Paul
ot.

Pierre

S .

THE EVIL that men do lives
after them and so do their
bad judgments, including
some committed to print,

So let itbe with Adhei
Stevensoa, a witty and clever man
who almost becume president ofthe
United Stites.

He had a formidable intellect
and, wice, ran against the amiable.
easygoing and apparently unin-
spired Ike Eisenhower, When Adlai

: fost, some felt that demoenicy had
somehow failed the Americans,
twice,

More than a third of a century
has passed since the Eisenhower-
Stevenson contests and, erinted the
imnense benefit of hindsight. we
can look back on what those men
said and what actually happened
afterward.

Some of us might prefer not to. 1
‘would not need a long stick to
touch one person who saw Adlai as
the last, best hope for sensible con-
duct of American government and
particularly of American foreign
affairs.

Adlai had a knack for memo-
rable quotations. He once referred
to the right wing of the Repubtican
Party “running around like a blind
dog in a meat-packing plant,” which
seemed particularly apt then and
has seemed so many times since.

However, time and chance hap-

" peneth to us all. Overnight, it
seems, we find ourselves in an age
when Russian state capitalism
(which they called communism) lies

“in ruins, ;

The Cold War has ended, with
Americans the clear. winners.
Although socialist parties retain
power in many places, their passion
for state ownership of the means of
production has faded away, and
they speak little of the planned
economy. ; .

Unfair as it may be — the guy is
dead and isn’t here to speak to the
new situations — it is time to re-
examine the clever statements of

_ Adlai Stevenson. Print lives on.

On March 1, 1959, Mr.
Stevenson wrote in the New York
Times about the menace of the pow-
erful Soviet economy. -

He had recently visituc the
Soviet Union and seen much that
was hidden from the vest of us in
North America.

He wrote in that strangely com-
pelling way of his. He could convey
the idea that people who disagreed

with him were cither mentally deti- |

cient or socially inferior.

dn the article, he recognized -
what proved to be a truth of our
times. East and West had reached a

_ stalemate in nuclear power and a
shooting war was unlikely.
_ Where, then, lay the great peril
for Americans?

Soviet economic might, he said.
He perceived the Soviets to be win-
ning the economic war,

Why were they winning?
Because their government planned
the economy instead of leaving it to
foolish chance and the whims of
public tastes. The Russian system ,
was creating immense prosperity. |

he sand,

“The new Seven Your Plan fart
Indust devalopmient, iP achieved,
will brings Russie close ta Anteneiu
living standards i another decade.”

That would have mesa purity by
1909

Three decades andl risany Soviet
goverment geonontio plans hater
than when Mr Stevenson wrote,
Russian living standirds remained
about as close to those of the
Aniericuns as the Model T Ford to
the Mercedes,

In 59, Mr. Stevenson wanted
Hore LOVErACEE Htervenlion it
Anierivat. He said Americans should
foliow the Soviet fecal,

The Amenoins, he hameated,
wore “Trier diwiey tame iad
resotitees Ot TM ialities. mag raat
From quiz shoves to Detrow’s
Chromite creations, wile the
Rrtssits were concentating every:
thing on their over-riding woul.

“My conclusion is that die
Russian competitors are much
tougher than most of us have yet

realized and that this time we aight
yet licked unless we are willing to
vhange our habits, our politica!
behias ier and our complacent out
took on the warkh?

Yes. Adtai is untair to use 20+
20 findsight to criticize seu, bul
who sad polities or anything ebe in
thes world was faa’?

We should re-read what you
wrole in 1980) We need to remind
ourselves that the most attractive af
ten With the finest intentions can
be terribly wrong.

Heatso dogsi't hurt lo rentind
ourselves that the American voters
of the 1980s, alinast afl af whom
didnot have Mr Stevenson's
knowledge of world affairs, had a
gut instinct that made thens reject
his plans for government central
planning which, anseen by them
and by him, were ruining Russia.

aad St. Pierre is an author
Massvright aad newspaper colant-
nist. He wos a Menther of
Parlianent for Coast Chilcotin fram
1968 te 1972,

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