SPAN Rice: Prospect of Plenty
July
2
by Carmen Kagal
Introd uction to Yaks hagan a
8
by K.S. Karanth
BUGGY-RIDE ON THE MOON
The Flag on the Moon
16
by S. V. Athalye IN THISMONTH of the second moon-landing anniversary, three Apollo15 astronauts will celebrate the event where it actually took placeon the moon. Scheduled for launch from Cape Kennedy on July 26, Apollo 15 will touch down on July 30 on a smooth plain between the Apennine mountains and a lunar ravine known as Hadley Rille. The meandering ravine is of unknown origin and unlike any previously explored area on the moon. The Apollo-IS astronauts are, from left, James Irwin and David Scott, who will make the moon landing in their Lunar Module, and Alfred Worden, who will remain in the command ship in lunar orbit. A highlight of the mission will be a jeep-like vehicle, being tested at left, which Scott and Irwin will use for extended exploration and sample collection in the Hadley Rille highlands. The photograph below shows the three planned excursions to be made by the astronauts, riding the moon buggy. Small numbers along the routes indicate stops to gather rocks and conduct experiments. The batterypowered buggy is about three metres long and has a top speed of about 13 kilometres an hour. The astronauts will spend a record 67 hours on the moondouble the time spent by Apollo-14 men in the Fra Mauro area in February 1971. But more than setting a record, the mission may provide vital clues to the yet unsolved mystery of the moon's origin.
The New Configuration
/8
by Jay Holmes
Mars: 64 Million Kilometres to the Red Planet 30
He 'Sold' Goodyear on India
4/
by Austen Nazareth
The Daring Amateur on the Flying Trapeze
44
by John Roberts
Cover
Man's Future in Space, a painting by Robert McCall. Reaching beyond the moon, America's spaceprogramme for the next two decadesincludesplans to send spacecraft to Mars, Jupiter and on "grand tours" past the outer planets. SPAN carries a special section on space on pages 17-32,withillustrations by Robert McCall of different aspects of the U.S. programme.
Editorial Staff: Carmen Kagal, Avinash Pasricha, Nirmal K. Sharma, Krishan G. Gabrani, AustenNazareth. Art Staff: B.Roy ChowdhurY,Nand K. Katyal, Kanti Roy, Kuldip Singh Jus, Gopi Gajwani. Production Staff: Awtar S. Marwaha, Mammen Philip. Photographic Services: USIS Photo Lab. Published by the United States Information Service, Bahawalpur
House, Sikandra Road, New Delhi, on behalf of the American Embassy, New Delhi. Printed by Arun K. Mehta at Vakil & Sons Private Limited, Vakils House. Sprott Road, 18 Ballard Estate, Bombay-I. Manuscripts and photographs sent for publication must be accompanied by stamped, self-addressed envelope for return. SPAN is not responsible for any loss in transit. Use of SPAN articles in other publications is encouraged except when they are copyrighted. For details, write to the Editor, SPAN. Subscription: One year, rupees five: single copy, fifty paise. Inasmuch as we are currently oversubscribed for SPAN, we regret that it will not be possible to accept any more subscriptionsfor the time being. For change of address, send old address from a recent SPAN envelope along with new address to A.K. Mitra, Circulation Manager. Allow six weeks for change of address to become effective.
PROSPECT IOF PLENTY
India's major food crop is on the threshold of a dramatic breakthrough-a future of bountiful harvests. Some of the factors responsible for this progress are described on the following pages. Among them is the Central Rice Research Institute at Cuttack, whose brilliant-green fields are seen at left. In the picture above, mutation experiments have drastically reduced the height of the American rice variety known as Saturn (pot at right). TEXT BY CARMEN KAGAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY AVINASH
PASRICHA
IN THESWEEPING geographical crescent from India to Japan, rice is the staple food of 90 per cent of the people, and nearly three-quarters of them spend a large part of their lives growing it. This is an area inhabited by a billion and a half people, too many of whom hover dangerously near the gnawing borderline of hunger. The future of rice production, therefore, is crucial to half the human race. In India rice is the major food crop, accounting for 40 per cent of total grain output. Rice production, however, has not matched the phenomenal progress made in wheat. The Green Revolution in wheat is a reality; in rice it has yet to come. But the breakthrough is imminent. Rice technology today is roughly at the same stage as that of wheat. In other words, it is all there-the tools, the weapons, the supplies needed for tremendous yields. All that is required now is to get these tools, seeds, methods into the hands of the country's rice farmers. Last year's harvest of 42 million tonnes of rice represents a substantial gain over the 1965 total of 30.5 million tonnes. But this is nothing, say the scientists, compared to what lies ahead. They see a future of bountiful harvests, a vast unending prospect of plenty.
A
HOSTOFFACTORS contribute to this prospect. One of them is the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack, Orissa, which this year celebrates its silver jubilee. On the sprawling acres of the Institute's farm, botanists, agronomists, entomologists and agricultural chemists are joined in a concerted effort to raise rice production. And all of them share the same optimism. Most optimistic of all is CRRI director Dr. S.Y. Padmanabhan. "In a few years," he says, "I see the possibility of doubling rice production, and of India becoming a rice-exporting country. We now have the technological know-how. Recent production increases have been achieved mainly by inputs, not by increased acreage. So in some degree we have succeeded in delinking our fortunes from the monsoon." Nevertheless, rice production is heavily dependent upon the monsoon. OfIndia's 35 million hectares under rice, approximately 75 per cent is rain-fed. And the monsoon cannot be tamed-the clouds gather, the sky darkens, and the rain comes down in torrents. The monsoon, in fact, will continue to determine the future of rice cultivation in India. Take the socalled "miracle" seeds-the high-yielding dwarf varieties that can double, triple and even quadruple harvests.
Most of these need more sunlight than they can get in cloudy monsoon weather. Because of their short height, they would simply be submerged in some regions. And because of their high susceptibility to pests and disease, their cultivation demands an entirely new concept in farming practices. Though these new varieties are being grown successfully in large areas ofIndia, in general they have not been fully adapted to monsoon conditions. Grown during the rains, they produce 4 to 5 tonnes a hectare; as a winter or rabi crop the yield leaps dramatically to between 8 and 10tonnes a hectare. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi, points out that good water management is essential for the new seeds, fastidious as they are about drainage. He explains: "A wheat farmer is his own master; with him its's just a question of irrigation. But if a rice farmer wants to drain his field, where else can he do it but on his neighbour's land? What is needed therefore is integrated management of an entire watershed, which might involve the whole village or group of villages. This is why in Taiwan the farmers have now organized themselves into water co-operatives." "Equally important," says Dr. Swaminathan, "is the price factor. And here a visit to the wholesale grain market or mandi is most instructive. A farmer gets Rs. 85 a quintal for desi wheat, and about Rs. 5 or Rs. 10 less for the high-yield type. But with rice, the price discrimination is enormous. The miracle rice fetches around Rs. 75 a quintal, whereas a local variety like Basmati gets between Rs. 110 and Rs. 130." Basmati, of course, has the slender, elegant grains that Indians regard as imperative in good table rice. The grains remain separate when cooked, while most of the miracle rices become pasty and sticky. Of the two main species of rice grown in the world-indica and japonica-the latter is characterized by its glutinous quality. This is not acceptable to the Indian palate. The need for improved-quality rices, better monsoon rices, sound water management-these are some of the problems that have slackened the pace of the rice revolution. But the solutions are near at hand.
T
HE TURNINGPOINTin rice came in 1965-66, with the introduction of the famous Taichung Native 1 and IR-8 to India. These came from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, which is jointly supported by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and with which the Central Rice Research Institute works in close collaboration. (continued)
Umbrella overhead, tweezers in hand, the plant breeder above concentrates on the incredibly delicate work of cross-breeding rice varieties.
Typical of Orissa rice farmers is Jata Jena of Panchukera village, below, who uses hollow coconut tree trunk to wafer his crop of IR-8.
Workers demonstrate use of two-row seed drill developed at the Cuffack Institute. Many such implements now facilitate rice-growing tasks.
And for millions of others, it is just around the ¡corner.
Rice is indeed an extraordinary plant. It grows on flat, sandy coasts as well as 7,000 feet high in the mountains, in regions where the rainfall ranges from 200 inches to 20 inches. It can tolerate greater extremes of heat and cold, light and darkness, acidity and alkalinity than any other food plant. Scientists are supposed to be practical, unemotional people, but when they talk about rice one detects in their voices respect for its sturdy character and admiration for its ability to triumph over its enemies. The rice plant is plagued by some 100 different species of insects. In addition, there is the added menace of diseases, which again are far more numerous than those of wheat. Some of these can be extremely serious, says CRRI mycologist Dr. N.K. Chakrabarti. He cites the case of Helminthosporiose, which was mentioned in Sir John Woodhead's report on the causes of the 1942 famine in Bengal as one of the major factors. "Many years later," says Dr. Chakrabarti, "I was touring the villages of Bengal and I came across a field afflicted with Helminthosporiose; so I collected some leaves to study. Later, waiting for a train, I got talking to an old farmer and showed him the leaves. 'Do you recognize these?' I asked. He nodded. 'Yes,' he replied, 'I saw this during the great famine of 1942, when my fields were severely attacked. And I remember that when I cooked the rice, it was bitter.' "
T
HE INDIANFARMER'Smemory is long and his beliefs are deep-rooted. But the experience of centuries is not easily controverted by the progress of science. Acase in pointis transplanting-the slow, laborious task of transferring the young plant from nursery to field. Transplanting has lost its historical necessity-in the United States it is direct-seeded by plane, in Japan it is broadcast, and even in India upland rice is not transplanted. But it is still probably the best thing to do, given the present varieties and the vagaries of the monsoon. A related question is that of puddling, the repeated churning up of the soil under water. Three times the Indian farmer drives his bullocks round and round in the slush. But there is method in what might appear to be his madness-he is creating an impermeable layer of earth that reduces moisture losses. What science can do here is lessen the drudgery. Though the degree of mechanization is less in rice than in most other crops, the CRRI has developed several implements which facilitate puddling and other rice-growing tasks.
For generations, farmers in India have grown rice by flooding the fields. This is no longer necessary, according to an experiment conducted at the Cuttack Institute, which also found that rice can be grown with one-sixth the amount of water normally used. It is generally agreed that the Indian farmer uses too much water-in Japan a pound of rice is produced with 600 gallons whereas the comparable figure for India is 1,800 gallons. But here again there are variablesa great deal depends on the height of the water table and the ground-water resources. And flooding does have some advantages-it suppresses weed growth and drowns some insects. Whether it is a matter of transplanting or puddling or flooding there are no clear-cut solutions. The answers are as complicated as the nature of rice itself, as bewildering as its innumerable varieties. Until they are found the Indian farmer will go his way, accepting the new but not carelessly discarding the instinctive wisdom of his forefathers.
T
HERE ARE few sights as beautiful as a field of young rice. It is a rich vibrant green that refreshes the spirit and speaks more eloquently than any other green in nature of the birth of new life. For miles and miles in Orissa this sight can be seen-sometimes edged with coconut palms, sometimes broken by a farmer's hut, sometimes stretching in a brilliant emerald sea to the horizon. More than 70 per cent of Orissa's farmers grow rice, so this is a sight to be expected. What is unusual, though, is that it can now be seen in April, which means that it is the second rice crop of the year. Stop anywhere along the roadside and you will meet farmers like Jata Jena of Panchukera village. During the monsoon he plants a local variety called Sarada. But for the rabi crop he grows IR-8, as do three-quarters of the farmers around him. IR-8 gives him double the yield; but he adds quickly that it takes more labour, more fertilizer, more careful weeding, more vigilance against insects and disease. "Which is better?" you ask, confused by the contradictions in his talk. Jena smiles at the na'ivete of the questions that non-farmers ask. But when finally pressed, he admits that despite the work, the expense and the anxiety, IR-8 is better. For farmers like Jata Jena, the rice revolution is here. And for millions of others, it is just around the corner. END
An Amer¡kan scholar spent fourteen months in a small town in Mysore, studying the ancient folk theatre Yakshagana. Her guide, a well-known authority on the subject, recounts in the article below the scholar's progress and plans for the future.
THREEYEARS AGO, I received a letter from a student at Michigan State University named Martha Ashton, saying that she was very interested in Yakshagana, the ancient folk theatre of Mysore. She said she wished to translate my book Yakshagana Bayalata and, in preparation, had already begun to learn Kannada. Eventually, she wrote, she hoped to come to India. I replied that she was welcome, but suggested that the work of translation could be done at leisure, after she had come and studied the subject and if it continued to sustain her interest. It was a year later when the central and state Sangeet Natak Akademis in Delhi and Bangalore wrote asking if I could take the same Miss Ashton as my pupil. I agreed to guide her work for her Ph.D. in Yakshagana. She had earlier take:1ber M.A. in theatrical arts. One day in October 1969, she suddenly appeared at my home. It was a happy moment, and opportune too. At the end of that month I was to direct a seminar of Yakshagana artists in the town of Udipi. She would have a good opportunity of discovering what it was all about. Yakshagana is the old folk drama of the Malanad region of Mysore state. It is a rich and colourful theatrical form that is played to vast audiences at night in the open air. Though one calls it a folk art, its traditions are aesthetically sound, and are sophisticated enough to require years of training of its performers. There are a number of temples which
Martha Ashton in the female role of Stree Vesha, extreme left, expresses her feelings for Lord Krishna, the divine flute player. At left are two scenes from the drama "Ratnavathi Kalyana." Picture above depicts a battle between a hunter and a prince.
have been sponsoring troupes of Yakshagana performers, and some of them can claim an uninterrupted tradition of a century or two. This form of play achieves its success through a composite medium made up of several elements-music, dance, recitation, colourful costumes and elaborate make-up. There are three to four hundred such plays, about a hundred of them available in print. Some of the bhagavaths can sing thirty or more of these plays. The themes derive from epics like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the numerous Puranas. They deal mainly with conflicts arising out of the clash between the good and evil forces in life. Ultimately the good prevails-that is their message. Various epic heroes, supermen, gods and demons figure as major characters in these dramas. The word gana means music, and Yakshagana means a style of music. Following from this, plays set to such music also came to be called Yakshagana plays. Kannada literature of the 11th century bears witness to the prevalence of Yakshagana music-which is distinct from the present forms of Hindustani and Carnatic music. Earlier texts of Yakshagana plays reveal a repertory of over 150 ragas, though we now have lost track of many. There are a few ragas exclusive to this school, while the rest have parallels in the Carnatic and Hindustani schools. The bhagavath who sings a Yakshagana play is its sole director. He narrates both theme and dialogue in song, to the accompaniment of a drone, cymbals and maddale (drum). He introduces the characters of the play from behind a makeshift screen. The individual characters who make their entrances on the stage express themselves through dance and impromptu prose. Yaksbagana's rich traditions in costume and make-up have been banded down
over the centuries. And the minute a character appears on the stage, he is easily identified by the audience. Dress, makeup, the tying of mundas (a type of headgear) -each of these require hours of practice before they can be perfected. I have been deeply interested in this distinctive type of folk drama for almost five decades, and have spent a great deal of time doing research on Yakshagana. But to return to my pupil. She arrived just before the seminar at Udipi, which gave her an excellent opportunity to immerse herself in Yakshagana. In the daytime there were discussions about theproblems of this theatrical form; in the evenings, performances by local professionals. There was a special item, also by professionals-a ballet directed by me, rendering an old theme in modern idiom without transgressing tradition. It contained no recitation, but concentrated on music and dance. There was one Yakshagana puppet play, and a shadow play too. This seminar was also attended by a few other American theatre-arts students. Fascinated by everything she saw and heard, Martha began to delve deeply into all aspects of the art. My own effort consisted in giving her an English rendering of my book on Yakshagana. I also arranged for my pupil to stay in Udipi, which seemed ideal for intensive study and observation. There are four professional Yakshagana troupes in the region, which perform daily in one village or other during the season (November-May). But Martha was not content with merely observing or witnessing plays. She wanted to know everything, to learn everything. So I arranged for her to have a tutor in dance and drumming, and also a bhagavath who could sing for her if she wished. Gopal Rao is a veteran dancer and noted maddalegar (drummer). Under his tuition continued
Martha began to learn drumming and to gain knowledge of the talas. She also spent many hours learning to dance. From bhagavath Ramakrishnaiah she gained an insight into the Yakshagana style of music. Another friend, Leela Bhat, a Kannada scholar, helped Martha probe the textual content of many plays. For over 14 months, Martha studied various aspects of the art. She spent many sleepless nights attending performances, and long hours in the greenrooms, studying costume and make-up. She picked up many details of the art from people who had made it their profession. Her own zeal for Yakshagana became a real influence on the local professionals too. Martha has now equipped herself not only to write her thesis, but also to enlighten others about this art. She can claim uniqueness as the only girl performer, for on the professional stage women are not permitted. She can play the female character Stree Vesha as well as a male role like that of Krishna. The people of Brahmavar, a small town near Udipi, organized a congratulatory get-together in Martha's honour. It was attended by nearly 2,000 people, who came from far and near to witness her solo performance. It must have been a heart-warming experience for her. By her simple and affectionate nature Martha has endeared herself to all who came in contact with her. One wishes her all success in the attempt to rear this exotic theatrical form in her own country, with its very different traditions. END
Dr. Karanth is a well-known novelist in Kannada
and a leading authority on Yakshagana.
Martha Ashton's enthusiasm for Yakshagana will bring her back to India shortly to continue her research, and she hopes eventually to publish a book on the subject. Here are some of her thoughts on Yakshagana, expressed in the course of a brief interview just before her departure for the United States: MORETHAN anything else, people say to me: "But why isn't Yakshagana better known?" The inevitable comparison, of course, is with Kathakali, which everyone is familiar with. Much of the current interest in Kathakali is due to the Malayalam poet Vallathol, who worked so hard for its revival. And today, Kathakali troupes are constantly touring, both in India and abroad. This is the real tragedy about Yakshagana-that it is practically undiscovered. Because in its own distinctive way, it is just as rich and colourful and dramatic as Kathakali-if not more so. Kathakali is more exacting, but I personally find it a little slowmoving. On the other hand, if Yakshagana is performed correctly, it moves so fast that it is very exciting. Take, for instance, the entrance of the rakshasa, or demon. But first, imagine the setting. Out in the rice fields, four bamboo poles have been stuck into the ground. Sometimes these are covered with a cloth, but they are always decorated with mango leaves, fruits and coconuts. This is the stage. The audience has been there since seven in the evening, and the drama will last until daybreak. Many of those who have brought their bedrolls are already asleep. Around four o'clock in the morning, there is a blood-curdling scream from the nearby jungle. At the same time, the drummer sets up a frenetic, high-pitched tattoo. The screaming comes closer, the drumming takes over, then the screaming again and the drumming again. At last, with a leap and a roar, the rakshasa is clawing at the hand-held sheet that serves for a curtain. By this time, naturally, the audience is wide awake. One of the things I like best about Left and opposite page: Martha Ashton demonstrates the eloquence of the various hand gestures used in the Yakshagana dance form.
Yakshagana is its totality, its unity-the bhagavath's voice, the sound of the drum,
and the dancer's feet all go together; they can't be separated. And the fact that it is a folk art gives it this tremendous vitality. Of course, the form is very free and there is great scope for creativity. For example, if an actor is well versed in the Vedas and the Puranas, he can bring considerable power and subtlety to the impromptu discourses that are an essential feature of the drama. The singers and dancers also do a lot of improvising. And so Yaks hagan a is never the same, even if they do the same play with the same actors. As in all folk art, the costumes are traditional. There is the basic orange-andred checked sari, the breast-plate, the shoulder ornaments, and the elaborate headdress. All of these have their variations, depending on who the character is. For instance, Arjuna will
always have his big black moustache made of yarn, and Bhima will have his crown and mace. The make-up is a mixture of rice paste and chuna (lime). In the course of my research, I've discovered some interesting things. I remember one performance of the Ramayana in which the drab costume of Hanuman just didn't seem right. I kept asking people about it and finally one day I tracked down a 76-year-old actor who used to play Hanuman. For his role, he said, he had worn a simple suit made of jute. Not satisfied with the answer, I found out that this actor had a still older brother who also played Hanuman when he was young. "What did you wear as Hanuman?" I asked. And then he told me that he used to wear the same orange-and-red sari with the breast-plate and fancy headdress. So, somehow, over the years Hanuman had fallen from grace-his character
had been downgraded. It's the old people who really know what Yakshagana was like. And one of the best sources for my research was when they were all sitting in a group together, reminiscing about the old days. I had to listen carefully when one of them began, "When I was a boy .... " Many of the secrets of Yakshagana are just starting to be revealed. This in spite of the efforts of Dr. Karanth, who has done a tremendous research job. He has toured the villages tirelessly and has unearthed scores of old manuscripts, palm-leaf inscriptions and temple carvings which throw light on Yakshagana. According to one temple source, it dates back to the I550s-but no one can really be sure that it is not older than this. As Dr. Karanth says, I pitched headlong into my study of Yakshagana. Apart from my research, I learned the drumming-most of the basic talas-
and I spent hours learning the dancing. My only public appearance, I suppose, was actually quite funny-with me speaking the dialogue in my American Southern accent. But the audience just loved it. All the time I lived in Udipi there was nothing I wanted-small or big-that they didn't arrange for. People there haven't come into contact with what we call the commercial world, and it seems as though their happiness comes from making other people happy. Sharing a house with two women lecturers, I lived very simply-and I was very happy. I started out my study of Yakshagana just wanting to research some school of Asian drama. But now I don't think there is anything in the world that could have suited my personality better. And now what I want is to see Yakshagana preserved and raised to the position it deserves. Because, inside me, I know the beauty of the art. END
A few weeks ago, President Nixon was interviewedby C.ÂŁ. SulzbergerJoreign-affairs columnist of the New York Times. The following excerpts from the remarks made by the President on that occasion cover a wide range of foreign-policy issues. They were prepared by Mr. Sulzberger from his notes.
strongly commend to you my second foreign-policy report, which I think you should read carefully. It sets forth new policy directions and outlines, the goals we hope to achieve-the goals not only for this Administration but for subsequent administrations. This is a longrange effort. It doesn't get into a countryby-country analysis except in connection with the Soviet Union. Everything you see there is a new philosophy of United States policy. It is the most complete and accurate description of the Nixon doctrine. This doctrine is designed for the specific purpose of maintaining a U.S. policy role in the world rather than a withdrawal from the world and international responsibilities. The irony today, for those who look at the Washington scene, is that the great internationalists of the post-World War II period have become the neo-isolationists of the Vietnam War period and especially of the period accompanying the ending of that war. And it is ending. This is also true of the attitude of those former internationalists with respect to our defence posture and defence spending. And, for some, it is even true of our foreign trade policy. There, of course, it depends on individuals. For example, Senator Javits is an all-out free-trader and a "European," but he takes a dim view of the United States role in Asia. He would also be for a lower defence budget. I merely cite him as an example of what I mean and the varying attitudes I mention. The point is, why has this happened? Why have many former internationalists developed neo-isolationist tendencies, at WOULD
Copyright Š 1971 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by special permission.
least in some degree? Part of the answer is simply that Americans, like all idealists, are very impatient people. They feel that if a good thing is going to happen it should happen instantly. . And a great many of these people are very disillusioned with the United Nations. I am not, personally, because I never expected it could settle all problems involving major powers, but it could nevertheless play a useful role in development and in peacekeeping in areas where the superpowers were not directly involved. The older a nation and a people become, the more they become conscious of history and also of what is possible. Now I will explain to you what I mean. I rate myself as a deeply committed pacifist, perhaps because of my Quaker heritage from my mother. But I must deal with how peace can be achieved and how it must be preserved. I know that some national leaders and some countries want to expand by conquest and are committed to expansion, and this obviously creates the danger of war. Look at the situation in the Middle East. You can't suddenly eliminate differences just because some political leaders get together. All you can hope for is to bring about a live-and-let-Iive situation. With this in mind, I am deeply devoted to a desire that the United States should make the greatest possible contribution it can make to developing such a peaceful world. It is not enough just to be for peace. The point is, what can we do about it?
hrough an accident of history we find ourselves today in a situation where no one who is really for peace in this country can reject an American role in the rest of the world. Of course, we had our own period of colonial expansion as typified , by Theodore Roosevelt and the idea of Manifest Destiny. But that period is fortunately gone. Since then this country has fought in four wars which we didn't start, and really what they have in common is the effort to bring about a better chance for a peaceful world.
And this applies to the Vietnam War as well as the two world wars and Korea. Obviously it was a political temptation when I started office to state simply that we would get out right away without any responsibility for what came next. But I knew too much about history, about Asia, about the basic feeling in the United States. If we failed to achieve our limited goal-to let a small country exercise the right to choose its own way of life, without having a Communist government imposed upon it by force-if we failed to achieve this, we would not help the cause of peace. -
or a time, perhaps, we would be seen as a kind of hero. But soon it would be seen that we had left behind a legacy of even greater dangers for Southeast Asia and for the Pacific region. And, after all, we are a Pacific power. In 1966 and 1967-culminating in 1968 -the American people began to tire of playing a role in the world. We had fought four wars, selflessly and for no gain. We had provided some $100 billion in foreign aid, much of it to former enemies who are now our competitors, like Japan. And we found ourselves committed in Vietnam, in a war where there are 110 heroes, only goats. Our people became sick of Vietnam and supported our men there only in order to get them out-after this period of change in mood. Somewhere a great change had taken place. We had used our power for peace in four wars but this new attitude gained force: "If we can't handle this one, to hell with it." We got caught up in a vicious crossfire, and it became increasingly difficult to make people understand. I must say that without television it might have been difficult for me to get people to understand a thing. The crossfire I referred to was this. The super-doves opposed our commitment in Vietnam and all world responsibilitiesKorea, the Philippines, the Middle East, Europe. This was the kind of isolationism
of those who felt the United States shouldn't have played any role at all in Southeast Asia from the very start. For these people Vietnam was a small, foreign country in just the terms that Chamberlain mentioned concerning Czechoslovakia at the time of Munich. These were the super-doves. But on the other side, the opposite crossfire came from the super-hawks. This group stood by their Commander-in-Chief, the President, but became fed up with the war for their own reasons. They felt that if the United States can't handle a distant little war, why then, let's just pull out and build up our strength at home. Their logic also favoured isolationism, but from another angle. And they want to develop a Fortress America at home and cram it full of missiles while the super-doves want us to pull out of the world also, but reducing our strength at home. In between there are those of us who stand in the middle of the crossfire. The super-hawk feels it is his duty to support the President even if tlJ,at same super-hawk isn't sure he wants to see us do what we are doing. The super-dove has a different attitude. He is a good-hearted fellow, but when he looks around and sees the problems of the poor, the blacks, the American Indians, the poor whites, the pot-smoking kids, crime in the cities, urban slums, the environment, he says: "We must get out of the war right away and concern ourselves only with our problems at home." The fact is, however, that there has never been so great a challenge to U.S. leadership. This war is ending. In fact, I seriously doubt if we will ever have another war. This is probably the very last one. n any theoretical question of a war on the basis of "either them or us," I am sure everyone in the country would join in behind me. But this is not the case in a small country so far away involved in a situation so difficult to explain. I am certain a Gallup poll would show that the great m_ajority of the people would want to pull out of Vietnam. But a Gallup continued
poll would also show that a great majority of the people would want to pull three or more divisions out of Europe. And it would also show that a great majority of the people would cut our defence budget. Polls are not the answer, You mus~ look at the facts. The Soviets now have three times the missile strength (ICBM) of ourselves. By 1974 they will pass us in submarines carrying nuclear missiles. All of these things are very directly related. For example, when Mrs. Meir, the Israeli Prime Minister, visited me, she understood me right away when I said that if America winds up the war in Vietnam in failure and an image is developed that the war was fought only by stupid scoundrels, there would be a wave of isolationism. This would embrace the U.S. role everywhere-including the Middle East. Mrs. Meir saw the point immediately. s I see it, we have to take certain specific steps. First of all, what we now have to do is end the war-as we now are doing-in a way that gives ------South Vietnam a reasonable chance to survive without our help. But this doesn't mean we would withdraw all our responsibilities everywhere. As I stated in first explaining the Nixon doctrine, our idea is to create a situation in which those lands to which we have obligations or in which we have interests, if they are ready to fight a fire, should be able to count on us to furnish the hose and water. Meanwhile, in Europe, we can't cut down our forces until there is a mutual agreement with the other side. We must stand with our European friends if they will only do a bit more themselves in NATO -as they have indicated they will do. And we cannot foolishly fall behind in the arms competition. In the United States, we remain ahead in the navy and in the air, but the Soviets are ahead in ICBMs and soon will pass us in submarine strength. But each has a kind of sufficiency. The Soviets are a great land power opposite China as well as having far-reaching interests elsewhere. We are a great sea power and we must keep our strength. I am a strong Navy man myself. I believe in a strong conventional navy which helps us
to playa peace-keeping role in such areas. for example, as Latin America. These are all elements that lllust be considered with respect to each other. The main thing is that I'd like to see us not end the Vietnamese war foolishly and find ourselves all alone in the world. J could have chosen that course my very first day in office. But I want the American people to be able to be led by me, or by my successor, along a course that allows us to do what is needed to help keep the peace in this world. We used to look to other nations to do this job once upon a time. But now, only the United States plays a major role of tllis sort in the world. Our responsibilities are not limited to this great continent but include Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, East Asia, many areas whose fate affects the peace of the world. We must above all tend to our national obligations. We must not forget our aIliances or our interests. Other nations must know that the United States has both the capability and the will to defend these allies and protect these interests. Unless people understand this and understand it well, the United States will simply retreat into isolationism, both politically and diplomatically. We would, of course, continue to be an economic giant; but that is not enough. Let us look at the world today. There are two great powers facing us, Russia and China. They are great powers and great people. Certainly neither of them wants war. But both are motivated by a philosophy which announces itself as expansionist in character. This they will admit themselves. And only the United States has sufficient strength to be able to help maintain a balance in Europe and other areas that might otherwise be affected. hat I am saying is not a cold-war philosophy. I hope that we can further develop our negotiations with the Soviet Union. For, although we recognize that their ideology is expansionist, they know what it means if the genie comes out of the bottle and that their interest in survival requires that they avoid a conflict with the United States. This means that we must find a way of co-operating.
For obviously pragmatic reasons, therefore, we can see peace slowly shaping up. First, as we are doing, we must end the war in Vietnam. We must continue our Soviet negotiations and open the door of co-operation to China. And in this way there will be a chance of building a world that is relatively peaceful. I deliberately say relatively peaceful. That doesn't mean everyone will be disarmed, safe and loving everyone else. The kind of relative peace I envision is not the dream of my Quaker youth. But it is realistic, and, I am convinced we can bring it about. Yet, to do this, we can't heed either our super-hawks whose policy would ultimately lead to war, or our super-doves who believe that only they are capable of achieving peace and that everyone else is a heretic. The trouble is that their policy of weakness would also quickly lead to war. he day the United States quits playing a responsible role in the world -in Europe or Asia or the Middle East-or gives up or recedes from its efforts to maintain an adequate defence force-on that day this will become a very unsafe world to live in. I can assure you that my words are those of a devoted pacifist. My very hardest job is to give out posthumous Medals of Honour. Another thing: People should be under no illusion that you can play a ~ole in one area but wholly ignore another. Of course we're not going to get into every little firefight everywhere. The Nixon doctrine says only that we will help those who help themselves. Sometimes people tend to forget the real situation prevailing today. When considering Asia, the great problem is that everyone overlooks the fact that nonCommunist Asia-excluding India and Pakistan-produces three times as much as China. Why, Japan alone produces twice as much as China. What is going to happen if we ignore such basic facts? The United States, as J said earlier, is a Pacific power. And the SST (supersonic transport) will be builtif not by us, by someone else. And then we will be only three hours' flight from Japan.
There will be 400 million people in nonCommunist Asia relying ever more upon us. In past times the No. 1 nation was always in that position because of military conquests. But the mantle ofleadership fell on American shoulders not by our desire, and not for the purposes of conquest. But we have that position today, and how we handle ourselves will determine the chances of world peace. Do you know, in all my travels, not one leader I have talked to ever said to me in private that he feared the United States as a nation bent on conquest? And I have met many Communist leaders, as you know. Whatever some of them may pretend in public, they understand our position and they are also thankful that the United States wants nothing-nothing but the right for everyone to live and let live. The big question to my mind is: Will our EstabLishment and our people meet their responsibilities? Frankly, I have far more confidence in our people than in the Establishment. The people seem to see the problem in simple terms: "By golly, we have to do the right thing." ut the real problem, what worries me most, is: Will our Establishment see it that way? I am not talking about my critics but about a basic, strange sickness that appears to have spread among those who usually, in this country, can be expected to see clearly ahead into the future. These are the people who, after World War II, supported the Greek-Turkish aid programme, the Marshall Plan, NATO. But today they are in disarray because of two things. They are terribly disillusioned about Vietnam, which is so hard a problem to understand. And they have an enormous concern with home problems of a sort and a degree that did not face us a generation e~r1ier. I understand these factors. There is a vast need for reforms, for improvements in health, education and environment. But we have to assume our responsibilities both abroad and at home. We have to do both. After all, if we manage to improve the environment and living conditions in this country we must also assure that we will be around to enjoy those improvements. END
enlightened liberal History accords its favours unequally. And in the apportioning offame, James Madison has received less than his fai/share. On the anniversary o}American ind(ruendence this month, SPAN oJfers"afresh assessment of the man who is called ÂŤ ther of the U.S. Consti '(ion." (Story ovetleftf&
AMONGTHEMENwho shaped the present government of the United States, the one who did the most is probably known the least. Many an individual in America could identify James Madison as an early President of the country. Others might remember him as Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of State, or as the frail Virginia politician who devised the system of government embodied in the U.S. Constitution. If nothing else, they will associate him with the Manhattan avenue, synonymous with advertising, that bears his name. But not many people, in the United States or in other countries, are familiar enough with Madison's philosophy to classify him as he should be classified, among the Western world's most important and influential political thinkers of the 18th century. For many decades Madison has been the insignificant-looking little man who had the poor luck of inheriting the U.S. Presidency on the eve of the inglorious War of 1812 between the United States and Britain. Dominated by an illustrious predecessor, Thomas Jefferson, and eclipsed by his popular wife, "Dolley," Madison lurked in the shadows of history until several 20th-century biographers dusted him off and gave the world a new look at his achievements. Madison was, first of all, they say, a child of the Enlightenment, brought up in its liberal ideals and nurtured in the classics. Born in 175 J, he was raised on his father's Virginia plantation in a family of independent and comfortable means, refined and cultured. James, the eldest of 10 children, was bookish and shunned sports. Tutored at home, young Madison studied languages and mathematics until he was old enough to attend Princeton University, where he studied theology and philosophy. His almost total dedication to the intellectual life at Princeton became a legend and undermined his health. At the age of 22, he returned to Virginia full of melancholy and depression. He did not, he said, "expect to live a long or healthy life" so he would not prepare for a profession. After three years of brooding, reading and inner conflict, Madison was stirred into political action. It was the period of struggle with Great Britain, when the
young American colonies were preparing to assert themselves against the mother country. Madison strongly favoured independence and he gained a certain satisfaction from entering into the political discussions of his community. From these early political encounters in 1776 until his retirement from the Presidency in 1817, Madison was almost continuously in public life. From Virginia, where he played a major role in the colony's decision to revolt, Madison went to Pennsylvania, where he earned the title "Father of the U.S. Constitution" at the Constitutional Convention. Later he served a decade in the new U. S. Congress and 16 consecutive years as Secretary of State and President. In terms of American history, Madison lived and was active in a period that may be described as heroic. One need only mention George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to sense the impact of Madison's time. As a political philosopher and practical politician, he was every bit the peer of his widely respected compatriots. But the shy, diminutive Madison was easily overshadowed by his more personable contemporaries. It was not until he relaxed in the company of good friends that he could shed his precise, dry manners and become quite jovial, entertaining his companions with a fund of amusing stories. People were first attracted to this rather wizened man by his good-natured smile and gentle blue eyes that sparkled under bushy eyebrows. Then, gradually and often to their surprise, they became aware of his intelligence, cool judgment and wisdom. Madison's temperament has been described as exquisitely balanced. He was judicious, almost passionless and always temperate. In modern terminology, he would be labelled a middle-of-the-road liberal. Certainly at the Constitutional Convention, Madison took a middle position. In his view, people, whether American or others, were neither inherently good nor naturally bad; they were, he argued, what society made them. If shown confidence, they would be likely to reciprocate it. If degraded by their rulers, they would become depraved.
Madison's temperament has been described as exquisitely balanced. In modern terminology, he would be a middle .. of ..the ..road liberal.
The picture as it emerges from his writings on the nature of man is a fascinating one, containing many shades of opinion from optimism to despair. That mankind ought to be free and, indeed, had to be free if life was to be human was an unquestionable axiom to him. He also stood firmly for the absolute equality of mankind. Madison's faith in the virtue and intelligence of man and his consequent ability to govern his affairs is unwavering. He was steadfast to the principle that men should be entrusted with carefully constructed mechanisms of self-government. But Madison's letters and speeches also reflect a realism about the frailties of mankind. As a student of history he was not an allout optimist concerning human nature. The whole record, he perceived, was full of tales of evil and folly. Man, he said, was both good and evil. The problem for the statesman was to find means of preventing the bad qualities in human nature from taking possession of the whole society. To prevent such abuse, Madison advocated and worked for a governmental system that consisted of a series of intricate contrivances known as checks and balances. There were to be a number of delicately balanced wheels and cogs, each moving within its own delimited sphere of interest and activity but checking the other. Citizens were to be protected from each other, the government from citizens, citizens from government, governmental departments from other governmental departments, states from the central government, the central government from the states, and individuals inside governmental offices from other individuals in potentially rival offices. This Swiss-watch type of governmental concept is the underlying political philosophy of the American Constitution. Despite his thin, barely audible voice which by no means dominated the debates, no one was more personally responsible for the Constitution's final form than Madison. With his rare persuasive powers, he served brilliantly as a mediator in meetings. He was coauthor, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, of the famous Federalist Papers, a collection of some 83 controversial political essays which advocates of the new
Constitution circulated to support their cause. Madison was not merely a political realist and hence a nationalist, but he was also an enlightened liberal, bearing the torch of religious freedom and humanitarian reform. He played a vigorous and courageous role in the fight for separation of church and state, and believed firmly in the individual's right to worship or not to worship as he pleased. He also played a leading role in advocating the establishment of new institutions of higher learning, claiming they were the best security against dangerous encroachments on the public liberty. He was an early champion of public education for poor youths, and he firmly believed in the desirability of higher education for women. "The diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty," he maintained. One reason Madison's career lacks the drama apparently essential to the highest fame is that he was a mediator. He followed a steady middleof-the-road course, never satisfied with a theoretical extreme. Is awareness not only of both sides of a question, but of all its complexities, a source of weakness or of strength in a statesman? Whether Madison was a statesman of the very first rank or not will largely depend on how this question is answered. But of the acuteness of his mind and the permanent relevance of many things he said there can be no doubt. A man of almost classic virtues-a statesman, a selfless patriot, and a political philosopher, he was also in the fortunate position of being able to translate his thoughts into living institutions. An interesting comparison between Madison and Jefferson is made by Henry Clay. He says that Jefferson had more genius, Madison morejudgment and commonsense, that Jefferson was a visionary and a theorist, Madison cool, practical, and dispassionate. The contrasting talents of both helped build the young United States. It was under the quiet guiding hand of President James Madison that the struggling young American republic won an equal position among the free nations of the world and began its long climb to leadership. As one of the major architects of the American democracy, he deserves to be better known than he is. END
That mankind ought to be free and, indeed, had to be free if life was to be human was an unquestionable axiom to Madison.
Rivers are sometimes bound to a country in a way that transcends geography. Such is the Ganga, an integral part of Indian life and culture. In America, the Potomac has seen immeasurably more history than many rivers. And along its banks are the homes of some of the patriots who won independence 195 years ago this month.
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FLOWINGin utter wildness from a mountain meadow in West Virginia and onward to wind through America's capital city, the Potomac has threaded through its country's history. Its banks have been the sites for homes of early patriots and later the location for power plants and pulp mills. Its curving river-bed has provided at one time a guide path for the 150-year-old Chesapeake and Ohio (C & 0) barge canal-and, at another, a directional map for jets taking off and landing at Washington's National Airport. Historic, commercial, wild, beautiful, precious to the nation's heritage, the Potomac is also feeling the destructive impact of 20th-century life. Those who depend upon it for industry and spiritual renewal are looking again at the river, considering how it can triumph over its problems. People are its biggest asset and its biggest liability. Population growth puts an increasing burden on its resources. Finding a solution to this paradox, repeated throughout the populated areas of the world, is one of the great challenges of the '70s. While national and local committees debate waste control and how to create and preserve parklands upon its banks, the Potomac continues to roll onward480 kilometres from its West Virginia spawning ground until it gets to the city of Washington, and then about 160 kilometres more before it empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Upriver, the stream meanders through mountains and rich farmland. A little further down, its North Branch becomes one of the most challenging stretches of rapids in the eastern United States. In this area one can go for days without seeing another' human face and the woods are alive with white-tail deer, wild turkey and bear-all less than a day's continued
of the railroad the canal died and' Cumber-
Some stretches of the Potomac land became a railroad town. Today there bustle with commerce and industry) is so much rail traffic that at least one train can almost always be heard along the river. others provide a peaceful haven From Cumberland, the river flows eastfor pleasure and relaxation.
ward through mountain valleys, then is joined by the Shenandoah River and breaks drive from the nation's capital. through the Blue Ridge Mountains to deAt Cumberland, Maryland, the two scend to the Piedmont plateau of rolling branches of the river-North and Southfarms and forests. The bulk of the rivercome together and it gains in both size front land in this region is pasturage and and power. Like most of the towns along .a number of farmers have fenced it off to the river, Cumberland exists because of preserve its natural beauty. They recognize transportation. As the western terminal that cattle and sheep grazing at the water's for the C & 0 canal, it grew up in the last edge eat away the vegetation to imperil century, transferring freight from the boats the soil when the river rises. Another probto the wagons headed over the mountains lem getting attention is that of pollution to Pittsburgh and Ohio. With the coming from croplands. It is now recognized that chemical fertilizers can promote the growth of smothering algae in the river, while insecticides can poison the environment. Below Washington the entire scale of the river changes. Until now it has been confined to a relatively narrow channel, but here its banks become shores and the river expands. The tall white columns and red roof of George Washington's home at Mount Vernon are almost lost from view from the water. Across the river on the 1\;1aryland shore rises the massive stone Pleasure boats race with the wind, right, as jets roar overhead to the National Airport. Many kinds of craft sail down the river-barges, tugboats, tiny dinghies and big cabin cruisers. Paper mills like the one at left have added to the Potomac's problems. Today, waste control is debated in local and national committees. Newsprint from Helsinki is unloaded at a river wharf, below. Trade with other countries goes back to the days of the sailing ships.
and brickwork of Fort Washington, a Civil War relic, turned into a popular park and picnic site. The river now becomes a sea and the water turns brackish. Everything is bigger here. The boats, both power and sail, are bigger. The fish are bigg~r, and as you get closer to the bay's big blue channel, crabs abound along with succulent oysters. There is commerce here as the boats and barges churn up and down the river with their cargoes. Because of its central location to the continued
Fresh crabs are unpacked by a waterman, right. The waters of the lower Potomac abound in crats, shellfish and succulent oysters. On the beach near the river's end, a group of young vacationers bask in the sun, far right.
The Potomac joins company with other proud rivers which bear great capital cities on their banks.
original 13 United States, the Potomac has seen incomparably more American history than any other river. If is, more than anything, George Washington's river. He knew all its parts-from Pope's Creek where he was born to the headwaters he explored as a 16-year-old surveyor and later fought to defend against the French and the American Indians. Mount Vernon, about 21 kilometres from the District of Columbia, was his home for 52 years. Along the lower Potomac, first mapped in 1608, stand the great plantations where tobacco was king. Here sailing ships tied up at long wharves to load huge hogsheads for Europe. Above Washington, the river led pioneers westward to the Blue Ridge, and commerce to Cumberland and beyond flourished along the Chesapeake and Ohio canal and later with the railroad. The river marked the line between
Union and Confederate troops for much of the Civil War (1861-65). One of the war's bloodiest battles took place nearby at Sharpsburg, Virginia, and, as Lee marched towards Gettysburg, Stonewall Jackson's masterly diversion at Harper's Ferry captured 12,500 Union soldiers in the very place John Brown's impetuous raid had foretold the war. Now Harper's Ferry is a national museum, as are Mount Vernon and other historic points along the river, enlivening history for all Americans. By far the most important stretch is where the river coils through the nati9nal capital area. For it is here that it becomes a truly national river. From all parts of the country people come to work in Washington and live in its burgeoning suburbs, many of which border the river, and they use the river for pleasure and recreation. Big excursion boats loaded with sightseers lumber down to Mount Vernon on
Myriad lights of Washington are reflected
in the Potomac as it skirts the city. It is here that it becomes a truly national river.
schedule, and a hydrofoil takes those who like speed. But in this area pleasure boats, especially on week-ends, outnumber all others. There are at least a dozen marinas in the area and literally thousands of boats, from tiny prams and sailing dinghies to big cabin cruisers. Since the winters are generally mild, the river can be used all year. Across the flat calm of the waters echoes the cannon's boom at the White House when a visiting head of state is welcomed. Politicians, lobbyists, .businessmen, professors, all come to the banks of the Potomac because this is the centre of American political life and power. And so the Potomac joins company with other proud rivers which bear great capital cities on their banks; shorter in history, perhaps, than most, but no less memorable. Not very long ago when the American Indians paddled their canoes over its quiet waters, they called the river Potomac-"trading place." Today, when a visitor has the good fortune to arrive in Washington at night and sees the twinkling lights of the city mirrored in the black waters of the Potomac, he calls it a sight to remember. END
B
IN 1930, a bright young man with the resounding name of Russell Edwin Osborne-Carey joined the Goodyear India office in Bombay. Recently he retired as managing director. Over a span of 41 years, he had done so much to build up the company that its life story in India is virtually inseparable from his own. There have been few inventions in history as basic as the wheel; and few, if any, improvements in the wheel as important as the evolution of the pneumatic tyre. It would be no exaggeration to say that modern civilization rolls forward on rubber tyres. And Goodyear, as the world's largest group of tyre companies, is a key contributor to that civilization-in India as around the globe. Carey-he early found it convenient to clip his surname in half-joined Goodyear only eight years after it first set up shop in India. Of all the Americans whose lives have been closely entwined with India, Carey is an outstanding example. He was born in Poona. He was educated in Bombay. His service with the tyre company began in the field of accountancy, but switched to sales five years later, and he's been "selling" India as well as other countries on Goodyear ever since. By 1955 Carey had worked his way to the company's top spot in India: managing director. His career also included tours of duty with the Australasia and Far East division at Goodyear's global headquarters in Akron, the Ohio city which is known as America's rubber capital. Goodyear's Indian company was founded in 1922, with headquarters at Calcutta. rt began as essentially a sales operationmerchandising tyres and tubes but not manufacturing them. But if Carey sold India on Goodyear, an equally important achievement was to have sold Goodyear on India. He accomplished this while serving in the Akron office. The 58 previous Goodyear factories dotted around the world were all whollyowned by the parent company. Carey proposed a manufacturing plant for India, which would have to involve Indian investor participation-a break with a time-honoured, worldwide Goodyear policy. It was a step not to be taken lightly, but Carey's persuasive'salesmanship finally won. The outcome was that in 1960 Goodyear started construction of a factory 35 kiloACK
metres out of Delhi, at Ballabgarh, then a quiet stretch of farmland and now a busy industrial town in Haryana. A little over a year later, the first Ballabgarh-made Goodyear tyre rolled out of the plant. "Rolled out" is a manner of speaking. While lakhs of tyres and tubes have rolled out of the factory since, to destinations far and wide, that first tyre still sits in Ballabgarh, in the plant's lobby, on display to all visitors. Initial investment in this joint IndianAmerican venture totalled Rs. 6 crores, of which Rs. 2.25 crores was a loan from U.S. Public Law (PL) 480 rupee resources. The balance came from the retained profits of Goodyear's earlier operations in India or was subscribed by the company's more than 30,000 Indian shareholders. The factory was expanded in 1966, partly
backed by a long-term dollar loan from the parent U.S. company, and again this year. Ballabgarh produces tyres and tubes for all types and sizes of vehicles. Trucks bulk large in the list, but it also includes buses, motorcars, motorcycles, scooters, farm tractors, earthmovers-and bullockcarts. This last is perhaps unique to India, and bullockcart-tyre sales can be taken as one index of how rapidly rural India is being modernized. The current expansion programme includes two new plants on the same Ballabgarh site-a second automotive-tyre plant and a new bicycle-tyre plant. The latter will manufacture two million cycle tyres a year. The former will raise the annual capacity from 330,000 automotive tyres to 600,000. In the midst of a farewell tour of the huge Ballabgarh factory, Carey paused to say: "Wait till we get to that end of the building. There you'll see my big love." This, it turned out, was the giant tyres used on earthmovers; and well might such tyres be the objects of Carey's special affection for the profits they earn Goodyear. They sell for some Rs. 21,000 each. The plant Holding a symbol of the industry which he helped build in India, a garlanded Russell Carey, left, says goodbye to Goodyear. After 41 years with the company, Carey recently retired as managing director. Right: Originally a sales operation, Goodyear India Ltd. for the past decade has been manufacturing tyres in its Ballabgarh factory, to which Carey (right) pays a farewell visit. Below: Parks Chrestman (second from left), Carey's successor, in the new bicycletyre plant which forms part of the Ballabgarh expansion plan.
does not yet make aircraft tyres, but they are high on its list of priorities. The Goodyear operation is staffed by about 1,300 persons, the majority of them from the communities of Ballabgarh, Faridabad, and numerous villages in the vicinity. Only some half-a-dozen of the entire personnel are American. The factory works round the clock, on a three-shift basis. To provide initial training for its employees, Goodyear bmught to Ballabgarh expert instructors from its U.S. and European plants. Working directly with the Indians, these trainers imparted on-the-job knowledge of each stage of tyre manufacture. Employment of such a large bloc of workers by Goodyear has considerably improved the standard of living in the area. Wages apart, the company this year paid
its employees a 20 per cent bonus for the third year running. Indian personnel from the Ballabgarh plant have received training at Goodyear's Akron headquarters in management and in the intricate processes of tyre manufacturing. The training process has worked the other way round, too. Ballabgarh has already attained levels of efficiency high enough to be in a position to send two Indians as instructors to another Goodyear plant in Thailand. The Ballabgarh factory is equipped with the most modern machinery, some of it locally made. Continued collaboration with Goodyear Tire & Rubber in the U.S.A. has ensured a free flow of the latest technological know-how, resulting from research-and-development activity at the company's massive American and Euro-
pean technical centres. This has enabled Goodyear India Ltd. to provide better service to customers, and compete on equal terms in the export market. Even though he has retired, Carey plans to preserve his links with Ballabgarh and with India. He will continue to keep a fatherly eye on his former employees. And he will revisit this country every yearamong other things, to watch the progress of his "fouT-footed grandchildren"; he is a prominent breeder of racehorses. Into Carey's shoes as managing director of Goodyear India Ltd. steps Parks Chrestman, who has served in this country for the past four years as sales director. He will guide the fortunes of a company with a vital interest in keeping the wheels of India rolling on rubber tyres-on everything from bullockcarts to bulldozers. END
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George Plimpton-the man whoturned athletic failure into literary success-now braves the world of the Big Top. GEORGE PLIMPTON held out his hands. "It's all for du Pont," he said, showing raw sores on his palms and fingers where a few days before there had been normal skin. Plimpton was joking, of course. The raw hands weren't really "all for du Pont." They were for George Plimpton. And for a George Plimpton special television programme. Plimpton is basically a writer, but a primary rule of writing, "to know what you're writing about," has led him to a number of adventures-or misadventures. These include playing American football with the professional Detroit Lions team (PaperLion*), baseball in an exhibition allstar game in Yankee Stadium (Out of My League), and golf in an amateur Iprofessional tournament (Bogey Man). Now the man who garnered renown as a non-athlete invading the world of athletics was braving theworld of the Big Top-the circus-for a television special and, almost certainly, another book. However, E.!. du Pont de Nemours and Company-the big chemical firm-was involved. Not only does American television broadcast commercials, as Indian radio also does now, but U.S. advertisers "sponsor" whole programmes regularly. And du Pont had signed up to sponsor two Plimpton TV specials: one in which Plimpton took a role in a John Wayne movie, the other a circus show. Plimpton's hands, blistered early in his struggle to master a trick on the aerial trapeze, turned out to be a harbinger of greater hurts and injuries as he rehearsed ¡SPAN,November 1970 Left: Fledgling birds often have to be pushed from the nest, but fledgling "flyer" George Plimpton needs all the help he can get to return to it.
TEXT BY JOHN ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHS BY JIM FELDER AND JOHN ROBERTS
his way through the II-day stay in Philadelphia of the famous Clyde Beatty jCole Bros. Circus. By the time Plimpton actually performed on the trapeze with the Flying Apollos, he had readily visible black-andblue streaks across his shoulders caused by torn muscles. There were also audible creaks in his shoulder joints caused by the abuse his body had taken in those few days. And when he climbed the ladder to the trapeze platform for that one big moment in the spotlight, with movie cameras whirring, and hundreds of children and adults
watching, he carried fresh injections of cortisone and lidocaine in each shoulder to ease the pain. From the moment he arrived at the big circus tent in the car-park area of Philadelphia's Liberty Bell Race Track, Plimpton set to work trying to acquire the skills necessary to "fly" with the Flying Apollos. He started out just learning to grab the trapeze bar and swing down from the 21foot-high platform, back and forth, back and forth, and then drop into the net. It looked so easy when Richard Grigsby and Dennis Sherman, two of the Flying Apollos, did it. But when Plimpton tried it, that was something else entirely. It seemed as if his flight were designed to end in a deliberate belly flop into the net. And the results were bruising. "There's a trick to it," the 43-year-old Plimpton explained a few days later-after he had more or less mastered the basic art of swinging on the bar. "Most flyers are much shorter than I am and weigh only about 135 or 140 pounds. But I'm so tall (6' 4") and heavy (190 pounds) that if I don't have a perfect takeoff, there's a tremendous jar when I hit the bottom of the swing. . . . And I've fallen so many times." His body offered ample evidence of those falls and the tremendous jerking strain-not only the torn muscles and creaking shoulders, but rope burns on his forehead and scratches and scrapes on his face and elbows and knees where the rough ropes of the net had caught him at the end of his many graceless landings. "George has really taken a beating," said his teacher, Bob Yerkes, who owns the Flying Apollos act. "This is the hardest job T'vehad-teaching a giant to fly. But I wish all my flyers would try as hard as he does." In addition to his size, Plimpton had still another major disadvantage-his hands. They are large. And their largeness seemed to provide more space for blisters. "His hands are just ripped out," Yerkes said. "Some days, we've had to change the gauze wrapping on the bar because it Text continued on page 48
As the big moment arrives, it is: Ready!
He's off!
George! grab the bar! Oops! Missed again!
But there are compensationsa pretty colleague repairs the damage.
Clowning and lion-taming provided a respite from the rigours of learning to fly on the trapeze.
has become so full of blood." After one fall-on the sixth day of practice-Plimpton told Phil Schacht, the "catcher" of the Flying Apollos, "it's frustrating to still be falling like that." "George," Schacht replied. "You're tired. You're doing three months' work in a week." The goal of all this work was one of the least difficult tricks on the trapeze. Plimpton was to swing across, have Schacht catch his legs, let go of his bar and swing back and forth once with Schacht holding him by his legs. Then he was to catch the bar again and return to the platform. Plimpton practiced most mornings, afternoons and evenings every day for eight days. And in the evening of the eighth day, he completed the trick successfullydespite his hands, his bruises and his aching shoulders, despite the fact that he weighed 40 pounds more than anyone Schacht had ever caught before. Two major exceptions to Plimpton's practice schedule were mornings taken out for other circus activities. The first of those two mornings was spent mostly in the wild-animal arena with Dave Hoover and two of Hoover's lions, John-John and Nero. This was one morning when Plimpton looked as if he'd rather be swinging from
the trapeze-blisters or no blisters-than facing the lions. He had the comforting presence of Hoover in the arena with him, plus knowledge that John-John and Nero had been chosen for this experience partly because they hadn't injured anyone. But still, he was properly fearful, never relaxing when the lions were in the arena. The animals were dangerous under the best of conditions and he knew it. He also knew that at least three lion trainers have been killed by their cats within the past ten years. But he stayed in the arena. He even managed to get Nero to "stretch" at his command. John-John, however, refused to co-operate. The second morning was a fun morning romping as a clown when the circus took part of its troupe to the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Philadelphia for a special performance for the children there. But clowning and lion-taming were only side-shows to the main act, the trapeze bar. And when the moment of truth came, with hundreds of eyes gazing upward towards the Flying Apollos, "joined today by Mr. George Plimpton of New York City," the ring-master barked, the days of gruelling toil proved too much. Dressed in the pink tights of the Apollos' costume, Plimpton swung out on the trapeze, his legs stretching into Schacht's
clasping arms. The audience "oohed" as he released the bar and swung dangling in Schacht's powerful grasp. And as they swung back out towards the centre of the ring again, Plimpton stretched out again, turning his body, grabbing at the heavy bar with both hands-and fell crashing face-first to the net below to a tent-wide chorus of gasps from the audience. But when he got up and swung down from the net, they cheered. Then George Plimpton, still game, went to California, to shoot a movie scene with John Wayne-a scene in which Plimpton was ordained to suffer the ultimate failure, shooting it out with John Wayne, and dying at the actor's dusty feet. END
Left, Plimpton makes hesitant advances to Nero, the circus lion. A more enjoyable "break" involved being made-up as a clown (above). At right, Plimpton is all set to entertain youngsters at the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia.