THE WEEK

• Senator Harry Flood Byrd’s decision not to stand for re-election was a severe shock to the conservatives of Virginia and to millions of Democrats and Republicans of every state who regarded the Senator as the defender of traditional Americanism. There is no heir-apparent, and the immediate political aftermath in Virginia is chaotic. There will probably be a bitter fight in the Democratic organization to decide who will run for Senator this autumn against Theodore Roosevelt Dalton, who is slated to be the GOP candidate.

• Eager to improve its readiness rating, the State Department has instructed its employees precisely what to do after an atomic attack: go to “the nearest post office” and file a registration card which, after being sent first to the Civil Service Commission and then to the State Department, will “enable the Department to forward your pay.” Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Newbegin, who signed the instructions, is not unaware of the hardships that an atomic attack might bring. He cautions the employee not to register until he “is reasonably sure whether [he] will be staying for a few days,” and sadly admits that “even if [he] completes the registration card promptly [and stays around], it may be awhile before [he] is put back to work.” Well, war is heck, as General Somebody said.

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• Senator Harry Flood Byrd’s decision not to stand for re-election was a severe shock to the conservatives of Virginia and to millions of Democrats and Republicans of every state who regarded the Senator as the defender of traditional Americanism. There is no heir-apparent, and the immediate political aftermath in Virginia is chaotic. There will probably be a bitter fight in the Democratic organization to decide who will run for Senator this autumn against Theodore Roosevelt Dalton, who is slated to be the GOP candidate.

• Eager to improve its readiness rating, the State Department has instructed its employees precisely what to do after an atomic attack: go to “the nearest post office” and file a registration card which, after being sent first to the Civil Service Commission and then to the State Department, will “enable the Department to forward your pay.” Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Newbegin, who signed the instructions, is not unaware of the hardships that an atomic attack might bring. He cautions the employee not to register until he “is reasonably sure whether [he] will be staying for a few days,” and sadly admits that “even if [he] completes the registration card promptly [and stays around], it may be awhile before [he] is put back to work.” Well, war is heck, as General Somebody said.