debate before a majority of the voters, the spirit of the people may be more important than the spirit of the law.

"This country is obviously disturbed about the spread of Communist influence into the Caribbean. No foreign issue since Korea has provoked so much anxiety. The polls show it. The letters columns are full of it, this is usually the first foreign policy question put to the candidates wherever they go.

"Accordingly, it is a neat question whether the country will prefer the Vice President's policy of putting limited economic pressure on Castro or the Senator's suggestion of increasing the economic pressure and cooperating with those who want to bring Castro down.

"The foreign policy experts are on the Vice President's side in this dispute." But Reston sees a contradiction in Nixon's argument: "His major point in the foreign policy debate so far has been that we must oppose Soviet expansion wherever it appears, that we must not gie up "one inch" of territory to the Communists and that we must risk war if necessary to prevent the conquest of Quemoy and Matsu.

"In short, he has seemed willing to risk war 7,000 miles from home, where, in the harbor of Amoy, the strategic considerations are highly unfavorable to the United States, while opposing the risk Senator Kennedy would take in Cuba, where the strategic situation is highly unfavorable to Premier Khrushchev.

"The element of paradox in all this is even more apparent when Mr. Nixon's suggestions for dealing with Castro are studied. He proposed last Friday night that the United States should deal with Castro as it dealt with the Arbenz Government of Guatemala, and he described this as a policy of 'quarantine' which enabled the democratic forces in Guatemala to rise up and throw out Arbenz.

"Mr. Nixon knows very well, however, that the democratic forces of Guatemala were able to do what they did only because they were enabled by the Eisenhower Administration to get the money, planes and help that threw Arbenz out.

"In other words, in Guatemala, which Mr. Nixon cited as a model for dealing with Cuba, the United States actually did what Senator Kennedy seemed to be suggesting we do to help the anti-Castro forces gain control in Havana."

In today's newspaper there was also this business report: "The latest concepts in the office of the future were put on display yesterday at the opening of the National Business Show at the New York Coliseum. The show is sponsored each year by the Office Executives Association of New York.

"The feature that drew steady attention from the show's opening at noon to closing was a CompuCenter, short for computer center, at which six major concerns displayed the latest in electronic data-processing equipment. This was a 'first' for the show, which has not had such equipment before.

"The six large manufacturers represented were the Bendix Computer division of the Bendix Corporation; Control Data Corporation; Friden, Inc.; Monroe Calculating Machine Company; the computer division of Philco Corporation and the Remington Rand Univac division of the Sperry Rand Corporation"