SEPTEMBER 23, 1959

September 24, 1959

MANSFIELD, Pa.—The American Veterans of the Elbe River Link-Up, through one of its active members, Mr. Joseph Polowsky, has written to remind me that the organization on Elbe Day, April 25, 1958, presented to President Eisenhower at the White House a bratina. This is a large, wooden, lacquered drinking bowl of friendship, famed in Russian history.

In return for having originally received this bratina from the Russians, on V-E Day, May 9, 1959, in Premier Khrushchev's office in the Kremlin the organization presented to the Premier the original patrol map used by the first American patrol to link up with the Soviet forces at the Elbe River during the wartime alliance between our two countries.

Mr. Polowsky writes me that the tradition of the bratina is that those who drink together out of the bowl will never raise their arms in anger at each other. And he suggests that it might be well for the President to take this bowl to Camp David with him so that it might be used in a ritual of friendship during his talks with Mr. Khrushchev. Since the tradition is Russian, Mr. Khrushchev could hardly object to the effort being made to bring about what he says he has come here to work for!

Now, let's turn to a domestic question, which I think more people should know about.

There has been in our courts a long controversy as to whether teachers who have willingly given evidence as far as their own connection with communism is concerned should be forced to give information regarding other people's association with Communists and communism.

These teachers have legally won their point and, rightly, should be returned to their teaching positions. This, however, has not been done by the New York City Board of Education and, it seems to me, it should be done before the case is entirely closed.

There is an effort being made by Edwin T. Randall of Friendly World Broadcasting, Wallingford, Pa., to provide five- and sevenminute conversations on tape that can be used by radio-stations in various parts of the country. He also is trying to distribute a 15-minute weekly program, which he calls "This Is a Friendly World," and he is producing it this year in cooperation with the American Library Association. The latter deals largely with world understanding and is based on the firm conviction that people are more important than anything else.

Mr. Randall will gladly send interested people any of these tapes, and, in using them in broadcasting, a constantly growing audience will be further increased. Mr. Randall is now working in association with the Social Education and Action Committee of the United Presbyterian Church, the women's organizations of the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, and the American Committee for UNICEF, as well as with the Southern Regional Council.

I have heard some of these tapes and I think that any radio station getting them will find that the conversations of extremely interesting personalities on these recordings reveal their ideas in a vivid and telling manner.

E.R.
TMs, AERP, FDRL