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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1957-04-11, Page 2Who's Your Friend r YourEnemy? Deep down underneath the momentarily restabilized surface of this world of ours is a change •f such profound nature that no One can possibly foresee what it will mean to the future. It is the fact that the three words which have classified men end political movements for a half century have lost their old meanings and now defy precise tleflnition. These three words are capital- ism, socialism and communism. We have just passed through a postwar period of history in which most men classified their friends or their enemies by these three words. It is still custom - airy in the West to identify the collective enemy as communism. It is still standard operating pro- cedure in Moscow to refer to the `capitalist -imperialist camp." But can anyone say today that capitalism, socialism, or com- munism applies accurately to any perceptible political or economic movement in forward motion? There are still some well -pro- vided capitalists in the Western world — notably Texas oil mil- lionaires. But they are in serious trouble with their own govern- , ment in Washington right now tor having raised oil prices out ee the Suez crisis, and all the great corporations of America are under stern warning from President Eisenhower to help check the threat of inflation or face the consequence of federal price and wage controls. The political -economic condi- tion of the United States has long since ceased to fit the old classic definitions of capitalism. And what has happened to communism? Is it to be defined by the current system in the Soviet Union which at the mo- ment manages a faster rate of eapital accumulation in private hands than does the United States or Britain, and which could be equaled only in France or in some Latin-American coun- try? Or is it to be defined by condi- tion in Yugoslavia, where Mar- shal Tito increasingly resembles a medieval prince or a Chinese war lord rather than an ideolo- gist of our generation? Go to Poland to be really baf- fled about the definition of com- munism. Poland hasa govern- ment composed for the most part of men who call themselves Communists. But their most dan- gerous enemies are grouped in a small, angry phalanx of Com- munists to their left, or right, depending on who is talking. And the Gomulka government's support comes from the vast non- Communist mass of the Polish people. The political division which counts in Poland today is not between Communists and the rest of the people, but down through the middle of the Com- munist Party itself, between those whose fortunes are tied to Moscow and those who have struck off on a new road which they themselves cannot define and which is marked most dra- snatically by an accord between the state and the Roman Catho- lic Church. Or turn to Hungary. Who is a Communist there? Commu- nism has long prided itself on being the champion of the la- boring masses. But in Hungary the laboring masses have done their unsuccessful utmost to break with the whole'Commun- ist apparatus. And what is socialism? Once it was a doctrine with a deep inner emotional momentum. But where in the world today is there is socialist party which is moving with what might be called political dynamism? It stands at bay in . Britain before the eroding attack not of Tories but of plain individual people who are willing to work harder and for longer hours than so- cialist legislation and trade union rules permit. Something has gone wrong with applied socialism in Brit- ain which has taken the starch and momentum out of it.. It succeeded in destroying the old landed nobility. But there is a new upper class rising out of the wreckage of the old in Brit- ain. It is made up of people shrewder and tougher than the average. Their names are fre- quently of Polish or, more re- cently, of Hungarian derivation — less often now of Anglo-Saxon background. The last success- ful invasion of England did not necessarily take place in 1066. It is being invaded by infiltra- tion today from the continent and its own youth is moving out at an alarming rate. Theold concepts of capitalism, socialism, and communism have been the political lights by which men have lived for as long as any of us can remember. These lights have gone out all over the world. Governments still use them as slogans and cliches, but they have become hollow, emp- ty, and all but meaningless. They have ceased to be valid as a way of identifying the differ- ences either between individual men or between governments. On the surface, the world is still divided into a Communist camp and a capitalist camp. But apart from the question of poli- tical freedom, the divisions arise out of oil, out of strategic bases, out of trade routes and control of currencies, out of the old issue of freedom versus tyranny, which is now more sharply defined than ever. If there is any new revolution- ary movement afoot in the world it is the unorganized movement of individuals '" who manage to make a- livingbytheir etr wits re- gardless'"of the doctrines or the laws of .the countries in which they reside. —By Joseph Cul- tarsch in The Christian Science Monitor. SAVED BY SHOWER BATH The pungent smell of burning caused Steven. McVicker, of Hollywood to wake up in a fright. He soon discovered that his flat was well alight. He hur- riedly 'phoned for the fire bri- gade, and then jumped into his shower bath and turned the wa- ter full on. He was still under the comparative safety of the shower when the firemen event- ually rescued him. FASHION HINT PASS IN REVIEW—Little, solemn -faced Jeff Borst might 'be a dignitary tipping his hat as the flag passes by. But the bib gives him away. Jeff is actually giving a neer-type plastic cereal bowl a; workout to test its durability. The manufacturers of the material, called melamine, claim it's unbreakable. Determined Jeff should prove an acid test. TABLE TALKS isy There is something strange about eatingfried grasshoppers and bumblebees'. - the first time,. that is, and particularly if you know you are doing it. Grass- hoppers taste like a cross be- tween salted nuts and popcorn. The Japanese have been con- suming these • Oriental dainties for centuries and are now ex- porting them in large quantities. However, at the moment they do not threaten the peanut or pop- corn market. * * * As for bumblebees, they taste —well—like bumblebees. popu- larly known as Yamatoni, they are sugared and placed in soy bean sauce, all of which gives a bite like a pate. Of course, only the yot.g bees, not fully grown, are used. a * •.Actually;.Americans have been eating hors 'd'oeuvres with de light for years but not always knowing exactly what •the tid- . bits were. It is safe to say, how- ever, that. flirtiiig With*a 'canape_ tray today offers 'quite a chal- lenge. • The never-ending quest for new delights on • the part of the up-and-coming host: or host- ess is now running toward ex- , Otic delectables. • e * * Just the other day, for instance, A boatload of brand-new taste- ful treats carne into theport of tehiladelphia from Japan under the watclsftil eye of Martian B. Dabrow, president of Penn Foods Dist. He says, 11Foreign foods, brought here from the far-flung corners of the earth and from the seven seas as well, are nat only romantic in origin and fas- cinating to see, but they are genuinely delightful to con- sume." e * * All the same, one doesn't eat a can of bamboo shoots or roast- ed locusts without company or "knowing what's going on." So the Japan Trade Center in New York was contacted. Back came the reply from Masato Yamamo- to that Japan exports between 70 and 80 different kinds of fancy canned foods to this country and, he said, "We are sending you a few of these delicacies to taste." (That's how all this started.) a ', , WeIl,a'n optimistic entrepren- eur . of rare, unusual, and exotic foods might well consume sea urchin or sea horse .paste with gusto. It tastes like 'a' cheese spread, being thick with' added salt to give it a measure of sharpness. * * * The smoked or broiled octopus meat, which tastes like salmon but is more chewy, is a fairly rapid moving product and has long since left the Greenwich Village -- Bohemian atmosphere. It ha.. come into its own and is no longer "the conversation piece" it once was. For some strange reason there is not the "struggle" with the delicately flavored octopus that there seems to be with some import- ed fancies.* * Broiled eels are a real delicacy popularly known in Japan as ,Habayaki. The eel dines only on fish. Europeans, especially the Scandinavians, have always held this food in high esteem. By the same token many fishermen ht this country have long supple- mented the larder with fresh and salt water eel. * * * Quail eggs are an old gourmet specialty in the Far East. They are mostly yolk and taste like egg yolk. They are gaining favor :in many countries along with, such foods as salted whale skin, smoked rabbit, smoked oys- fem, smoked baby clams, " and tangle, dried cuttlefish. * * * There is a cherry blossom drutk which has a delightful taste and fragrance. The blos- soms are unopened and have iseee • pickled in salt and water. For a single serving, two or three blossoms are placed in a glass and hot water poured over them. The blossoms will open, produc- ing the cherry fragrance and a new and interesting cherry -Bios • som drink especially popular duringthe summer months. * * * These are not trick foods; nor are :they found just in ' food sp mite stores For instance, thathis abrow pointe out :,. �ent nf�•Japarlese delicacies Will soon find 'their way to 'the party -foods departments in more than 800 chain •stores, super- markets, and independent stores from coast to coast. Just the same, there :is a great temptation. to wonder what the Japanese reaction would be , to American canned snake meat.' Musical Genius Paid When e s B a 0 h 0 ge and r T Fra M e g t li k n ep and k get r u v d a wi nv P n his teen, 0 Fr an r P b u x a e e slide 1 n m h ar he y e n urs P' id In Ice Cream When Yehudi Menuhin, the great violinist, played to G.I.s during the war, he had to re- fuse occasional requests for popular songs, most of which he'd never heard. ut one night, amused by de- mands for "Pistol - Packing M roma," he asked someone to whistle the melody for him. Al- most the entire.audience ob- liged. His accompanist picked it up on the piano, he joined in, it was played as never be- for e- fo e! his was once the little San Fr nsisco prodigy violinist who at five played Paderewski's inuet" to an audience of the Pacific Musical Society, and eight months later, a concerto at theAnnual Music Week, when a local newspaper critic pre diced that he "would one day be a master among masters." The famous prima donna, Elizabeth Rethberg, was once asked how much she got for singing at a concert. "Well, it depends on the size of the hall the audience," she replied. Then turning to Yehudi, she asked: "And how much' do you for playing to one of your large audiences?" • `An ice-cream," he answered, truthfully. "Strawberry is my favourite." Robert Magidoff writes in an admirable mirable biography, "Yehudi Menuhin" that the young musi- c l genius was also preoccupied th scientific and mechanical inventions and spent every spare moment tinkering with and "improving" the gadgets in mother's kitchen. H e studied car engines, learn- edto drive before he was thir- . t n, recived his driver's licence a year later, and was made an honorary police officer of San F ansisco, with golden badge d certificate. He evolved a bake on the hydraulic prin- ciple, long before he had heard about it; had an , idea for ' re- ducing vibration and shock by re placing standard axles with ales through the centre of the car, on which the body was to re st. He devised a glider with pdal-powered propeller; an aeroplane wing so adjustable to wind resistance that it could s de into the plane's body' .and alter ; the angles; ' ' a diesel- engined iesel e gined seaplane large enough to serve as an aeroplane carrier. Visiting a South African gold ine at' nineteen, "he. ;was -:so socked ,by the underground darkness, heat and dangers.that worked out an. automotive system 'of mining, a' machine designed to follow the vein, drilling, dynamiting, and bring- ing ring- i g the ore to the surface. Dis- cussing in Melbourne a bomb- ing 'range with Air Marshal. Williams in 1940, he outlined a principle he'd worked one only to learn from the astonished Vice -Marshal that a secret range based on that very prin- ciple was already operating. Now Menuhin looks forward to the time when he can slow up his concert activities and tinker to his heart's content in workshops he hopes to set up on his California estate. No musician had a worse situation to deal with , than Menuhin when the Royal Albert Hall was packed to capacity for his concert hi March, 1938, and it was announced from the stage that he had left all his music in a bus on the way to the hall and that 'phone calls to the ter- minus and Scotland Yard had failed to locate it. Would any- one with a score of any of the works on the programme lend it? A man produced one item, Menuhin's Aunt Edie another. Anyone .who would taxi to his home and return with the score of any of the other wqrks was then offered £5, but no one budged, fearing to miss part of the concert. Backstage, 'Fergus- on Webster, the accompanist, kept wringing his hands and threatening to throw himself in the Thames. Harold Holt, the manager, moaned: "How can I refund 8,000 people!" Then Yehudi calmly said: "I'll play unaccom- panied Bach." The concert which started forty minutes late, was a great success. Yehudi's first mar ria g e, though blessed with two chil- dren, did not survive long sepa- rations during the war years when he was often away play- ing to the troops. The happiness that eluded him he eventually found in a second marriage to ballet -dancer Diana Gould. This book will delight all mu- sic -lovers. It shows the human side of the great violinist, as in the story of a woman ask- ing him after a recent concert; "Please tell me, divine young man, do you still have terrible nerves and tension before a con- cert?" "No, madame," he replied. "Now it is the turn of my audi- ence to suffer!" "That's how your stock stands with me at market closing." Little Boy Who Never. Stops Laughing By ERSKINE JOHNSON NEA Staff Correspondent HOLLYWOOD r-. (NEA) — This is about a little boy in Hollywood who never stops laughing. His name is Richard, :and 'he's a recently discovered •Victine of dreaded leukemia. ' He's nine years old, with red hair and a face full 'of freckles. He's always laughed a great deal becali!e' his 'fath'er is Red Skelton. Richard's very .first laugh, when he was only 18 months .old, meant more to his dad than the acclaim of Millions. Even if. Red did haveto squirt ink all over his famous face and expensive clothes, and was late to•the _stu- dio that :morning. • At nine,' Richarit's still laugh- ing. More than, ever. His daddy wants it 'tiaat way. "What are you giving up for Lent?" he'll ' ask Richard. Richard x'eplies: ''My school homework" Then both fill'on the floor, and roll • arpund, laughing hysteri= cally. . • There's an expensive model train 'set covering two ping pong tables in the 'sitting room. outside Red's 'bedroom. Richard, an en gineer's eap atop his red hair, sits ona' stool. • Red wears an engineer's cap, too, and with the comedian at the controls, the wreckage is something fearful. Richard never : steps . laughing about it all.. There's a makeup table iii the Skelton home. Richard sits there while Red plays "movie rnakeub roan." Finally Richard gets to look at himself in the mirror. He sees Freddie the Freeloader, jun- ior edition. Richard never stops laughing. Richard is old enough now to stay up past his bedtime and watch his daddy's TV show which doese't come on the air until 9,30 in Hollywood. lied talks back to himself on the screen as they watch the delayed kinescope, and Richard never stops laughing. Richard has become one of his dad's radio characters, "the moan widdle kid," in some home movies Red is making. Almost anything. goes. There is no script. The :film supply is .endless. "Now in 'this scene," Red an- nounces to Richard, "you pick up the book, throw it at the wall and then you sneak•outdoors and: push a chair into the, swimming pool. Following Richard while Mrs. Georgia Skelton ' operates the camera, Red 'falls pito the pool with the chair. Richard never stops laughing. "Why does a chicken cross the street?" Red "suddenly will. ask Richard art the dinner table. To get `on .the -other side,"replies Richat'd. 'Then both fall on the floor and roll around -=-and Rich- ard never stops 'laughing. •'The Air Force sent .Richard one of those test Allot helmets the Man From Mars type. Red put it one, struts around and then tries to take it off. It won't budge. "Daddy's caught • again!" Rich- ' ,ard'alerts everyone in the house. Everyone rushes in and for half an hour 'Red struggles to flee himself, making. it look so difficult its fabulous. Richard never stops laughing. Red' Skelton frequently wan- ders through the novelty and toy stores in Westwood Village near their Bell=Air Home.' His arms are full of packageswhen he returns home ;te• hide• them in a closet. Now: and then Red an- nounces to efteef t`ard "Here's a ' little present I bought `fol yQu;" It's alwstYs some amusing gift, or the. rers}srks with which Red wrape the "packages, to • make Richard Alaugh. Red likes to hear his only son laugh. • . Making people laugh, after- all, is Red Skelton's business. • It's easy when, you are trained for it. But not so easy ,sometimes, as any comedian will tell . you. . MCl/ AD LAUGHS It Up with tits .;dad and sisters. Valentina*