THE WEEK

Dear American Civil Liberties Union: Every-one—editorial writers, radio commentators, ministers of the gospel, even union leaders—has publicly concluded that Dave Beck is guilty of maladministering union funds merely because he has invoked the Fifth Amendment before a Senate Committee. You, and Dean Griswold, know that the invocation of the Fifth Amendment is a sacred American right, the exercise of which is a patriotic affirmation of our devotion to the Bill of Rights. Several years ago, when we were in the grip of another reign of terror, you incessantly drew attention to the irrelevance of the use of the Fifth Amendment to the question of guilt in the eyes of the community. At that time you had on your side the overwhelming majority of the press. Not so today. Everyone thinks Beck is guilty, except, maybe, you and the Fund for the Republic and-of course, us. We are entered into a veritable seizure of McCarthyism. Help.

Treaties signed in Rome providing for a common West European market and nuclear pool are designed to take effect over a period of twelve to fifteen years. So there isn’t much point in saying that Europe has “solved” its economic problems. There are stop-loss clauses all along the line. For example, agriculture in France will continue to get price protection. The problems of half a dozen separate national currencies remain. Capital movements from “soft” currency countries to “hard” currency areas will still be subject to regulation. Tariffs won’t fall overnight. And the whole question of British Commonwealth participation has still to be hammered out. In spite of the many hurdles still to be taken, however, parliamentary ratification of the treaties by the West European nations, if it occurs without hitch, can be regarded as a harbinger of good things to come. Western Europe is at last moving toward a sound disposition of its economic affairs.

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Dear American Civil Liberties Union: Every-one—editorial writers, radio commentators, ministers of the gospel, even union leaders—has publicly concluded that Dave Beck is guilty of maladministering union funds merely because he has invoked the Fifth Amendment before a Senate Committee. You, and Dean Griswold, know that the invocation of the Fifth Amendment is a sacred American right, the exercise of which is a patriotic affirmation of our devotion to the Bill of Rights. Several years ago, when we were in the grip of another reign of terror, you incessantly drew attention to the irrelevance of the use of the Fifth Amendment to the question of guilt in the eyes of the community. At that time you had on your side the overwhelming majority of the press. Not so today. Everyone thinks Beck is guilty, except, maybe, you and the Fund for the Republic and-of course, us. We are entered into a veritable seizure of McCarthyism. Help.

Treaties signed in Rome providing for a common West European market and nuclear pool are designed to take effect over a period of twelve to fifteen years. So there isn’t much point in saying that Europe has “solved” its economic problems. There are stop-loss clauses all along the line. For example, agriculture in France will continue to get price protection. The problems of half a dozen separate national currencies remain. Capital movements from “soft” currency countries to “hard” currency areas will still be subject to regulation. Tariffs won’t fall overnight. And the whole question of British Commonwealth participation has still to be hammered out. In spite of the many hurdles still to be taken, however, parliamentary ratification of the treaties by the West European nations, if it occurs without hitch, can be regarded as a harbinger of good things to come. Western Europe is at last moving toward a sound disposition of its economic affairs.