SPAN: August 1976

<:.American 'Posters inGlndia

BICYCLESliD 10 STILGII' For the last few years, two crazes have been sweeping America -bicycles and nostalgia-and both can be satisfied simultaneously by riding the old "high-wheeler" (above). Environmentalists love bicycles because they're nonpolluting. And an increasing awareness of the need for exercise is making Americans buy more bicycles than cars. Suburban housewives now do many of their short errands by pedaling. Teen-agers lavish the same attention on their bikes as they once did on their hot rods. More and more businessmen, briefcases strapped to their

carriers, are cyclingto their offices.The nostalgia craze, of course, takes many more forms, espeCially in this Bicentennial Year.

In fact the bike and nostalgia fads can be combined another way-by cycling the 6,900-kilometer Trans-America Bicycle Trail, a Bicentennial project that opened this summer. Running from Jamestown, Virginia, to Astoria, Oregon, the new bike track follows much of the route of the famous Oregon Trail of yesteryear. Cycling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean is a great way to see America-if you can pedal for 82 days!

A LEITER FROM THE PUBliSHER

SPAN .(.

Last month SPAN paid tribute to America's 200th birthday with a special Bicentenniil1 Issue in which several distinguished writers assessed America's accomplishments in the political, social and econolTlic realms. In this issue, three articles look at U.S. accomplishments in science, literature and music ["Three Views of America," page 30]. These articles are interesting because, among other reasons, they're written in the United Kingdom-two of them by distinguished Englishmen (C.P. Snow and Marcus Cunliffe) and the third by an American music critic who has lived and worked in Englan~ for decades: Henry Pleasants.

Lord Snow discusses the causes of America's pre-eminence in science in the world today. It wasn't always so. He points out that from 1900 to 1930 Germany and England were the leaders in physics and chemistry. Three factors brought the U.S. to the fore: the influx of top scientists who sought refuge there from the totalitarian regimes of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy; the wealth of the American industrial establishment and the huge amount of money it plows into research and development; and the tradition of scientific research in American higher education. This research takes place all over -not only in big universities. "It is not uncommon," Snow says, "to arrive in a small college town and be set down alongside a scientist or a scholar whose work is authoritative by any standard. " Marcus Cunliffe discusses what he calls the "profound" and "exhilarating" impact of 20th-century American literature on the world today. Professor Cunliffe, one of England's leading "Americanists," asks the question: Why has modern American literature conquered the imagination of other nations and peoples? Some critics say that economic and cultural power often go hand in hand. But Cunliffe feels that this is an oversimplification. It is not that "America owns the airwaves," he says, but simply that "America is broadcasting on a universal wavelength." American literature is one of the few literatures in the world today that give people "the metaphors, the vocabulary, the fantasies with which to confront 1984, 200 I and all the other apocalyptic years that lie ahead."

On a lighter note, Henry Pleasants talks about the tremendous influence of American popular music on the world of the 20th century. He's not talking about American classical music (Ives, Copland and company have rarely captured non-American hearts). What he means is jazz and all its children-swing, blues, ragtime, bebop, soul, rock, country, you name it. He tells the story of how in 19J 9 the great Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet said of a young black jazz clarinetist named Sidney Bechet: He "knows nothing more to say about his art than that he 'goes his own way.' " And that way, said Ansermet prophetically, is "perhaps the mainstream along which the whole world will be swept tomorrow." Ansermet and other highbrows of the European music world realized that jazz was serious music for in the U.S. serious listening long before their counterparts Pleasants bemoans this snobbishness of American highbrows toward their indigenous popular music. They look at it with contempt until it has become old enough to become established.

He ends his delightful article with a ringing conclusion: "One wonders if we will ever achieve a sophistication capable of appreciating a popular music before obsolescence, death, and distance in time have given it the safety, sanctity and status of 'folk.' One recalls [black musician] Big Bill Broonzy's cogent utterance on that subject: '1 guess all songs is folk songs; I never heard no horse sing 'em!' " -J.W.G.

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A Global Challenge

by Henry A. Kissinger

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Meditation in America !&\.A'"

by Maggie Scar!

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Americans Are Talking Aboul 'Windows on a World of Wonder'

by Richard Bartholomew

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Three Views of America

by Henry Pleasants, Marcus Cunliffe and c.P. Snow I

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On ;the Lighter Side

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Toward the Global Society: How and When?

by E.P. W. da Costa

Touring America: The Columbia ~iver Valley !?'(>6~ ~ II ) 7~t' I J

f'ttNZ & Front cover: Mixed-media poster by Robert Rauschenberg announces a concert by the SI. Louis Symphony Orchestra. This is one of 40 posters by American artists now touring India. For a picture story on the exhibit, see pages 20-25.

Back cover: Oregon's Mount Hood, 11,235 feet high, is one of the most symmetrical mountain cones in the world. See "Touring America" on page 49.

Managing Editor: Carmen Kagal. Assistant Managing Editor: S.R. Madhu. Editorial Staff: Mohammed Reyazuddin, Avinash Pasricha.

Nirmal Sharma, Krishan Gabrani, Murari Saha, Rocque Fernandes.

Art Director: Nand Katyal. Art Staff: Gopi Gajwani, B. Roy Choudhury, Kanti Roy. Suhas Nimbalkar.

Chief of Production: Awtar S. Marwaha. Photographic Services: USIS Photo Lab. Published by the United States Information Service. 24 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001, on hehalf of the American Embassy, New Delhi.

The opinions expressed in this magazine do not neccssari Iy reflect the views or policies of the United States Government.

Printed by Arun Mehta at Vakil & Sons LId .. Vakils House, Sprott Road, 18 Ballard Estate, Bombay 400038.

Photographs: Inside front cover-David l. Arnold. © 1972 National Geographic Socicty. 15-Dan Bernstein. Newsweek. 26-27-Herbcrt Migdoll. 28 top & bottom left--Martha Swopc; bottom rightDick Devin. 29-Nancy Cranlpton. 37-courtesy RCA. 38-Eugene Kammerman (Mayflower Studio, London). 44-Josephus Daniels. 49-David S. Hoyer. except center by James P. Blair; all © National Gcographic Society.

Use of SPAN articles in other publications is encouraged, except when copyrighted.

For per· mission, write to the Editor. Price of magazine: one year's subscription (12 issues), 18 rupees; single copy, 2 rupees 50 paise. For change of address, send an old address from a recent SPAN envelope along with new address to A.K. Mitra, Circulation Manager, SPAN magazine, 24 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001. (See change of address form on page 48.)

In his May 6 address to the UNCTAD IV conference in Nairobi, which is abridged below, the U.S. Secretary of State outlined the American position on the issues of commodities, technology transfer, debt relief, and needs of the poorest countries. He concluded: 'No nation alone can surmount, and only together can all nations master, what is inescapably a global challenge.'

We are this year in the midst of what may well be the most extensive series of international negotiations on trade, finance, commodities and development in historyinvolving more nations, addressing more issues, and affecting more people than ever before. This conference has a major role to play. In particular we can advance our work in four key areas: • First, we must make renewed efforts on commodity issues, including the problems of resource investment and trade.

Commodities--energy, food and other primary products-are the building blocks of growth and prosperity ....

• Second, we must design a far-reaching long-term program to accelerate technology transfer ....

• Third, we must deal with serious balance of payments and debt problems which face a number of developing countries ....

• Fourth, we must continue to respond to the special and urgent needs of the poorest countries ....

Let me now suggest specific new approaches for dealing with each of these four problems.

Commodity exports are critical for development. The non-oil developing countries rely on primary products for nearly two-thirds of their export earningsYet production and export of these resources are vulnerable to the whims of weather, the swings of worldwide demand and new technology. Cycles of scarcity and glut, under-investment and overcapacity disrupt economic conditions in both the developing and the industrial world.

It has become clear in recent years that a piecemeal approach to these issues will not suffice. The UNCT AD Secretariat has made an important contribution to meeting these problems in its integrated commodity program. While the United States cannot accept all of its elements, there are many parts which we are prepared to consider.

At this conference, the United States proposes its own comprehensive approach to commodity issues. It reflects many of the objectives contained in the integrated program and our desire for constructive action on all aspects of the challenge. It contains the following elements:

-Ensuring sufficient financing for resource development and for equitable sharing in their benefits by the host nation.

-Improving the conditions of trade and investment in individual commodities, and moderating excessive price fluctuations.

-Stabilizing the over-all export earnings of developing countries.

-Improving access to markets for processed products of developing countries while assuring consumers reliability of supply.

Let me discuss each of these elements in turn.

Ensuring sufficient financing for resource development: Most of the world's raw material production in fact takes place in the industrial countries. But if development is to take hold, a special ·effort must be made to expand the production and exports of primary products of developing countries.

Such a program must overcome the following problems: First, we must deal realistically with the political and economic problems which

modity price fluctuations.

The International Resources Bank would mobilize capital for sound resources development projects by assisting individual resources projects to secure direct financing and issuing bonds which could be secured by a specific commodity ....

To enhance confidence for both host governments and investors, the International Resources Bank would begin operations with a capital fund of $1 ,000 million.

It would participate with foreign investors and the host government in project agreements specifying the conditions of the investment on a basis acceptable to all parties. Such an agreement could include a formula for production sharing and arrangements by investors to help develop the managerial, technological and marketing capabilities of the host country. The bank would support guarantees of both investor and host nation performance in accordance with conditions established in the project agreement.

To ensure effective coordination with other public institutions, the International Resources Bank could be associated with the World Bank group, in a form to be worked out by the participating countries....

Improving the conditions of trade and investment in individual commodities: ILLUSTRATION BY B. ROY CHOUDHURY

are diverting investments from developing to developed countries. For, paradoxically, resource development is often discouraged by the very countries which are most in need of it. ...

Second, in the next decade alone the total requirements for global investment in resources will be massive. Individual projects will require unprecedented sums of capital and complex financial arrangements. The time required between the beginning of a project and its completion is increasing ....

Third, there is no one institution that can work comprehensively to facilitate resource development, particularly in energy and minerals, or to promote equitable sharing of its benefits....

To overcome these problems, the United States proposes the establishment of an International Resources Bank (IRB). This new institution would promote more rational, systematic and equitable development of resources in developing nations. It would facilitate technological development and management training in the developing countries. It would help ensure supplies of raw materials to sustain the expansion of the global economy, and help moderate com-

We are all conscious of problems the world economy has faced recently in this area. Within only two years the tight supply and astronomical prices of many critical materials have been followed by a period of declining prices. Many economies have been severely shaken and several countries have suffered balance of payments crises. Drastic price changes affect the developing countries most severely, playing havoc with foreign exchange earnings and development plans ....

There are a number of ways to improve commodity markets-long-term contractual arrangements, better exchange of market information, improved distribution, more effici~nt production methods, and better storage and transport facilities.

We agree with the UNCT AD Secretariat that buffer stocks deserve special attention.

For those commodities where buffer stocks are feasible, sharp fluctuations in prices can be moderated by building stocks when markets are weak. And adequate supplies at reasonable prices can be assured through releasing stocks when markets are tight.

The U.S. believes that buffer stocks can be financed from a combination of sources -direct contribution by the participants; export taxes; commercial borrowing guaranteed by the countries participating in

the buffer stock; or the existing facilities of international institutions. Should existing sources prove inadequate, we would also be prepared to consider the IRB as a supplemental channel for financing a particular buffer stock. In these ways, we are convinced that adequate international financing for buffer stocks can be assured within the context of the specific commodity agreement under which the stock is established.

Clearly, the United States would not want a buffer stock in which we had agreed to participate to fail for want of adequate financing ....

Agricultural raw materials need serious attention. Those that face declining markets from growing competition from lower cost producers and synthetics can benefit from market promotion, research to improve productivity and marketability or diversification into other products. We recommend that producer-consuJl1er forums dealing with individual commodities focus on such possibilities. We urge that the World Bank and the regional development banks give high priority to funding projects for these purposes.

Today the United States proposes these additional measures: -First, let us reach agreement on a definite timetable for the study of specific commodity problems of interest to developing countries ....

-Second, since many of the poorest countries are dependent on these products for export earnings, we urge the World Bank and regional institutions to sponsor projects to improve production efficiency and markets for jute, sisal, and other hard fibers-or to facilitate diversification into other products in order to reduce excessive reliance on them.

-Finally, any program of resources development must emphasize the two most vital international resources-food and energy.

Forecasts of good harvests must not lull us into letting the progress begun at the World Food Conference slip away....

In energy we strongly support the efforts of oil producers and consumers from both the industrialized and the developing world to achieve cooperative solutions at. the Conference on International Economic Cooperation [CIEq. We urge that our proposal for an International Energy Institute -which would help developing countries take advantage of their domestic energy resources-receive priority attention in the months ahead.

StabiliZing the export earnings of developing countries: At the Seventh Special Session [of the

U.N. General Assembly], the United States listed as its first priority the need to ensure economic security for the developing world ....

We are gratified at the rapid implementation of our proposals to the Special Session for the far-reaching expansion of the International Monetary Fund. These innovations make available billions of dollars in new financing to offset steep declines in export earnings. The most significant step forward has been the Fund's agreement to liberalize its compensatory financing facility. As of now, roughly $800 million from this improved facility has been provided. If this rate continues, more money will have been lent this year from the facility than the entire amount provided over the last 12 years.

Another major advance has been the establishment of an IMF Trust Fund to help meet the balance of payments needs of the poorest countries....

The United States has proposed that the Trust Fund provide concessional¡ financing to poorer countries to offset declines in earnings from an agreed list of particularly significant commodities.

Moreover, the U.S. would be ready to join others in a review of the adequacy of the Trust Fund's resources, should they prove inadequate to stabilize earnings and thus provide general balance of payments financing for low-income developing nations. We especially urge those oil-producing nations with strong reserves to contribute to the Trust Fund's lending capacity.

Improving access to markets for processedproducts of developing countries.

Trade has been an engine of growth for all countries; for many developing countries it is the most critical vehicle of development.

The United States has taken a number of initiatives to meet the special needs of developing countries ....

The institution in January of a Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) by the United States, combined with the preferences systems of other industrial countries, has opened significant trading opportunities for developing nations. Our own preference system already covers more than 2,700 items from nearly 100 countries. The annual trade value of these items is roughly $2,500 million. We are examining the possibility of including additional products.

The United States gives priority stipport to the UN Development Program for financing a joint GATT UNCTAD program of technical assistance to developing countries.

This will help those countries take full advantage of the preference schemes of

and effectively manage technology.

Fourth, technology often cannot be separated from capital and management.

Hence, it is one element of the over-all investment process. And to be successful, technology must be applied within a framework of government policies which facilitate and nourish the process of technology transfer. ...

We need to strengthen global research capacities for development and to expand intergovernmental cooperation.

Therefore, we propose the following: -An International Industrialization Institute should be established to encourage research and development of industrial technology appropriated to developing countries. A founders' conference involving all interested countries should be held no later than this fall.

-The Energy Commission of the Conference on International Economic Cooperation should establish an International Energy Institute to facilitate energy research and the application of energyrelated technologies to the special needs of developing countries.

-We should extend existing networks for applied research in the fields of agriculture, health, and education.

The creation of new institutions must be accompanied by measures to help the process of technology transfer. To improve cooperation between industrialized and developing countries, the U.S. proposes new programs in three fields of advanced science, to which we are prepared to make major contributions of knowledge and experience: in satellite technology, in water resources development and in ocean technology ....

The second element of our program is to improve the extent and quality of technological information available to developing countries and to improve their selection of technology relevant to their needs. We Technology for development support the efforts of the United Nations Let me now turn to another area of major International Center for Exchange of concern, the application of technology for Technological Information to compile development. ... comprehensive information on the capabiThere are a number of impediments to a lities and facilities of national and regional rapid and effective technology transfer information services. For its part, the from industrialized to developing countries. United States will inventory its national First, in many cases technology from technological information resources and industrial countries may not fit the real make available, both to developing countries and to the U.N. Center, consultants needs of developing countries ....

Second, developing countries often lack and other services to improve access to our adequate information and expertise to national information facilities.... identify the technology which best meets Third, to nurture new generations of their needs. technologists and technology managers, Third, there is often a shortage of the the U.S. proposes a priority effort to train Text continued on page 45 trained manpower needed to select, adapt

industrialized countries by finding the most productive areas for new and increased exports and the best techniques of marketing their products.

In addition, intensive negotiation is now under way in the Multilateral Trade Negotiations on tariff treatment of tropical products, including processed goods and manufactures, that are of particular interest to developing countries. The U.S. intends to implement negotiated tariff reductions in this area as soon as possible once the tropical. product package is agreed upon ....

If more open market access is one pillar of an expanding international trading system, greater reliability of supply is another. Without reasonable assurance from producer countries that they will not arbitrarily interfere with exports, importers must turn to other sources. Consumers will then bear the cost of less efficient production, unreliable producers, the cost of lost markets and reduced foreign investment.

There is an urgent need to analyze methods to improve reliability of supply.

We urge that work begin promptly in the GATT to determine whether an international code on export controls is feasible.

Such a code should define more clearly the circumstances under which countries may legitimately apply export controls ....

This four-point program-a new International Resources Bank; a case-by-case effort to improve conditions of trade and investment in primary products; stabilization of export earnings; and improved market and supply conditions-recognizes that these issues are linked; yet it permits pragmatic and flexible treatment of specific problems. The approach I have described is a major effort by the United States to deal on a comprehensive basis with commodity issues...â&#x20AC;˘

HOW DOES THE U.S. PICK A PRESIDENT?

10hn Adams

William Henry Harrison March-April

1797.1801

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James A. Garfield March-September

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'I understand everything about America except how it chooses its President,' an Indian visitor to the United States once said.

The long procedure of picking the country's chief executive is indeed bewildering-even to many Americans. To explain and clarify the whole complex process, SPAN offers the primer on the following pages.

HOW DOES THE U.S. PICK A PRESIDENT? continued Reprinted from U.S. News & World Report, March 1. 1976. published at Washington. D.C.

In simplest outline, how is a President chosen? First, a candidate campaigns within his own party for its nomination. He must win his party's nomination at a National Convention. After the convention comes a period of competition with the nominee of the other major party and perhaps the nominees of third or fourth parties. The showdown arrives on Election Day. He must win more votes than any other nominee in enough states and the District of Columbia to give him a majority of the '"'electoral votes." [See page 9.] If he does all these things, then he has won the right to the office of President of the United States.

What qualifications does the Constitution lay down for those who would become President? A President must be at least 35 years old, must have lived within the U.S. for 14 years, and must be a "natural-born citizen." What a natural-born citizen is, as a Presidential qualification, has never been legally defined. No person can be elected President more than twice. Nor can a President be elected more than once if he has served more than half the term to which another President was elected. For instance, since Mr. Ford assumed office in the second year of Richard Nixon's four-year term, he could serve as President only one more term ....

When does a candidate begin to campaign? A candidate will begin, anywhere from one to two years before Election Day, to travel extensively around the country to discuss national and international issues. He keeps in touch with state leaders of his party and gradually builds an organization in many of the states.

He tends to visit the politically important states more and more frequently. His supporters raise money for campaign expenses.

Gradually he builds a staff that writes his speeches, works on research, contacts Governors, state chairmen and prospective contributors. Usually he will make a formal declaration of his candidacy. Because of complicated new campaign laws, this declaration now tends to come earlier than before ....

What is a "bandwagon" movement? In a successful bandwagon movement, a candidate creates the impression that he is the inevitable winner. He pressures important party leaders to "hop aboard the bandwagon" by declaring their support of his candidacy, implying that otherwise they risk his disfavor. His supp"orterspoint to primary victories as sure signs of his nomination.

Similar tactics may be used at the National Convention.

A recent bandwagon movement came in Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign when his chief early competitor, former Michigan Governor George Romney, pulled out of the race even before the first primary. By the time former Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York decided to get into the contest, Mr. Nixon had sewn up most of the delegates.

How are delegates to a National Convention chosen? In several ways. Some are elected by the voters in state primary contests.

Some are elected by party conventions in the states. In most states, there are at-large delegates who tend to be selected because of the office they hold, such as membership on a national committee or because they are members of Congress.

How many primaries were there this year? There were 30 in which both parties voted, plus a number of others in which only

one party participated. Roughly three-fourths of all the delegates to the two conventions were chosen in primaries ... ' .

How does a state primary work? The rules for primaries vary from state to state and party to party. In general, voters may elect delegates either directly or by showing a preference for a Presidential candidate. There are four broad variations.

In some states, voters simply select delegates to the National Conventions-with the Presidential preferences of the delegatecandidates usually listed on the ballot.

Voters in a second group of states cast ballots both for Presidential candidates and for convention delegates who are identified on the ballot as preferring a certain Presidential candidate or as uncommitted. These are called advisory Presidential-preference primaries.

A third category is the binding, winner-take-all preference primary in which state laws require convention delegates to vote for the Presidential candidate who gets the most votes either in each Congressional district or statewide. The delegates themselves are elected either in the primary or in later state conventions.

A fourth group holds proportional-representation primaries.

In these states, the voters cast ballots for Presidential candidates, and the results are used to allocate convention delegates to the candidates in proportion to the size of their vote-either by Congressional districts, or, in some cases.. on a statewide basis.

Are voters of one party allowed to vote in the primary of another party? This is not permitted in most state primaries, but there are exceptions. In Wisconsin, Michigan and Vermont, voters are given both Democratic and Republican ballots at the polls and can use either.

In a number of other states such as Georgia and Indiana, there is no party registration. Voters ask for a party ballot and, if challenged, must swear they voted for a majority of the party's candidates in the last election and intend to do the same this year ....

There is often talk of a write-in campaign for a candidate in some state primaries. What does this involve? Some states allow a voter to cast a ballot for a person whose name has not been entered in the primary. The voter simply writes in the person's name on the ballot. In a few cases, write-in votes have been important. In the 1968 primary in New Hampshire, 27,520 wrote in President Lyndon Johnson's name on their Democratic ballots --4,257 more than the regular votes received by then Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota. However, the relatively strong showing by McCarthy, who had vigorously attacked the President's Vietnam policies, was considered a damaging blow to any re-election plans of the President. He announced shortly afterward that he would not run again ....

Are some primaries more important than others? Yes. The victors in the early primaries obviously get a psychological lift.

They may be able to attract fence-sitting politicians to their side and find it easier to raise money. Later primaries in big statesNew Jersey, Ohio, Texas or California, to name a few-are often important. If there are three or four candidates in a close race, victory in key primaries can send one to the convention with a distinct advantage.

Are there any limits on how much can be spent in primaries?

The 1974 law set a ceiling of $10 million for each candidate for preconvention campaigning, including primaries plus an allow-

ance for inflation which by now makes the limit just under $11 million. The ceiling, under a recent Supreme Court ruling, applies only if a candidate accepts federal financial help to finance his preconvention campaign. As a practical matter, all the current candidates are accepting Government subsidies. There are also limits on how much can be spent in given states, based primarily on voting-age population.

How much federal financial help is available? If a candidate can raise at least $5,000 in each of 20 states in contributions of no more than $250, he can qualify for federal funds to pay for up to half his preconvention expenses-nearly $5.5 million at present. Contributions of up to $250 will be matched dollar for dollar by the U.S. Treasury; no more than $250 will be matched for larger contributions.

Does the availability of matching funds encourage more candidates to run in primaries? Judging from the number of Democratic candidates there were in 1976, yes. It is also encouraging some candidates who are not the front runners to stay in the campaign longer in hopes of gaining on the early favorites. Heretofore, those far behind usually had to drop out of the race because they could not raise money.

Are there limits on how much can be contributed by private citizens to a candidate during his primary campaign? Yes. The campaign-spending law, as modified by the Supreme Court ruling, sets limits on contributions at all stages of the selection process.

These will be discussed later in this article.

How do party conventions within the states select National Convention delegates? Most often, the process starts in local precincts where party members meet in caucuses or mass meetings.

The candidates' organizations try to get as many supporters at these meetings as possible. Delegates are elected to county conventions, which in turn elect delegates to a statewide convention.

Democratic Party rules say that state-convention delegates must also meet in Congressional-district conventions to elect at least 75 per cent of the National Convention delegates. In the Republican Party, delegates also meet in Congressional-district conventions to elect delegates to the National Convention. In a few states, delegates to Congressional or state conventions are elected in party primaries.

If 75 per cent, or more, of the Democratic delegates are elected by this step-by-step process, how are the rest chosen? The state conventions or state central committees elect at-large delegates, often public officials or members of minority groups if they are underrepresented on the delegations elected at lower levels.

Are Democratic and Republican rules on state conventions similar? Broad outlines of the over-all process are pretty much the same. One important difference is that Republicans permit winner-take-all voting at each stage, from precinct level up, while Democrats generally require proportional representation and delegates to declare their Presidential preference.

What states hold conventions to pick delegates? Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana

(Republicans only), Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia. Washington and Wyoming ...â&#x20AC;˘

Just what is a Presidential-nominating convention? It is a large meeting within a political party made up of delegates chosen from the states, District of Columbia (D.C.) and the territories.

The convention meets every Presidential-election year and picks the party's Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees. In both major parties, a simple majority of the delegate votes is enough to win the nomination. At the Democratic Convention, this is 1,505 votes out of the total of 3,008, at the Republican, 1,130 out of 2,259.

At the Democratic National Convention, how are the votes allocated? As follows: Alabama 35 Maine. . . . . . . .. 20 Pennsylvania .. 178 Alaska . . . . . . .. 10 Maryland......

53 Rhode Island.. 22 Arizona 25 Massachusetts .. 104 South Carolina 31 Arkansas . . . . .. 26 Michigan 133 South Dakota.. 17 280 Minnesota......

65 Tennessee. . . . .. 46 California 130 Colorado . . . . .. 35 Mississippi. .. . .. 24 Texas 18 Connecticut 51 Missouri 71 Utah Delaware. . . . .. 12 Montana 17 Vermont 12 D.C 17 Nebraska 23 Virginia. . . . . .. 54 Florida 81 Nevada 11 Washington .... 53 Georgia.. . . . . .. 50 New Hampshire 17 West Virginia .. 33 Hawaii . . . . . . .. 17 New Jersey 108 Wisconsin. . . .. 68 Idaho 16 New Mexico 18 Wyoming. . . .. 10 3 Illinois 169 NewYork 274 Canal Zone....

3 Indiana 75 North Carolina .. 61 Guam Iowa 47 North Dakota..

13 Puerto Rico. .. 22 3 Kansas 34 Ohio 152 Virgin Islands..

Kentucky 46 Oklahoma 37 Democrats Abroad Louisiana. . . . .. 41 Oregon........

34 And at the Republican Convention? As follows: Alabama 37 Louisiana 41 Oklahoma....

36 Alaska 19 Maine 20 Oregon 30 Arizona.. . . . . .. 29 Maryland......

43 Pennsylvania .. 103 Arkansas 27 Massachusetts .. 43 Rhode Island.. 19 California 167 Michigan......

84 South Carolina 36 Colorado 31 Minnesota 42 South Dakota .. 20 Connecticut. . .. 35 Mississippi.. . . .. 30 Tennessee.....

43 Delaware 17 Missouri 49 Texas 100 D.C. . . . . . . . . .. 14 Montana 20 Utah 20 Florida 66 Nebraska 25 Vermont 18 Georgia 48 Nevada 18 Virginia 51 Hawaii. . . . . . .. 19 New Hampshire 21 Washington...

38 Idaho 21 New Jersey 67 West Virginia .. 28 Illinois 101 New Mexico 21 Wisconsin 45 Indiana 54 New York 154 Wyoming 17 Iowa. . . . . . . . .. 36 North Carolina .. 54 Guam........

4 Kansas ... , .... 34 North Dakota .. 18 Puerto Rico...

8 Kentucky. . . . .. 37 Ohio..........

97 Virgin Islands .. 4 Are there laws laid down for conduct of the National Convention? No, a Presidential-nominating convention operates outside state or federal law. It organizes itself and sets its own rules. It

Mter the Democrats and the Republicans choose their Presidential and VicePresidential nominees, 'armies of party workers distribute campaign literature, ring doorbells, make phone calls, drum up rallies. The nominees crisscross the country by plane, address meetings, shake hands with thousands of people.' oversees the seating of delegates. It draws up a platform of positions the party supports. It hears a keynote speech and installs a permanent chairman. Most important, it selects the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees of the party. Through its National Committee, the convention also organizes the party for the campaign and for the period extending to the next National Convention four years later. ...

How is a Vice-Presidential nominee chosen? With few exceptions, he is chosen by the Presidential nominee. Usually a Presidential candidate keeps his own counsel on his choice for a running mate until after his own nomination. The reason: Should premature word leak out, rejected Vice-Presidential aspirants might swing votes to other candidates.

After a candidate wins the Presidential nomination, he huddles with party leaders. They weigh several factors. Sometimes geographical balance for the ticket is sought by picking a man from another section of the country. Religious balance sometimes comes into play. Often ideological balance is sought-a moderate or conservative to go with a liberal. At other times, a Presidential nominee may seek to promote party unity by giving the nod to a running mate who is not well known and thus noncontroversial.

After the decision is made, the convention goes through the routine of balloting for a Vice-Presidential nominee. But the Pre· sidential nominee is virtually certain to get the man he wants ....

Once the conventions are over, what are the next steps? First the Republican and Democratic nominees huddle with their top advisers to map out strategy. They decide which states will be pivotal and plot a campaign that concentrates on those states.

Staffs are enlarged and speaking schedules roughed out. Votingregistration drives are planned. Polls are taken to find strengths and weaknesses. Budgets are fixed. Special appeals are made to various segments of the electorate-ethnic, professional, sometimes religious. "Citizens" groups are formed to attract dissident members of the opposite party and independents.

Vast armies of party workers are sent out to distribute campaign literature, ring doorbells, make phone calls, drum up rallies.

At the same time, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees are crisscrossing the country by airplane. The early trips are designed to stir up party regulars and get them into the campaign.

The candidates address carefully staged meetings, hold press conferences, confer with local politicians and shake hands with thousands of people.

The major labor unions and the big-city political organizations generally fall into line behind the Democratic ticket. The Republicans can count on the backing of much of business and industry.

The Democratic ticket will stress party loyalty and registration since there are many more registered Democrats than registered Republicans. The Republican campaign will try to identify issues

that appeal to the large and growing number of voters who call themselves independents.

When does the campaign really hit full stride? After Labor Day [September 6], the campaign is well under way. Many political observers say the mass of voters does not start to think seriously about politics until the baseball World Series ends in early October. Others say most voters have made up their minds by early September and that the candidates' job is to identify them and motivate them sufficiently to go to the polls. In any event, by October, the campaign issues are pretty well drawn.

The nominees are hammering on the main themes over and over again, with local variations. They try to take advantage of news developments, sometimes trip themselves up with iII-considered, off-the-cuff remarks, and often spring surprises to win headlines.

An incumbent President running for election maintains much maneuverability. He is in a position to take actions that get headlines.

Do public-opinion polls inOuence the outcome of Presidential elections? The voters, the party professionals and the nominees themselves follow the leading polls carefully. It is debatable whether voters are actually swayed by the results of publicopinion polls.

Most experts say they are not. But, though not infallible, the polls do give a fairly good idea of how the campaign is going, whether one nominee is far ahead or whether it will be a race down to the wire. In addition to the opinion surveys that appear in the papers, many private polls are taken for the nominees, to determine what issues are most important to the voters.

How does the 1974 campaign-spending law affect the Presidential elections? It radically changed campaign financing, even though the Supreme Court on January 20 declared portions of it unconstitutional. The law, as modified by the Court's ruling, sets limits on spending and contributions and provides for federal financing of part of the cost of primaries and all of the cost of the general elections.

What are the limits on spending? The ceilings, which apply only if a candidate agrees to accept federal subsidies, are: • In the preconvention stage, just under $11 million-$lO million in the original 1974 law plus an allowance for inflation.

• Political parties are limited to spending no more than $2 million on their nominating conventions.

• After the nominating convention, the winning candidates can spend up to nearly $22 million each on the general-election campaign-$20 million in the 1974 law, plus an inflation allowance.

• Each party can spend on behalf of its candidate an amount

PRIMARIES Voters in primary states choose delegates to the National Convention in two general ways-in some states, by electing delegates directly; in others, by showing a 'preference' for a Presidential candidate.

CANDIDATE A candidate wins delegate votes at his party's national.nominating convention mainly through primary elections (held in some states) and a series of party conventions (held in some others),

LOCAL CONVENTIONS

DISTRICT CONVENTIONS

STATE CONVENTIONS

Precinct or township meetings in a state choose delegates to county , conventions, which in turn elect delegates to Congressionaldistrict and state conventions.

Conventions of Congressional districts select the bulk of the state's delegates to the National Convention.

A state convention or committee chooses the state's remaining delegates to the National Convention.

equal to two cents for every person of voting age-or roughly $2.9 million-in the general election. â&#x20AC;˘ Each candidate can spend an amount equal to 20 per cent of his total spending as part of his fund-raising operationswithout its counting as part of the over-all limit on spending.

These limits sound high. How do they compare with the past?

In 1972, Richard Nixon spent about $50 million and Senator McGovern about $30 million in their fall campaigns, according to estimates by Common Cause, the public-interest lobby.

Are candidates required to use public financing? No, it's discretionary. Those who opt against federal aid can spend without limit. But all of the avowed candidates so far are making use of federal subsidies in their preconvention campaigns, and it is expected that the party nominees will also choose federal financing this year-if only because of the scope of Government help available.

Where do the Government subsidies come from? Besides the matching funds for preconvention activities, the U.S. Treasurythat is, the taxpayer-will pay the full $2 million to finance each major party's convention and will finance all of the -general-election campaign up to the limit of just under $22 million per candidate.

There has been set up by law the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. This is where the dollars go that taxpayers have been checking off on their federal income tax returns for the past four years. The fund is administered by the Secretary of the Treasury.

By January 1, there was $62 million in the fund. After taxpayers check off additional dollars on their 1975 returns, the Internal Revenue Service estimates there will be more than $100 million available.

What about minor parties? Are they eligible for federal money?

Yes, if they poll at least five per cent of the total vote. But unless they got five per cent in the previous Presidential election-none did in 1972-they must wait until after the general election to collect their funds.

Do they get the full amount that Democrats and Republicans collect? No, they will get the same proportion of funds as they got votes, compared with the average of the two major parties.

Say Governor George Wallace of Alabama runs on a third-party ticket and gets 20 per cent of the total vote, while the two major

NATIONAL

ELECTION

parties poll 45 and 35 per cent.

The average would be 40, or twice Wallace's. After the election, the third party could receive up to $1 million to pay for its convention and as much as $11 million to pay for its generalelection expenses-half of the amount received by each major party.

What are the limits on contributions to political campaigns?

A person can give up to $1,000 directly to a candidate in each primary, runoff and general election, but he can't give more than a total of $25,000 a year in all federal campaigns. Organizations are limited to $5,000 a candidate per year.

CONVENTIONS

Delegates choose the nominee of each major party for the Presidency.

DAY

Voters, in choosing between candidates, actually pick Presidential electors, known as the Electoral College----people expected to support a specific candidate.

Election Day this year is November 2.

ELECTORAL

COLLEGE

Presidential electors meet in state capitals on December 20 to cast their electoral votes, to be officially counted in Washington on January 6, 1977. A majority of electoral votes-270 out of 538-is needed for election as President. The winner will be sworn in on January 20, 1977.

Are there any limits on how much a candidate can spend on his own behalf? No. The 1974 law had set a ceiling of $50,000 on how much a candidate and his family could spend of their own money.

But the Supreme Court ruled such a limit unconstitutional. Political analysts say this offers wealthy candidates a big advantage ....

How much effect are the limits on contributions and spending likely to have? Fund raising has been made much more difficult and expensive. In the past, candidates often would get their campaigns started by going to a few wealthy persons and borrowing or obtaining contributions of sizable sums. Now, fund raising must have a broader base, and most candidates have been soliciting money by mail, sending out hundreds of thousands of appeals.

Moreover, the new law has put a premium on campaign budgeting. Political campaigns have been known for haphazard bookkeeping and budgeting. Now, particularly with the complex disclosure provisions of the law, each campaign needs full-time bookkeepers and accountants as well as lawyers to make sure the law is being observed.

Where does the campaign money go? It is spent on staff salaries, office rent, television programs, air fares, radio and newspaper

Presidential candidates spend campaign money on 'staff salaries, office rent, television programs, air fares, radio and newspaper advertising, telephone service, handbills, billboards, hotel rooms, direct mail, many other things.' advertising, telephone service, handbills, billboards, polling, hotel rooms, direct mail, and many other things.

How many people usually vote in a Presidential election? In 1972, the total popular vote was 77,727,590, some 4.5 million more than in 1968. The increase reflected the fact that the voting age had been lowered to 18. However, the 1972 total, although a record turnout, was not as large as many experts had predicted -mostly, it is thought, because some voters assumed Mr. Nixon had the election sewed up. The turnout was only 56 per cent of the voting-age population of just under 140 million. The turnout four years before had been 68 per cent.

This year, there will be 149.7 million of voting age, according to the Census Bureau. There is some question about how high a percentage turnout there will be in November. On one hand, there is a contest in both parties for the nomination, which may increase interest, particularly if it appears the fall campaign is close. On the other hand, the trend toward voter cynicism that has marked the last few years may not have died down.

If a party's nominee dies between convention time and Election Day, how is he replaced? The National Committee of his partv has the authority to select a new Presidential nominee.

How is Election Day established? Federal law places it on the Tuesday immediately after the first Monday in November, in the fourth year after the previous election of a President. This year, Election Day comes on November 2.

And is the President actually elected on that day? No, not strictly speaking. The Presidential electors, popularly known as the Electoral College, are elected that day. However, except in rare cases, it is easy to translate the nationwide popular vote into electoral votes.

Thus, almost always, the next President is known on election night. The Presidential electors themselves are ignored in the news.

What role do the Presidential electors play? When the voters go to the polls on Election Day, they are actually voting for the electors, who later meet to elect the President and Vice President.

For instance, the person who votes for the Democratic nominee really votes for the electors in his state who are selected to vote

later for the Democratic nominee.

If a person wants to vote for the Republican candidate, he votes for a different set of electors.

Some states list only the names of the electors on their ballots under party headings. In others, the names of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees together with the names of the electors are listed. But most states print merely the names of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees on their ballots.

Do the Presidential electors vote by states? Generally speaking, all the victorious electors in a state vote for the Presidential nominee who captures the most popular votes in that state. The electors are not divided proportionately among the Presidential contenders within the state. It's a winner-take-all proposition.

However, there is one exception-Maine's four electoral votes must be divided this way: Two electoral votes go to the statewide winner, the other two to whoever wins in each of the state's two Congressional districts.

In the past, there have been instances where states' electoral votes have been split, but they have been rare.

Could a candidate win more popular votes on November 2 than his opponents and still lose the election? Yes, he could win more popular votes and yet lose. That is because the electors vote by states. Assume this situation: The Democratic candidate carries some of the heavily populated states by overwhelming margins, but loses other populous states by narrow margins. It then would be possible for him to win more popular votes on November 2 than his Republican opppnent and yet not get enough electoral votes to win.

Has a nominee ever won more popular votes than an opponent and yet lost the Presidency? Yes. In 1824Andrew Jackson achieved a margin of more than 37,000 popular votes over John Quincy Adams, but not enough electoral votes to gain the Presidency.

In 1876 Samuel J. Tilden, a Democrat, won approximately 250,000 more popular votes than Rutherford B. Hayes, a Republican. A commission of eight Republicans and seven Democrats awarded 22 contested electoral votes to Mr. Hayes for a total of 185 electoral votes to Mr. Tilden's 184. Mr. Hayes became President by a margin of one electoral vote.

In 1888 Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, drew better than 90,000 more popular votes than Benjamin Harrison, a Republican.

Yet Mr. Harrison became President because he won a majority of electoral votes.

It is interesting, too, that several Presidents have been elected TE

~IDGE

who did not get a majority of the total popular vote although they won more votes than their competitors. In these cases, there were more than two nominees. These "minority" Presidents include Abraham Lincoln in 1860, James A. Garfield in 1880, Grover Cleveland in 1884 and )892, Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and 1916, Harry Truman in 1948, John F. Kennedy in 1960, and Richard M. Nixon in 1968. But all won a majority of the electoral votes, and thus the Presidency.

How many electoral votes will it take to win in 1976? It will take 270, a bare majority of the total 538 electoral votes in the states and the District of Columbia. The same applies to electing a Vice President.

When and where do the electors meet? This year the electors meet on December 20 in their state capitals. The District of Columbia electors meet in Washington, D.C. Each elector casts one vote for a Presidential nominee and one vote for a VicePresidential nominee. The results are sent by registered mail to the president of the U.S. Senate, the incumbent Vice President.

Must an elector always vote for the Presidential nominee of his party? No, but in almost every case he does. For instance, a Republican elector elected on November 2 is personally committed to vote on December 20 for the Republican Presidential nominee.

Some state laws even require that an elector vote for the nominee of his party. However, if he does not, and votes for the nominee of another party, his ballot must be counted as he actually voted.

There have been rare cases where electors switched their votes.

How are electors allotted among the states? Each state gets a number of electors equal to its full delegation in Congress-the number of its members in the House of Representatives plus two Senators.

How many electors does each state and the District of Columbia get? In 1976 the states get the following number of electors or electoral votes: 10 Ohio 25 Alabama.. . . . . .. 9 Louisiana 8 Alaska . . . . .. 3 Maine . . . . . . . . .. 4 Oklahoma Arizona 6 Maryland 10 Oregon . . .. 6 14 Pennsylvania .... 27 Arkansas 6 Massachusetts 21 Rhode Island . .. 4 California 45 Michigan Colorado . . . . . .. 7 Minnesota 10 South Carolina .. 8 Connecticut. . . .. 8 Mississippi . . . . .. 7 South Dakota .. 4 Delaware. . . . . .. 3 Missouri 12 Tennessee 10 Florida 17 Montana 4 Texas 26 5 Utah 4 Georgia 12 Nebraska 3 Hawaii 4 Nevada. . . . . . . . . 3 Vermont 12 Idaho . . . . . . . . .. 4 New Hampshire.. 4 Virginia 17 Washington 9 Illinois 26 New Jersey 4 West Virginia 6 Indiana 13 New Mexico .41 Wisconsin 11 Iowa. . . . . . . . . .. 8 New York

Kansas. . . . . . . .. 7 North Carolina .. 13 Wyoming......

3 Kentucky. . . . . .. 9 North Dakota . .. 3 A special case is made of the District of Columbia which has no voting delegation in Congress. It receives three ....

Where are the electoral votes counted? At 1 p.m. on January 6, 1977, members of the Senate and House meet in the House chamber. The president of the Senate, who is the incumbent Vice President, presides. Certificates showing how the electors voted are opened and counted.

How is a President selected if no nominee gets a majority of the electoral votes? The Constitution requires a majority of the full Electoral College for election. If no Presidential nominee gets a majority, then the decision is turned over to the House of Representatives. It chooses a President from among the three men with the most electoral votes.

The House votes by state delegation, with each delegation casting one vote. A majority of the members of each delegation determines how the state's single vote will be cast. If members of a delegation are evenly divided, then that state's one vote is not counted. A majority of all the states is needed for election.

The District of Columbia's nonvoting delegate is not entitled to vote.

Has the House of Representatives ever decided an election? Yes. The election of 1800resulted in 73 electoral votes each for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Jefferson won on the 36th ballot in the House. The election of 1824 gave Andrew Jackson 99 electoral votes, John Quincy Adams 84, William H. Crawford 41, and Henry Clay 37. Since no one received a majority, the election went to the House. Adams won on the first ballot.

How is a Vice President chosen if no nominee wins a majority of the electoral votes? In that case the Senate selects a Vice President from the two men with the most electoral votes. Each Senator casts one vote, and election requires a majority of the full membership ....

What happens if the President-elect dies after the Electoral College elects him, but before he takes office? The Vice Presidentelect becomes President when the new term starts.

What happens if the election has been thrown into the House and that body is deadlocked over its choice when the new term starts? The Vice President-elect acts as President until a President qualifies for office.

When does the new President take office? The present Presidential term ends at noon on January 20, 1977. The Presidentelect starts functioning as President the second he is sworn in. 0

MEDICAL RESEARCH

EDITATION INAMERICA How does this ancient Indian technique benefit health?

The author, after practicing 'transcendental meditation,' interviews Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson, one of the foremost authorities on meditation in the United States and author of the bestselling book 'The Relaxation Response.'

It was a Saturday morning, and I was go- for mystics."

"Well, what do you think yours will be?" ing to get my mantra. "Does this handker"A mantra for housewives, I imagine. chief look absolutely fresh and like it's never been used before?" I ,asked, hurrying into Probably something like 'Blehhhhhhh.' " "Are you going to tell me your mantra the kitchen where my 15-year-old daughter, Susie, sat drinking coffeewith her best friend, when you get it?"

"No, of course not. You can't tell anyone Patty. "I don't know," said Susie with a shrug, looking at the starched white square. I your mantra; you know that."

"Oh." He'd grinned at me. "Then you already had my fruit-two big apples and a tangerine. The only other thing that I really do believe in it."

Did I "believe" in TM? As I parked my needed was a bunch of fresh flowers-six, to be exact. I hastened out into the back garden car in the lot behind Yale's Hendrie Hall, to retrieve six of the last of the autumn's which houses both part of the Music School hardy chrysanthemums, which had all been and the New Haven SIMS-IMS (Students' laid flat by a violent rainstorm the night International Meditation Society-Internationbefore. I brought the bouquet into the kitch- al Meditation Society) center, I wondered en, picked off the brown petals of the flowers whether anything would indeed "happen." and wrapped the stems in foil. "What is your Would I, after today's instruction in meditamother doing?" my daughter's friend asked. tion, experience some altered state of being"She's going to get her mantra." or at least new feelings, new sensations?

"Yes," I put in briskly. "It's my word. Certainly a growing number of friends and It's in Sanskrit. It's the thing, you know, that acquaintances were reporting to me that I'm supposed to say to myself when I'm they had. A respectably hardheaded Yale meditating." social scientist had told me that meditation "Oh." Patty's face was expressionless; but was not only a pleasant experience in itself, a moment later, when I was in the hallway but that it dissipated his tensions, made him getting my coat, I, heard her murmur some- feel far more relaxed and also seemed to give thing in a low voice. Both girls started laugh- him added energy and alertness.

A senior editor in a New York publishing ing. I went out of the house, slamming the door behind me irritably. house had spoken of TM in terms of release I was feeling cranky-partly because I'd of stress and had added that she often enslept badly, from thinking about today's tered states of great exaltation as well. She initiation ceremony. And then my husband had, however, to be careful not to meditate had been ragging me about my interest in more than the prescribed 40 minutes per day; transcendental meditation (which everyone otherwise she found herself experiencing mild in America now seems to abbreviate to TM). hallucinations ("Not frightening ones; just Just before bedtime, he'd asked me slyly: flowers and birds and fountains. But I don't "What do you think your mantra will be? like having it happen"). A man I'd sat next Will it be 'Ommmmmmmmmm'?" "No," to at a dinner party had said that, for some I'd replied, "'Ommmmrnmm' is a mantra incomprehensible reason, meditating made

him feel far less anxious. There had to be something to TM-or at least it had to be the best kind of snake oil ever.

In any event, if I could be seen as somewhat gullible, I had the consolation of being one among some 600,000 similarly gullible Americans. For, although the movement is worldwide, embracing some 60 countries, its largest following is in the U.S. There are now 350 TM centers scattered throughout the nation, where roughly 10,000new meditators-including businessmen, housewives,students, athletes, doctors, nurses-receive instruction each month. Since the late 1960s, TM has evolved from what was primarily a student movement into a far more establishment-oriented organization. Its sympathizers and followers include the director of training for the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, the vice president of the Crocker National Bank in San Francisco and the commandant of the U.S. Army War College.

At the same time, it remains highly visible on hundreds of college campuses, where courses on TM and on the "Science of Creative Intelligence" (this is, supposedly, a systematic, scientific analysis of the physical and mental phenomena associated with meditation) are or have been offered for credit.

The TM organization itself operates three permanent teacher-training academies-two in California, one in New York State-and is in the final stages of purchasing the old Parsons College campus in Fairfield, Iowa, as the site of its own Maharishi International University.

The movement is, in other words, a thriving and growingly "respectable" one. What accounts for its success? What reservoir of inner needs are the TM leaders and teachers

Within a few minutes of meditation, 'the whole body's metabolism slows down.

It slows down to a degree that would be seen otherwise only after several hours of sleep.'

tapping-and what are they actually doing for the people who come to them and who do seem to find some kind of satisfaction?

What, in short, is meditation all about?

Transcendental meditation is not a religious movement or practice, though it is easy enough to mistake it for one. It may more aptly be described as a technique, a fairly simple sort of procedure. The technique derives, according to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder and leader of the TM movement, from certain aspects of the ancient Vedic tradition of India. Maharishi, whose exact age is uncertain-"A monk does not meditate upon his own life," he has saidimbibed the Vedic teachings during a 13year sojourn in the Himalayan foothills.

During this period, he apprenticed himself to Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math-now known to Maharishi's followers as the great teacher and "grandfather" of the movement, Guru Dev. It was to Guru Dev, as a matter of fact, that my flowers, fruit and handkerchief were being brought. They were to be used in a "ceremony of gratitude" to him and to the other Vedic masters who had passed down knowledge of the ancient practice. (This was, as I and the rest of the people attending the lectures had been advised, a totally nonreligious event.)

The thanksgiving ceremony was in Sanskrit and took place in front of a makeshift altar above which hung a portrait of Guru Dev. While my initiator, John Lewis, murmured unintelligible phrases, I stood to one side, holding a flower and feeling silly. At the conclusion I was given my own mantra-a sound in Sanskrit, meaningless to me, but supposedly carefully chosen as suitable for my particular nervous system-and to my astonishment found the sound objectionable.

The idea of disliking my own mantra struck me as funny: I felt myself on the verge of laughter. But my teacher was earnestly explaining the meditation procedure to me.

(John Lewis is one of a handful of paid instructors working at the New Haven SIMSIMS center; many of the workers there are Yale student volunteers, and the premises are occupied rent-free-because TM is a Yale student organization.) I managed to restrain my mirth sufficiently to listen to John and then to follow his directions. We meditated together for 10 minutes.

Then, he left the room and I meditated alone for 10 minutes.

To my surprise, I began responding immediately. The hysterical urge to laugh receded; I started breathing deeply and began sinking into a restful, almost "floating" state.

I wondered, even as I experienced a sort of calm emptiness, whether this could be a placebo reaction on my part. 1 felt funny, tingling sensations in myjaw, and this seemed an odd coincidence-my jaw is one place that usually gets taut when I feel generally tense.

And there was a similar, small tingle in a particular back muscle, a muscle I had been aware of only twice before in my life-both occasions when it had knotted into a painful ball following upon an acutely stressful incident. Did this tingling represent, then, the "release of stress" that the TM people had said one was very likely to perceive physically? It was certainly strange that the tingling should occur in those particular places. . . . That first session ended with a hljgeyawn. I felt refreshed and relaxed.

I had been intrigued, ever since the first two "introductory" TM lectures, by the series of charts that depicted the alterations in body metabolism and in brain-wave patterns which meditating was purported to bring about. The charts, I had noticed, were reprinted from such impeccable sources as the American Journal of Physiology) the British medical magazine Lancet and Scientific American. One of the researchers who appeared to have been involved in the TM studies from the very outset was Herbert Benson, a cardiologist on the Harvard faculty. I telephoned Dr. Benson to ask whether I might come to talk with him but found him oddly reluctant. "I don't want to be involved in any article which will be either 'pro' or 'anti' transcendental meditation," he said.

I assured him that I was neither trying to sell, nor crusading against, the movement -and it was on this basis that he agreed to an interview.

Dr. Benson, who is in his late 30s, is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard and director of the hypertension section at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. His interest in the bodily effects of meditation-an integrated set of physiological reactions he now subsumes under the term "relaxation response"-was awakened during the late sixties when he was studying the relationship between cardiovascular functioning and the emotions. "Of course, it was well known at the time-and had been known for many years-that many of the problems that heart doctors encounter have been created by daily stresses and tensions-the cost, so to speak, of living at an often hectic pace in a highly complex society. But the particular question that I and the people working with me were interested in exploring was: 'How do factors that are psychological in nature come to exert these physical effects upon the heart, blood

pressure and other aspects of circulatorysystem function?' " Benson and his colleagues embarked on a series of experiments, using monkeys as sub~ jects, to ascertain whether or not high blood pressure (or "hypertension"; the two terms are interchangeable) could be induced in the animals by behavioral means. Using a technique which would "feed back" to the subjects information about the rise or fall of their own blood pressure, Benson and his collaborators trained the monkeys by systematic "rewards" and "punishments" to make their blood pressure move up or down.

"We trained the animals, in other words, to control their own blood pressure. Not only could the high blood pressure be produced in the first place. We were able to teach them to lower it as well."

The effort to lower blood pressure by means of biofeedback and conditioning techniques was then repeated, this time with human beings as subjects. In the human studies, subjects were rewarded with scenic color slides which they "earned" by lowering their blood pressure. They, too, were able to learn to do so, but the puzzle was, just how? Unlike the monkeys, the people could be asked about this directly-and when they were, most of them seemed to feel that they did it by "thinking relaxing thoughts." "This made me wonder," related Benson, "why we should be playing with the costly biofeedback equipment. I mean, if this were the case, why not go directly to the 'relaxing thoughts'?"

Even prior to the studies with humans, the transcendental meditation people, hearing of his research interests, had approached Benson and asked him to study them. They were confident, they said, that they were able to control their own blood pressure and were eager to demonstrate this in controlled scientific experimentation. "At first I didn't want to get involved with them," Benson said, smiling. "The whole thing seemed a bit far out, and somewhat peripheral to the study of medicine. But they were persistent, and so finally I did agree to study them."

While Dr. Benson was beginning his preliminary studies of the physiological effects of meditation, a graduate student at the University of California at Los Angeles, Robert Keith Wallace, started doing very similar kinds of research while working toward a Ph.D. in physiology. Before long, the two scientists had become aware of their overlapping interests, and Wallace came to work with Benson at Harvard's Thorndike Memorial Laboratory. The first order of business was to establish that there were physiological responses to meditation which

Dr. Herbert Benson looks on while his subject Dr. Benson has studied meditation for many years

were distinct and different from the sort of bodily responses which might result from a person's simply sitting very quietly, for an extended period of time, with eyes closed.

In order to ascertain whether or not there was a measurable difference between what happened in these two conditions, the meditator-subjects were asked to sit quietly for a period of 20 to 30 minutes, then to practice meditation for another 20 to 30 minutes and then to sit quietly once again for the same period of time. Each meditator served, therefore, as his or her own "control." Devices for measurement of heart rate, blood pressure, rectal temperature and skin resistance were attached to the subjects, as were electrodes for monitoring brain-wave activity.

The meditator was seated in a comfortable chair. After an initial 30 minutes to allow getting used to the instrumentation, measurements in the "pre," "during" and "post" meditative periods were taken. "What we found," said Benson, "was that during the meditation itself there were distinct changes.

The essence of these changes could be, I think, summarized by saying that the whole body's metabolism slows down. And it slows down to a degree that would be seen otherwise only after several hours of sleep. In this case, however, the changes occur within a few minutes of starting what I now like to call the 'relaxation response.' " During sleep, continued Benson, there is a drop-off in the rate of oxygen consumption, a drop-off which occurs at a very slow pace.

During meditation, the same drop-off occurred, but within three minutes. This decline in oxygen consumption was nothing short of dramatic: Among a group of 20 subjects, average oxygen consumption fell from 251 cubic centimeters per minute to 211 cubic centimeters during the meditation period and

sweat more when you're feeling upset, and so it's easier for an electric current to pass across your skin-whereas if you're feeling relaxed, your skin is drier and higher resistance is offered to the current."

Another and very striking physiological correlate of meditation was the decline in the level of blood lactate (a chemical that circulates in the arterial system), which tended to fall precipitously within the first 10minutes after the subject had begun to meditate. This was particularly significant because, as the work of psychiatrist Ferris Pitts Jr. and his colleagues at the University of Washington had demonstrated, patients hospitalized with anxiety neurosis show a large increase in lactate when they are exposed to stress. Injections of this blood chemical, moreover, can bring on anxiety attacks in such patients -and can cause anxiety symptoms in "normal" per~ons as well. Interestingly, people with hypertension show higher lactate levels when they are resting than do persons withmeditates. A professor of medicine at Harvard, out hypertension when they, too, are at rest. and has proven that it brings down blood pressure.

The words "at rest" are important here, afterward rose again to 242 cubic centimeters. because the concentration of lactate in the These figures represent a decrease in oxygen blood decreases when an individual is resting consumption of some 16 per cent-twice the quietly in a comfortable position. But, during reduction that is known to take place after meditation, the rate of decline was more five hours of sleep (or about eight per cent). than three times faster than normal. And "Now there are very few ways in which postmeditatively the blood lactate level oxygen consumption can be voluntarily de- tended to remain lower than it had been creased so rapidly," noted Benson. "You prior to the meditation session.

Brain-wave configurations as well were can't do it by holding your breath and other such methods, because your tissues-will con- consistent with a state of deep and complete relaxation. EEG readings tended to be in tinue to take up oxygen at the same rateyou'll then expel a great deal of carbon the alpha-9 to 12 cycles per seconddioxide on the next outbreath and need to "resting" range with rhythmical theta waves take in more air on the next inhalation. So -6 to 7 cycles per second-occasionally what this decreased need for oxygen reflected appearing. (Such brain-wave patterns apwas an essentially involuntary reduction in pear to correlate with subjective reports of the rate of body metabolism." "being relaxed," "peaceful," "floating," "feelGenerally speaking, it is true that the more ing very pleasant," etc.) "The whole picture effort one expends, the more oxygen one that emerged," Benson told me, "was that of consumes. A person who is standing uses a general quieting or damping down of the more oxygen than a person who is sitting; sympathetic nervous system." someone running uses more than someone "But could one achieve the same sort of who is walking. The respiration rate cor- effect through hypnosis?" I asked. responds to the amount of "work" being perHe shrugged briefly, then said this quesformed. What was striking was the difference tion was currently under investigation. "Nabetween the oxygen consumption of an in- turally the hypnotic subject's physiological dividual who simply sat quietly, eyes open or state will correspond to the emotional meanclosed, and of a person who was meditating ing of whatever is being suggested to him or or invoking the "relaxation response." "In her," Benson said. "If you tell a person that the latter case," according to Benson, "we he's about to be assaulted, he'll show saw not only the marked decline in respira- distinct 'fight or flight' responses. If you tell tion rate but a number of other distinct him that he's feeling peaceful and lolling on physiological changes as well. a beach in the Caribbean, you'll see physi"Skin resistance, for example, rose. This, ological changes that correspond to that too, is known to occur during sleep ... but deeply relaxing set of circumstances. As a during meditation it increased by an amount matter of fact, some work from other laboraand at a rate never seen in sleep. Actually, tories has indicated that the physiological no one has an explanation for what's hap- changes in hypnosis when deep relaxation is pening in skin resistance, except that it's suggested are akin to the changes seen during measurable, and that a number of people the elicitation of this wakeful resting state." have associated a decreased resistance with However, what Benson had been searching 'being more nervous.' The idea is that you for at the outset-that is, a means of lower-

Most meditation techniques require a calm, quiet environment, a passive attitude, a comfortable position and a mental device, which could be a single-syllable word or sound.

ing blood pressure without pills-did not appear to be provided by meditation. For during the meditative period, the subjects displayed no appreciable changes in their blood pressure. "A question then arose," Benson said, "concerning what these people we were studying had been like before they started TM, because they were all long-term practitioners of meditation. And so a group of us set up an experiment in which the subjects were people who suffered from hypertension but had never practiced any form of meditation. We measured blood pressure in those subjects on a daily basis, both for a period of time before they learned TM, and for weeks and months afterward. And what we found was that, yes, there were¡decreases that took place in the blood pressure; but these had nothing to do with the meditation session per se. The blood pressure was simply lower across the board. There had been a carry-over from the meditation, which could be measured at any point during the day. The decrease wasn't, by the way, curative; pressure was simply somewhat lowered. And the fall was very clearly related to meditation.

Because in cases where the person, for one reason or another, stopped the practice, his or her blood pressure began climbing again -and was usually right back where it had initially been within the space of three weeks."

In 1971, writing in the American Journal of Physiology, Benson, Wallace and a third colleague, Archie F. Wilson, suggested that the pattern of physiological responses generated by meditation could be seen as a "wakeful hypometabolic state"-that is, a bodily state which bore some resemblance to sleep inasmuch as there was a "tuning down" or quieting of the sympathetic nervous system, but which was different from sleep in that the individual remained conscious and aware of his or her surroundings. (A while later, Wallace was to go further and to suggest that the changes occurring during meditation actually imply the existence of a fourth state of consciousness-the others being waking, sleeping and dreaming.)

The following year, writing together in Scientific American, Benson and Wallace raised the hypothesis that the physiological changes generated by TM might be part of an integrated response mediated by the central nervous system. As such, it might perhaps be regarded as the direct opposite of the "fight or flight" response first described by physiologist Walter B. Cannon in 1914. This so-called "defense alarm" reaction is, of course, the complex set of visceral changes which ensue when a human being, or lower animal, perceives a situation of threat. These

changes include an elevation in heart rate religions and daily practices-including Zen and blood pressure as more blood flows to and Yoga, with their many variants-which the muscles of the arms and legs (to promote can evoke similar states of profound physiorunning or fighting), a rise in oxygen con- logical relaxation. Some, quite simil:;t.rto the sumption as bodily metabolism moves into TM method, employ the repetition of a sound high gear to meet the emergency, the release or word or phrase; others use exercises or of sugar stores into the bloodstream to rhythmic breathing to exclude meaningful provide extra energy, and the stepped-up thought and banish distractions. One Zen Buddhist practice, Zazen, combines two of secretion of adrenalin to help mobilize ahost of other "crisis" resources as well. (For exam- these approaches: Inhalations and exhalaple, the spurt of adrenalin entering the blood- tions are coupled with rhythmic counting. In stream causes the pupils of the eyes to dilate; time, the meditator ceases counting to "follow an individual can literally see better when the breath" to achieve a state of no thought, under stress.) These elaborate physiological no feeling, of being in "nothingness."

In the Western world, meditative practices changes, elicited virtually instantaneously by situations which are seen as menacing to the have been associated with religious practiceorganism's integrity-situations which, in hu- most commonly with mystical trends within man terms, can range anywhere from an the major religions. A 14th-century Christian insult from one's mother-in-law to circum- treatise, for example, counsels the reader that in order to attain union with God, all distracstances involving genuine physical dangerare brought about through an arousal of the tions and physical activities, all worldly things (including thoughts) must be eliminatsympathetic nervous system.

The pattern of changes generated by medi- ed. As a means of "beating down thought" it tation, suggested researchers Benson and is suggested that a single-syllable word, such Wallace, represented an equally interrelated, as "God" or "love," be repeated over and though diametrically opposed, set of re- over again. "After that," writes the anonymsponses. The "fight or flight" situation me- ous author, "if any thoughts should press diated a hyperactivation of the sympathetic upon you ... answer ... with this word only nervous system; meditation caused a quieting, and with no other words."

The instructions given to the TM novitiate a tuning down. A crucial difference between the two physiological reactions was, how- were not, Benson noticed, basically very ever, to be noted: While the "emergency different from those used in many other mediresponse" could be and was elicited spon- tative procedures. Most techniques appeared taneously in a variety of situations, the "relax- to include four essential ingredients: A quiet, ation resoonse" needed cultivation. It had calm environment in which to elicit the to be consciously and conscientiously elicited. response; a passive attitude, which involved At this point, the thinking of Benson and not trying to "force" anything to happen; a Wallace began to diverge markedly. Wallace, comfortable position, so that one's muscular already deeply committed to the transcendent- activity would be reduced to a minimum, and al-meditation movement, was convinced that a mental device. This could be a single-syllable Maharishi's method-which involved the use word or sound, which was repeated over and of a mantra which the meditator was en- over again, either silently or in a low, gentle joined never to reveal to anyone-was the tone. (The purpose of the repetition was that one method capable of evoking the "wakeful of halting meaningful mental activity.) All hypometabolic state." As Benson saw it, that was necessary to evoke the deeply restful however, the mantra was a good enough "relaxation response" was, he speculated, to device for meditation, but it could not be position oneself in these ways and to meditate seen as being more useful than any other upon the word of one's choice.

To test this supposition, Benson drew up sound, word or phrase used in the same fashion. He could not concur in the TM a simple set of laboratory instructions. He people's assertion that meditating with a wanted to see if, simply by following these sound other than one's "appropriate" mantra rules, naive subjects would be able to elicit might have disorganizing effects upon, and the restful "wakeful hypometabolic state." cause damage to, the central nervous system. The instruction list, which he later described And, while the TM procedure constituted a as a "simple, mental, noncultic procedure," valid means of eliciting the deeply restful read as follows: "relaxation response," it was by no means â&#x20AC;˘ "In a quiet environment, sit in a comfortthe only procedure capable of doing so. able position."

Transcendental meditation is, clearly, only â&#x20AC;˘ "Deeply relax all your muscles, beginning one among a variety of meditative tech- at your feet and progressing up to your faceniques. There are a multitude of Eastern feet, calves, thighs, lower torso, chest,

shoulders, neck, head. Allow them to remain deeply relaxed." â&#x20AC;˘ "Breathe through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the word 'one' silently to yourself. Thus: breathe in ... breathe out, with 'one.' In ... out, with 'one' ... ." â&#x20AC;˘ "Continue this practice for 10 to 20 minutes. You may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed and later with eyes open."

These instructions, though not identical to those received during training in transcendental meditation, are quite similar to them.

Benson's guidance sheet contains additional tips: "Remember not to worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation ... permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, ignore them and continue to repeat 'one' as you breathe. The technique should be practiced twice daily, and not within two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes seem to interfere with the elicitation of the expected changes."

The efficacy of his laboratory procedure was tested in a controlled study of 17 healthy subjects, and Dr. Benson published his findings in 1974 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. In this experiment, the subjectspeople who had never practiced any kind of relaxation technique-were given the instruction sheet and allowed an hour to familiarize themselves with the method and practice it.

Each individual was then studied for 5 consecutive periods of 12 minutes each.

During three of the periods, the subject sat quietly and read material selected for its emotional neutrality--excerpts from the book Navajo Wildlands. During the fourth period, the subject was instructed merely to sit with eyes closed. During the fifth period, the subject was asked to follow the instructions for the relaxation technique. (These experimental periods did not follow this order in every case but were organized in different sequences.)

"What we found," said Benson, "was that, using the number 'one' instead of the mantra, we could produce essentially the same physiological changes that were produced during transcendental meditation. For example, the mean oxygen consumption when the subject sat quietly and read Navajo Wildlandswhich is to say, during the control periodwas 258.9 milliliters per minute. When the same individual sat quietly with his or her eyes closed, there was no significant change from that control value. But during the time when the relaxation technique was being practiced, oxygen consumption fell to 225.4 milliliters per minute-a fall of 13 per cent."

The respiratory rate decreased 4.6 breaths below what the control values had been.

Benson's current feeling about transcendental meditation is that it is quite as good

as any other relaxation technique, including his own laboratory method-and that it may be better for individuals who need personal instruction to get themselves started, postinstruction "meditation checks" to keep themselves going, and the support of an organized group. What the TM movement has done essentially, he believes, is to isolate and attractively package for the modern consumer a practice available throughout the ages but more traditionally within a religious context. "What we have done, as a society, is to turn our backs on these traditional modes of achieving states of relaxation," he remarked. "At the same time, the stress of living in a complicated society, with a multitude of anxieties and pressures, involves the frequent elicitation of 'fight or flight' responses. Since, very often, there's no way for the individual to discharge that physiologicalarousal state (because it is socially unacceptable to do so), there may be a chronic rise in blood pressure-that is, hypertension. And high blood pressure is an important, if not the most important, predisposing factor to heart attack and strokc."

This is among the many reasons why Dr. Benson belicves most of us should be practicing one relaxation method or another as part of our daily routine. He cautioned, however, against the use of TM or his own laboratory procedure as self-treatment for chronically high blood pressure. Decreases in blood pressure must be effected under the careful supervision of a physician. "I'm frightened," he said, "of people starting to elicit the 'relaxation response' and then getting the idea that it's all right to throw their medications away on that basis."

There appears to be little threat of other dangers or undesirable side effects from the practice of meditation or self-relaxationunless one evokes the response beyond the suggested two brief periods a day. "Overmeditating" in this fashion is considered unwise.

"If done excessively for weeks on end," Dr. Benson observed, "it can lead to hallucinatory or dissociative states." Dr. Benson's ideas and researches in this entire area are more fully presented in his bestselling book The Relaxation Response.

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It is now about a month and a half since I began the practice of transcendental meditation. I reserve 40 minutes daily, 20 in the morning, 20 in the evening before dinner, for meditating. On occasion, I also invoke my mantra if I'm too wakeful at bedtime; I find it a highly effective sleeping pill. (Using one's mantra for sleep is, by the way, frowned on by the TM people; they insist that one should meditate for energy and activity.)

My husband also meditates regularly; he uses the Benson laboratory method, which he says is quite effective. I wonder occasionally how long the two of us will keep it up. Will we, a year or so from now, still be scrupul-

ously setting aside time for meditation amid the demands of the busy day? A number of people have warned me that, though they themselves began as avid meditators, they found it easy to drift off from the practice.

One acquaintance said she had stopped meditating shortly after moving to New Haven: She found life there so much less stressful than in New York. "And besides," she added, "I'd only started to meditate because of the excruciating lower-back pains that I suffered-and meditation had already cured them. In fact, it was the strangest thing; I'd begin to meditate and then, around 10 minutes into the period, I'd feel all those tense muscles go 'blop'."

My own responses to meditation have changed and intensified somewhat since that first training session. I now rarely experience those strange, tingling sensations, but I do find that, some 15 minutes after the start of the 20-minute session, tears start to trickle down my cheeks. These tears are not accompanied by feelings of sadness; they are like the tears one weeps when slicing onions.

Each session still ends with one or more enormous yawns. The most notable change resulting from these relaxation periods is that I feel much less wound up, much calmer. If! were an oven, I would say that my temperature had been turned down from 500 to 375 degrees.

My only problem with TM is trying to explain it to friends and acquaintances. Those of more mystical and religious inclination insist that I cannot divorce meditation from its theological and metaphysical origins. They look shocked when I reply that to me it's no more than a terrific aspirin, a wonderful kind of bromide. My more rationalist, outerreality-oriented friends seem to think, on the other hand, that I've adopted some strange set of beliefs and now imagine myself to be experiencing "physiological reactions" for that reason. With these people I hear myself sounding embarrassed and apologetic.

Recently, I was quizzed very closely about exactly what I had paid for. Was it the instruction or the mantra? Exactly what had I got for my money? "I suppose," I admitted, feeling my cheeks redden, "that, looked at with hindsight, it was simply my mantra that I bought." This was met with a silence, so I laughed and added: "I guess it sounds pretty silly, doesn't it, paying $125 for a nonsense word?"

But to my surprise my questioner shook her head in disagreement: "Not at all; I think it's a bargain. Look at me. I've been in analysis four days a week, at $50 a time for the past year. And my therapist still hasn't come up with my nonsense word!"

0 About the Author: Maggie Scarf is a free-lance writer specializing in science subjects. Her articles have often appeared in the New York Times Magazine and other American publications.

THE BEST MOVIE OF 1975 Americans are still discussing one of the most honored films in history: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It has bagged five Academy Awards (Oscars), including the four most important prizes-for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.

At the Oscar ceremony, Best Actress Louise Fletcher (below) is in tears as she uses sign language to tell her deaf parents: "My dream has come true." Only one other movie has swept the top four OscarsFrank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934), starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.

Made by director Milos Forman, Cuckoo is based on Ken Kesey's celebrated 1962 novel which became a Bible for nonconformists in that turbulent decade of protest in the U.S., the sixties. It tells about Randle McMurphy, a young man serving a jail term for assault. He feigns insanity to get out of .ail and into a

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mental hospital. The trick works.

In the asylum he is freed from handcuffs, and he leaps and ""whoops for joy. But he soon discovers that the asylum is a bigger prison than the earlier one, and more cruel and intimidating. The woman who rules it, Nurse Ratched ("Big Nurse"), forces every nonconformist sent to her by society into groveling submission. Her tools of repression range from group therapy to electric shock to lobotomy. In this scary tyrannical world, the free-wheeling McMurphy with his "broad white devilish grin" and the "man-smell of dust and dirt from the open fields" is like an anarchist let loose.

Inevitably, a psychological duel develops between Big Nurse and McMurphy. The duel has elements of comedy, cruelty, slapstick, inhumanity, farceand tragedy. McMurphy calls his ward mates "victims of a matriarchy." He tries to shake them up, liberate them from fear, and make them rebel.

He scores some victories initially, gets a movement for "civil rights" going, but eventually dies a martyr. "The system can't be bucked" was Kesey's message.

Kesey saw the hospital as an allegory of the world, as a metaphor for the human condition. Forman simplifies Kesey's many-leveled plot, giving it clarity and shape; his style is comic realism rather than terror. This does dilute the impact of the plot; but, as Pauline Kael points out in the New Yorker, it "had to be done," since the paranoia of the sixties is now a thing of the past. Kael describes Cuckoo

as a "smashingly effective movie" but "not a great movie." Other critics also offer Cuckoo qualified praise. Jack Kroll of Newsweek says it is "a well-made film that flares at times into incandescence but lacks ultimately the novel's passion, insight and complexity."

Judith Crist (Saturday Review) describes Cuckoo as "a finely made film" but adds that "its subsurface rewards are minimal, its insights as naIve as its thesis is obvious." All critics are agreed, however, that Forman has directed his cast very well. Jack Nicholson as McMurphy is superlative; he turns in the best performance of his career in a role he was born to play, that of a lovably roguish, authority-hating hero.

Stanley Kauffmann (New Republic) refers to Nicholson as "an outstanding actor made by and for film," and remarks that he handles his film roles "with more interest than the latter-day Brando" and "more taste than the latter-day Newman." Louise Fletcher as Big Nurse also gives a masterly performance, turning "impassive coolness into a destructive force," to quote Jack Kroll.

Forman has made Big Nurseruthless as she sometimes seems on screen-a more human character than Kesey did. She is not the "giantbreasted terror" of Kesey's novel, says Pauline Kael, but "the smiling well-organized institutional type .... She's got all the protocol in the world on her side." And of Forman's direction, Pauline Kael comments: "It is doubtful if anyone else could have made as good a movie out of Kesey's book."

Music lovers have never ceased talking about the inimitable Sarah Caldwell, 51, one of the world's great producers of opera. But this year she has been in the news more than ever. She recently became the first woman to conduct the orchestra at New York's Metropolitan Opera. (In the photo below, she is conducting Verdi's "La Traviata.") Caldwell is also conducting symphony orchestras

7';~z...y this year in Pittsburgh, Detroit, New Orleans and San Antonio -besides Boston where she runs her own opera company.

Sar.ah.Caldwell believes that opera is simply musical theater.

"The acting and the singing should be wedded into one beautiful performance," she says.

She feels the opera is a form of mass entertainment, and her one consuming ambition at each performance is to give her fans a good evening. Newspaper jargon labels Caldwell "the first lady of opera." But several respected music critics call that an understatement because very few male

VlERICANS ~RETALKING ~BOUli conductors can match her talent, versatility, and energy, or her powerhouse personality.

Time magazine describes her eyes as "Thespian prisms," and says the 300-pound, 5 ft. 3 inch musical superstar "often resembles a great mother whale with a school of pilot fish circling her." A highly demanding taskmaster, she rehearses her singers so thoroughly that the music "sails out of them." She spares herself even less, working 20 hours a day on matters ranging from casting and scholarly research to stage direction, lighting, and finance.

To quote U.S. Senator Edward Brooke, who is board chairman of the Opera Company of Boston, Sarah Caldwel1 is "a dreamer, a genius, a most exciting woman."

WORLD'S LONGEST HORSE RACE It's called the Great American Horse Race, and it's one of the most exciting Bicentennial celebrations in the U.S. It began at Saratoga Springs, New York, on May 31, 1976; it will end 99 days later (September 6) at Sacramento, California-3,500 miles from Saratoga. Some 150 horsemenfrom the U.S., Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan-are competing for the first prize of $25,000, a second prize of $7,500, and eight other prizes worth a total of $17,500. The men behind the big race are two unassuming salesmen who are also horse lovers. Five years ago, Randy Scheiding, 32, rode his horse 800 miles

from Illinois to Kansas. "The country moves so slow on horseback," he said. "You have a chance to become .part of the landscape. It's a feeling of freedom I had never experienced." Scheiding suggested to his pal Chuck Waggoner, 26: "Why not get a whole bunch of people to ride with us across the country on America's birthday?" The two borrowed money and ran an advertisement in the Western Horseman that said: "The adventure of a lifetime for the common American who regards his horse as something special. Longest horse race in history. From New York to California. Entry fee: $500."

Nearly 700 horsemen and horsewomen responded to the ad. As news about the horse race spread, businessmen offered funds; film stars Jerry Lewis and Jennifer O'Neill and a few prominent politicians agreed to join a "national advisory board" for the race.

Who all are riding? Just about every kind of person you can think of: secretaries, students, nurses, farmers, teachers, clerks, businessmen, cowboys. For ranch owners Bill Gerhardt, 46, and his wife Ginny, 38, the race is a vacation. "We've never had an opportunity to get away from home, what with our four young boys," says Mrs. Gerhardt. When they saw the advertisement, they decided that "This was it."

While they have the ride of their lives, friends take care of their home, their family, their livestock.

The riders are racing through 13 states of the U.S., across farmlands, prairies, mountains,

and deserts, along gleaming concrete roads and old historic trails. There was a two-day rest at Kankakee during the Great American Horse Race Week which that city celebrated from June 28 to July 4. One colorful sidelight to the race: 120 riders from France in the full costume of General Lafayette's soldiers. (Lafayette and his men fought with the colonials during the American Revolution.) The Lafayette team will not compete for the prize. Their entry in the Great American Horse Race is France's salute to the Bicentennial.

NEW TREATMENTS FOR GLAUCOMA Scientists at the University of Utah have developed a new device-a plastic ring shown in photo at right-which may help in the treatment of glaucoma.

A leading cause of blindness throughout the world including India, glaucoma makes vision deteriorate steadily by increasing pressure within the eyeball.

Drugs are available to relieve .

the pressure; doctors can use them more effectively if they are able to "monitor" eyeball pressure. The new plastic ring may be just the kind of monitor physicians have been waiting for.

Implanted under the eyelid, it measures changes in eyeball pressure and sends this data to a small radio transmitter taped to the patient's temple. The transmitter in turn relays it to a recording console. Armed with this data, doctors can administer antiglaucoma drugs to the patient at the right time in the right doses.

American medical research has discovered another potential weapon in the war on glaucoma: marijuana. Keith Green, a professor of medicine in Georgia, recently told a seminar in Reston, Virginia, that marijuana eye drops may be an effective treatment for glaucoma.

Moreover, he said, a major American pharmaceutical company has developed a synthetic marijuana derivative that can be administered orally, and has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to begin clinical test .n glaucoma patients.

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Oil \lOBLDOP \lOIDIB' AMERICAN POSTERS TOUR INDIA Forty works by 29 top American painters and sculptors-including Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson and Carol Summers-are touring in India in the form of poster art. The exhibit was shown in Calcutta in April 1976, in Bombay in July, and will be shown in Madras in September.

It will be shown again in Bombay in November and December, after which it comes to Delhi in January 1977.

These posters are like windows that open on a world of wonder-the world of art. They deal with music and opera, festivals of films, campaigns for a cleaner and healthier earth, art exhibitions in galleries and museums, and international sport events. The poster image ranges from the symbolic (Oldenburg) to the abstract (Johns) and to the idyllic(AlexKatz).

Because of its flexibility, the silk-screen process predominates, but lithography is almost equally represented. (Photographic images can be utilized in both the techniques.)

Apart from the range in imagery, the technical range is also immense.

For display, these 40 posters require approximately 200 running feet. If the exhibit were to be mounted in a hall 50 by 50 feet, for instance, a spectator standing at the center would see a poster at every nine degrees of view. The view of the American cultural scene through these "windows" is what this exhibition is about. Posters announce events.

These American posters herald interesting events in some of the great cultural centersart exhibitions at the Pasadena Museum,

California; the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; and dance, music, theater, opera and films at Lincoln Center, New York City.

As an art form the poster has been in vogue at least since 1833.The word "poster" was first used by Charles Dickens in Nicholas Nickleby. Round the middle of the 19th century, publicists in Europe began to appreciate (and exploit) the possibilities of massive advertising, which could be done through posters that could be printed rapidly through a lithographic process. (Ten thousand impressions an hour was possible even then, and fairly economically too.) Though the lithographic process was invented by a German named Aloys Senefelder in 1798, the poster war really started only when Jules Cheret, the French artist, used lithography for poster making and created the sensation that Parisians called "an explosion of color" in the streets. After 1866 the poster trend caught on; random collections and large displays of public posters came to be termed "the art gallery of the street." Art posters, however, are better known because of ToulouseLautrec's cancan girls of the Moulin Rouge.

While it was Cheret who in 1889designed the poster for the opening of the Moulin Rouge, it was Toulouse-Lautrec who designed the 1891 poster that introduced their new star, La Gouloue. In the 37 years of his life, Toulouse-Lautrec designed 31 posters. After him great artists like Picasso, Braque, Mira and Matisse have made some splendid

posters, for their own shows as well as for the exhibitions of others. The first article on posters, written by Ernest Maindron, appeared in 1884; the first history of the poster was published in 1886.The very first issue of the Studio carried an article on poster collecting. A live and slightly accentuated line and flat cold colors made the poster image of those days easily recognizable, attractive and memorable.

In the late 19th century the art critic Charles Hiatt referred to the "half attractive, half repelling" qualities of the posters of the day (a description that could be applied to a streetwalker's personality). Richard Lindner's poster, for instance, presents that proposition vividly. Generally, posters have continued to work that way.

Consider how some of these posters "work."

Robert Rauschenberg's "Earth Day/April 22" poster [page 23]-which is a collage of newsprint sections-depicts a furrowed "exploited" landscape; a pensive gorilla; smoke from factory stacks; garbage; the tell-tale sign near a lake, "Danger/Keep Out/Water Contaminated"; and finally, a car dump. In the center, in a clean cut-out and against the staccato gray of the newsprint, there is the brown and gold of the American eagle (whose beak is close to the gorilla, our ancestor). In his introduction to Rauschenberg's work, Alan R. Solomon has this to say: "The objects which Rauschenberg assembles for his 'palette' are the products of a series of encounters; in a sense they echo the details of

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2. JASPER JOHNS Poster for his exhibition at the AlbrightKnox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; 1975; silk screen; 29r x 40".

3. ERNST TROVA 1. LUCAS SAMARAS Poster announcing his show at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art; 1972; silk screen and lithograph; 24f' wide by 32!,' high.

Ecology poster with the slogan, "Save Our Planet/Save Our People"; 1971; silk screen; 34f' x 34t".

4. ROY LICHTENSTEIN Poster for an environmentalist's 32t" x 231".

event;

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Save Our Planet Save Our Water

R~!./~

RICHARD LINDNER POSTERS AT PACE 32 EAST 57TH STREET NEW YORK 10022

7

5 5. FRANK STELLA Poster announcing a festival of music, dance, opera, theater, film at New York City's Lincoln Center; 1967; lithograph; 24 x 36t H

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6. RICHARD LINDNER Poster announcing exhibit of posters at New York City's Pace College; 1973; lithograph; 22" x 28~".

7. JAMES ROSENQUIST Poster for Easter Jazz Festival in Aspen.

Colorado; 1967; silk screen; 26!" X 26!H.

his life, without being wholly autobiographical. A picture seen in a newspaper, a scrap picked up on the street, .an object directed to his attention by a friend ('An old sculptor died and the stuffed eagle was put out in the corridor outside the door of his studio') come together in his loft.... " This happens also in'his poster.

James Rosenquist's "Aspen Easter Jazz" [above] portrays a disembodied microphone that looks like a spacecraft-or like some kind of bomb in the blitz context of the expanding and shattering J-A-Z-Z lettering. It is only on closer scrutiny that one is aware that all this is intended. There are bombers in red, gliding in, very subtly disguised by the screening. A jazz concert in Easter is a kind of "peace bomb."

One of Claes Oldenburg's posters announces the opening of the National Collec-

tion of Fine Arts at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. [page 23]. It has for its motif a striking image, in a gray and red combination. The gray is ostensibly above the earth, and the red below is bulbous. The image above the surface resembles a rocket, on the one hand, and the Lincoln Memorial, on the other. However, it is supposed to be a "scissors obelisk" as is indicated in Oldenburg's own inscription, on the right. The vague blue (considerably thinned out) is indicated as "sky," and the brown earth is marked "Wash D.C." As early as 1920 the symbolist painter Maurice Denis wrote of posters: "The important thing is to find a silhouette that is expressive, a symbol which simply by its forms and colors can force its attention on a crowd and dominate the passer-by. The poster is a banner, an emblem, a sign: in hoc

8. ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG Poster announcing "Earth Day/April 22"; 1970; lithograph; 25¡r x 34 H

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9. CLAES OLDENBERG Poster announcing opening of the National Collection of Fine Arts at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; 1968; photogelatine; 2SY x 43i".

National Collection of Fine Arts Smithsonian Institution,Washi ngton DC

signa vinces (in this sign thou wilt conquer)."

I believe Oldenburg does, in this classic poster.

As I see it, the poster is basically an announcement and is designed to be striking and persuasive through a combination of image and text. Text and image mutually support each other (as in the Rauschenberg and Rosenquist posters discussed). Oldenburg depends more on a key, symbolic image that is sharp, pointed and precise. In any poster, the image signals together with the text tell what event will take place-where and when.

This is accomplished precisely in Andy Warhol's poster announcing the Fifth New York Film Festival at the Lincoln Center [page 25]. Warhol magnifies a common theater ticket. The serial number 087506 is prominent at the top and on the stub section, at the bottom. In the first vertical

column coglike shapes in blue, edged with piece is "that they come that way."

Looking generally at this exhibition, the red, become ideographic in a way as these develop structurally into symbols and pulsate, simplest formulation is made by Alex Katz some of them like stars. There are flowers whose poster "Friendship Through Flowers" and lozenges equated with these, so to speak. [page 24] presents six white lilies-their stems and stalks in green and silver-against a This is the Warhol style, out and out.

The mystique of numbers, and the fact that golden brown ground. The lettering is quiet. numbers are easily recognized as images, Advertising as it does an International makes Jasper Johns disguise a series (from. Ikebana Festival, the poster has a pretty zero to nine) by overpainting, blurring and Japanese feel. More vivid though not more color accentuation, in the poster [page 21] effective, there is Lucas Samaras's poster that announces his exhibition at the Albright- with 11 spectral arcs, flares and feathers, set Knox Art Gallery. Does art reveal or does it against a deep black ground [page 21]. The conceal? It does both in this Johns poster. poster announces an exhibition of his work Leo Steinberg asked Johns: "Do you use at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In these letter types because you like them or be- the years after hard edge' got jagged, and cause that's how the stencils come?" Johns clouds and mists of color came to be termed replied: "But that's what I like about them, lyrical abstraction, it is but natural that that they come that way." The only good Samaras should refer to meteoric and spectral reason that we can give for liking a Johns 'color. Scanned vertically in lines of four,

three and four, or horizontally in combinations of three, the fireworks display in the poster is most varied and impressive. The directness of this poster is equaled only by the imagery in Roy Lichtenstein's "Save Our Planet/Save Our Water" poster [page 21].

Under a wide screen of black dots-an oppressive weight on the surface of the water, precise in opposition to the absent air bubbles which could emerge from the fish-there are the beautiful tropical fish. Besides these elegant moving creatures, alive in every detail, there is the almost still but living world of the anemone, the coral and the sea fern.

Rauschenberg sums up the qualities of poster art in his piece entitled "St. Louis Symphony Orchestra" [front cover]. Many visual devices are used: collage and montage, cut-out lettering, fragmentation, possibilities of subliminal recall. Against the design of a fine map in brown, we see Doric columns and arches, and suggestively, but in a subdued manner, there is the image of a neon sign that is supported, as it were, by these classic ruins and monuments. The sign reads: "Powell Hall/Home of the St. Louis Symphony." At the left bottom the conductor's baton actually points to the date: January 24.

But the conductor's free hand, as in the letterpress insignia, makes the same indication.

The lettering-both in size, position and color-appears to reverberate.

In sum, this exhibit is "about" contemporary art in the United States. Some of America's most distinguished artists have contributed fo this collection. Besides those already mentioned, there are posters by Gene Davis, Robert Goodnough, James Dine, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Robert Indiana, Jack Youngerman, Robert Motherwell, Lowell Nesbitt, Ernst Trova, Georgia O'Keefe, Helen Frankenthaler, Nicholas Krushenick, Alan D'Arcangelo, Josef Albers, Romare Bearden, and Zarry Zox. Some of these artists are represented by more than one poster, Jasper Johns by three. So besides the range in themes and techniques, the work of a few artists can be seen in depth.

As I have said before, these posters are windows on the American cultural scene because each of them heralds a cultural event.

In the larger sense, of course, this whole exhibit is an "event," especially in India where poster exhibitions do not often take place. 0 About the Author: Richard Bartholomew is art critic for the New Delhi edition of the Times of India. He writes short stories and poetry and is co-author of the book Husain. In 1970, he was awarded the J.D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund Fellowship.

He has visited the United States several times.

10. ALEX KATZ Poster advertising International 1968; silk screen; 25V x 34°.

Ikebana

Festival;

11. ANDY WARHOL Poster announcing Fifth New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center; 1967; silk screen; 24t" x 45!,'.

IKEBANA

INTERNAT

ONAl STATLER·HILTON BOSTON,

HOTEL

MASSACHUSETTS

SUMMERS OF DANCE AND DRAMA," . AND MUSIC rr_~

Nowhere else in the U.S.-perhaps in the world-are the summers so full of cultural activity as in rural New York and New England. The photos on these and the following pages depict just a few of the scenes from dozens of performing arts festivals-one of which is the American Dance Festival in New London, Connecticut (photos at ,right and below), which features dancers from all over the world, including Ritha Devi ofIndia,(below;farright),'"

SUMMERS OF DANCE AND DRAMA AND MUSIC

continued

Three popular eVents on the summer culture circuit in New England are the Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, the Williamstown Theater Festival and the Tanglewood Music Festival. Productions at the Shakespeare Theater may range from the bard's Twelfth Night (right) to Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (below). The Williamstown Theater may offer you a Chekov masterpiece like The Seagull (below right). Recently, the Tanglewood Music Festival celebrated the centennial of the late Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, by organizing six concerts with such world-ranking c,omposers and conductors as Gunther Schuller (opposite page, top), Seiji Ozawa (center) and Aaron Copland (bottom).

S

uppose it's summertime and you're a tourist in New York City, and you want to see some really good plays and ballet and modern dance-or hear some good music. Well, in summer the place for music, dance and drama is not New York City but the "summer culture circuit" of rural New York and New England. You probably wanted to see Boston anyway. So why not hire a car and drive there leisurely, stopping for a night or two at any of dozens of "festivals" of the performing arts that one finds everywhere in the old colonial villages and towns that dot the rolling green countryside of northeastern America.

Your friends or travel agent will help plan your route, and what festivals you should see.

There are too many to describe here, but we can tell you about a few of the more famous ones.

Just about an hour's drive north of New York City is the annual Caramoor Festival in Katonah, New York. The setting is the broad greensward and sculptured hedges of the Rosen Estate where you can sit in the shade of an ornamental bay tree in the cloistered Spanish courtyard and listen to a Mozart string quartet, a Beethoven symphony, Bach's B-minor mass or a long-forgotten comic opera. Like many of the festivals on the summer culture circuit, Caramoor is out of doors and the smell of summer greenery mingles with the sound of music to create an experience you could never find in a crowded New York City concert hall.

About 150 miles north of Caramoor is the town of Saratoga Springs, New York, famous for its race tracks and hot mineral baths.

Formerly the "summer crowd" in Saratoga meant people who came either to bet on the horses or "take the waters." But nowadays every wall in town is covered with placards 'l1115,o)l V I ~I;"and posters proclaiming: "Saratoga Is a t '13allet Festival."

Close to Saratoga-one hour's journeyis Williamstown, in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Williamstown's theater festival is one of the few summer repertory operations in the U.S. An evening there may begin with Chekhov or Ibsen and end with Noel Coward or Cole Porter.

About 30 miles south of Williamstown, three Berkshire Mountain towns-Lenox, Lee and Stockbridge-form a triangle whose outer boundaries can be traversed in less than an hour. Within this triangle, you'll find some of the most famous-and popular-offerings on the summer culture circuit: Stockbridge's Theater Festival; "Jacob's Pillow," Ameri-

ca's pre-eminent celebration of dance; and the Berkshire Festival at Tanglewood, the granddaddy of all U.S. music festivals.

You may strike it rich in Stockbridge. It may be Wilder's Our Town, O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms or Brecht's Mother Courage.

It's a festival so famous that some of the great stars of American theater-Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Katherine Hepburn-have performed on its stage.

From Stockbridge, drive a mere six miles east to Jacob's Pillow (near the town of Lee) to enjoy some of the best professional dancing -both ballet and modern dance-anywhere on the North American Continent. In the Ted Shawn Theater, named after the great choreographer, you'll find a gold-threaded and tinseled garland given to Shawn by the famous Indian dancer Balasaraswati who made her American debut there in 1962.

But in terms of international fame, the most outstanding thing on the summer culture circuit is the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts. Tanglewood draws thousands of music lovers from all over the U.S. and the world to its 5,000-seat shed, set amidst beautiful gardens and lawns dotted with tall pines and ancient hemlocks.

From the Berkshires, make a big detour down to New London, Connecticut, site of the American Dance Festival (see photos, pages 26-27), an event that has grown tremendously popular in recent years-reflecting the meteoric rise in interest in ballet and modern dance of all kinds. The festival is divided into three parts. There is the actual performance season, featuring both ballet stars and unheralded experimental troupes.

There is a six-week school for serious students of dance. And there is a series of prodance critics' grams for professionals-a conference, a dance television workshop and a choreographers-composers seminar.

From New London to Boston is only about 100 miles, and you can drive it in two hours.

But if you want to spend longer on your leisurely tour of the summer culture circuit, there are dozens of other places to go and festivals to see. One Indian tourist told us he did the motor trip from New York to Boston in 12 days and in that period visited 11 cultural centers in nine towns and attended seven plays, two concerts, and two programs of dance!

In short. culture-hungry tourists visiting northeastern America from July through September should get out of the hot humid cities into the cool green countryside. That's where the action is.

0

In the U.S. Bicentennial Year, foreigners as well as Americans are writing assessments of what the nation has accomplished in the past two centuries.

Much of this comment is on the enduring political institutions and libertarian traditions of the U.S. But in the followingarticles, three experts (including two Englishmen) discuss other fields in which the United States, they say, is setting the pace for the world: music, literature and science.

MUSIC

cessed into traditional art forms, just as Russian, Hungarian, Spanish, and Czech folk music had been processed by Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Bartok, Kodaly, De Falla, Chabrier, Smetana, and Dvorak.

Nor were black American musicians at the turn of the century and for many years later any more aware of the musical and social implications of their own music.

Scott Joplin, classically trained, tried in a

by HENRY PLEASANTS IP sense to make a European lady out of ragtime, insisting that it be written down and played as written. He even incorThe author realized how deeply American popular porated ragtime in an opera, Treemonisha, music has permeated the rest of the world when he recently exhumed and produced successheard the band going into Buckingham Palace for the fully in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Houschanging of the guard playing 'When the Saints Go ton, New York, and elsewhere [see "Ragtime at the Opera," April 1976 SPAN].

Marching In.' The same band, while coming out, And Will Marion Cook (1869-1944)played John Philip Sousa's 'Washington Post March.' whose orchestra Ansermet heard, and who was a former student of Joachim in Berlin as violinist and of Dvorak in New York By the time of Ansermet's death in as composer-had In La Revue Romande, a Swiss periodisimilar aspirations. cal published in Lausanne, there appeared 1969, jazz, whether as Dixieland, New Ansermet's pronouncement suggests plainin the issue of October 15, 1919, an article Orleans, swing, bebop, cool, or avant- ly enough that what he heard in what under the heading "Sur un Orchestre garde, had long been accepted around the Sidney Bechet played and in the way he Negre," as remarkable for its authorship world as music for serious listening as well played it was not a source, but a force. as for its analytical insight and prophetic as for dancing. Indeed, a whole series of I doubt whether most people to this vision. The writer was Ernest Ansermet new Afro-American styles, surging up day are aware of the full significance of (1883-1969), who only the year before had from the subculture of the black ghettos that force. One has to have been outside founded the Orchestre de la Suisse Ro- of America's cities and the rural back the U.S. to appreciate it, not as a tourist mande and had conducted, in Lausanne, country of the American South and South- but, as I have been for the past 30-odd the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's west-country blues, urban rhythm-andyears, as a resident in a foreign land.

"L'Histoire du Soldat." In London, even blues, white and black gospel, hillbilly Even most Americans resident abroad will more recently, he had been astonished, (now known more elegantly as "country. hardly have appreciated it properly. They fascinated, and delighted by concerts of music") and, finally, a merger of all these hear American music¡ constantly-when Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated in various categories of rock-had replaced they turn on the radio to a popular station, Orchestra, and he had been especially jazz, however defined, as the musical ver- or go to a movie, or watch a TV serial or taken with a young black clarinet virtuoso nacular of young people in nearly every a commercial on their screen at home, or named Sidney Bechet, who, he wrote, "is corner of the globe. go to a nightclub or cabaret. They hear content that what he does gives pleasure, It was not that Ansermet was the first it piped into the restaurants where they but who knows nothing more to say about among classical musicians, European or dine and into the department stores where his art than that he 'goes his own way.' " American, to be beguiled by the syn- they shop. They hear it on their own or That "own way," Ansermet concluded, is copated rhythms and exotic oratorical their children's phonograph records, and "perhaps the mainstream along which the flavor and fervor of an Afro-American on the records of their children's nonwhole world will be swept tomorrow." idiom. Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829- American friends. But mostly they don't Ansermet, fortunately, lived to see his 1869), born in New Orleans but educated think about it. American music has been insight conf.nned and his foresight vindi- in Paris, had even before the Civil War pervasive around the world for so long cated. The ensuing decade-dancing to incorporated indigenous strains in such that they simply take it for granted-or the music of Paul Whiteman, rejoicing in piano compositions as "The Banjo," they find its pervasiveness deplorable. the exuberant, minstrel-tinged vocalism of "Bamboula," and "The Bananier." RagNot long ago, the BBC-TV "Omnibus" program celebrated the 87th birthday of a Al Jolson, and singing the new songs time, 50 years later, prompted Debussy's man whom the producers described wryly of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George "Golliwog's Cakewalk" and "Minstrels" Gershwin, Vincent Youmans, Cole Porter, and Stravinsky's "Ragtime for Eleven as "the most successful Russian composer of all time"-Irving Berlin, born Israel and Richard Rodgers-would be known Instruments.'~ Baline, in Tamun, Siberia, on May 11, to sociologists as the Jazz Age, thus But these and many similarly motivated 1888.

An American watching and listening substantiating the social implications works by Milhaud, Krenek, Stravinsky, to this affectionate, well-informed docuof Ansermet's bold pronouncement. In Ravel, Copland, and others, including the mentary could not help wondering how another decade the names of Louis Arm- most successful of them all, Gershwin's many American radio and TV stations strong, Duke Ellington, and Benny-Good- "Rhapsody in Blue," were all predicated man would be household words not only on a view first of ragtime, then of jazz, might be similarly commemorating the in America, but also in Europe and beyond. as a folk music susceptible to being pro- anniversary of the man who has written

ROCK AND ~COUNTRY' AND

ALL THAT JAZZ

5 D -b/1(,- F " J q

not only "God Bless America," "White free, did with Protestant hymns and with Christmas," and "All Alone," but also the currently popular English, Irish, and Scottish tunes and dances they encountered "Blue Skies," "Cheek to Cheek," "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly," "Puttin' on the in their new, essentially European culRitz," "It's a Lovely Day," "Say It Isn't tural environment.

A charmingly imperfect imitation (and So" -and, well, make your own choices.

I remember being similarly moved by it may have been at times an all too perseveral BBC-TV and radio programs fect parody) promptly inspired amused devoted to the life and music of Gershwin, imitation, and parody, by whites, vividly and being astonished as well as moved projected in the minstrel show. This, for by a "Salute to Sousa" program at the half a century beginning in the 1840s, Royal Albert Hall, played by massed constituted the principal form of lowbrow military bands under the direction of theatrical entertainment in the still evolvSir Vivian Dunn, former, leader of the ing and expanding United States, and gave Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, us the first great songwriter in an Afrowho conducted Sousa as I remember American idiom, Stephen Foster.

Sousa conducting his own band at PhilaAfter the Civil War, the emancipated blacks, eager to show their own talent in delphia's Academy of Music a few weeks the only kind of show business there was before he died in 1932.

Most astonishing, I guess, was an at the time, blacked their own black faces Easter weekend at the Wembley Pool, to stage minstrel shows of their own, London's suburban equivalent of Madison achieving an ultimate incongruity: blacks Square Garden, where 10,000 British imitating whites imitating blacks imitatturned out night after night to hear a ing-or parodying-whites. Minstrel perpackaged assortment of American country formers toured Europe often and widely, singers and instrumentalists headed by and with enormous success.

Hank Williams, Jr., Hank Snow and American highbrow reaction, .black as Johnny Cash's younger brother Tommy, well as white, was consistently hostile to flown in from Nashville for the occasion. minstrelsy, as it has been to many other But it has been the less obvious mani- phases of Afro-American musical idiomfestations of the universality of American ragtime, blues, rhythm-and-blues, gospel, music's appeal that have made the most country, and rock. Those rooted culturally memorable impression, and moved me, in the European classics have felt their as an American, most deeply-such things standards, their traditions, their convenas hearing the band march into Bucking- tions, and their values threatened by a ham Palace for the changing of the guard music whose atavistic implications have playing "When the Saints Go Marching blinded them to its irresistible vitality and In," and march out to Sousa's "Washing- to the artistic attainments of composers, ton Post," or noting how the crowds at instrumentalists, and singers who, like British football matches invariably en- Sidney Bechet, have gone "their own way." courage their heroes in moments of exAmerican awareness of jazz as the natremity by singing that Rodgers and Ham- tion's most important indigenous contrimerstein evergreen "You'll Never Walk bution to Western culture has come largely Alone." as a result of enlightenment from abroad, Or an April afternoon in the Algarve initially from news accounts of the rapturon the southern coast of Portugal in 1968. ous reception accorded Louis Armstrong, A week's vacation behind me, I had step- Duke Ellington, and George Gershwin on ped onto a bus to drive to the airport. their European jaunts in the thirties, and The bus was empty. The driver had gone from the early appreciations of a Belgian, into the hotel to round up other passengers, Robert Goffin, in Aux Frontieres du Jazz leaving his radio on. I¡ listened. Fado? (1932), and by a Frenchman, Hugues Not a bit of it. From that radio issued the Panassie, in Le Jazz Hot (1936). Not until banshee wail of Hank Williams singing 1938, with Winthrop Sargeant's Jazz: Hot "Your Cheatin' Heart." and Hybrid, did an American of similar In this Bicentennial Year it seems ap- qualifications undertake a serious study propriate to remember, or to be reminded, of jazz, and that excellent work, as Gunther that this worldwide fascination with Schuller has noted in his Early Jazz, reAmerican music goes back almost to the mained unique for another decade. birth of the Republic. It began with the American composers of classical music infiltration into American popular music have rarely captured non-American hearts, of an African musicality first noted by despite much official sponsorship and protravelers in what blacks, both slave and motion. Ives, Copland, Carter, Harris,

Ruggles and Barber are known, but not much played, although the Ives centenary in 1974 was generously saluted. Cage is well thought of by the avant-garde, but not often heard.

The American musical has received a warmer welcome without being adopted the way jazz and other more distinctively Afro-American idioms have been-except in London, and even there the musical prospers according to the presence of Americans in the cast. Elsewhere, the musical has been handicapped by translation and by the inability of operatta repertoire theaters to match the versatility and pace of the stars of the American commercial theater.

For most non-Americans, then, American music is identified with one or another of the Afro-American styles, with jazzin any of its. various phases-standing highest in terms of cultural prestige. Even the songs from the musicals are preferred as transformed-or transfigured-by the improvisatory genius of jazz instrumentalists and singers.

A growing awareness of all this has had its belated effect in the U.S. The past decade has seen a significant change, for instance, in the attitude of American music educators to the status of jazz in the curricula of secondary schools and universities, as reflected in the acceptance, in 1968, of the National Association of Jazz Educators into the Music Educators National Conf.erence as an associate body, and in the proliferation of jazz bands in the schools with official approval.

One wonders if we will ever achieve a sophistication capable of appreciating a popular music before obsolescence, death, and distance in time have given it the safety, sanctity and status of "folk." One recalls Negro musician Big Bill Broonzy's cogent utterance on that subject: "I guess all songs is folk songs; I never heard no horse sing 'em!"

0

About the Author: Henry Pleasants, a native of

Philadelphia, received his early training as a professional musician at the Curtis Institute. He has written music criticismfor 35 years for newspapers and journals in the U.S. and other nations. He is now London music critic of the International Herald Tribune.

Among his books are The Great Singers, Agony of Modern Music and Serious Music-And All That Jazz!

LITERATURE

tTHE MISERIES, IRONIES AND ASPIRATIONS OF MODERN MAN' American literature of the 20th century has had such a 'profound' effect on the world, says an eminent British critic, because it gives modern man 'the metaphors, the vocabulary, the fantasies with which to confront 1984, 2001, and the other apocalyptic years that lie ahead.'

"In the beginning all the world was America," wrote John Locke. Today, nearly three centuries later, it is easy to feel that the literary world is directly or indirectly American.

American literature has arrived and indeed conquered. But how, when, and why did this happen? The process has not been smooth or universal It is wrong to suppose that American literature was acclaimed overseas from the beginning. It is too simple to attribute lack of acceptance to ignorance or outright hostility. And it would be wrong, even for the seventies, to imply that in these cultural Olympic games the United States is first, the rest of the world nowhere.

To clarify the record, we may start with a distinction between America as an imaginative theme and what American writers made of their material. One way of fitting America into the scheme of things was to assume that it embodied Europe's hopeful dreams. America could be envisaged as the Earthly Paradise, a secondchance Eden deliberately set apart by God. Alternatively, and more commonly, America could be seen as an inferior continent, thinly peopled by feeble races, in whose unfavorable atmosphere the white settlers in turn degenerated. Even before the American Revolution, the New World was thus a repository for opposite sets of myths.

To some extent Americans subscribed to the same legends-though, naturally enough, they preferred the myth of the dream to that of the nightmare. Also, Americans were aware, as foreigners could

not be, that everyday life in the United States was neither heaven nor hell, but largely a matter of hard and often humdrum labor. If man could not live by bread alone, he could not survive on mere myth cither. The grand themes of escape, freedom, adventurous solitude were overlaid with more practical considerations.

There were two consequences. American writers longed to capture the actuality of their land-the nuances of speech and scene and conduct that perhaps only Americans could fully appreciate. It was a sort of inverse connoisseurship, an evocation of the things that America did not have, in comparison with older and more elaborate societies. And, somewhat incompatibly, national pride plus the widespread desire for culture impelled Americans to excel in the modes established by the Old World. They wanted to compete, especially with Europe, on Europe's terms -to gain respect for being "civilized" as transatlantic critics understood the word.

The result was 100 years of frustration and disappointment. U ntiI about the end of the 19th century, as Howard Mumford Jones remarks, the United States was a "debtor culture," constantly aware of and often intimidated by European styles.

Amcrica's first great celebrity in literature, Washington Irving, built his fame on managing to sound more English than the English. He and generations of his successors traveled extensively outside the United States. Some, such as James Fenimore Cooper and Nathaniel Hawthorne, remained in Europe for fairly long periods.

Some, most notably Henry James, ex-

patriated themselves altogether.

This is not to say that in the 19th century there was no American achievement in literature, or that it went unnoticed overseas. Though there was a certain amount of Old World condescensiontypified in the British description of Cooper as "the American Walter Scott"-Europe also kept a lookout for the promised new American statements. Cooper indeed was widely rcad; his novel The Red Rover (1828) led the French composer Berlioz to rename an overture Le Corsaire Rouge.

In Germany, Karl May began to churn out slightly bizarre versions of Cooper's Leatherstocking tales. Thanks in large part to Baudelaire's translations, the French acquired an early taste for Edgar Allan Poe, even if they gallicized him as a figure bctter named "Edgarpo." Herman Melville's first books were welcomed in England. A small but discriminating readership sensed the originality of Walt Whitman. A less discriminating audience was ready to discern genius in the showy verse of Joaquin Miller of California.

There was warm praise for the miningcamp stories and poems of Bret Harte, and Mark Twain was a popular world author a couple of decades before he received, in 1907, the solemn tribute of an honorary doctorate from Oxford.

Nevertheless, up to the close of the 19th century American literature was regarded abroad as a fairly minor offshoot of English literature. In our own reckoning such a verdict ignores the highly individual, various, and yet mythic resonance of a Melville and a Hawthorne, not to mention Cooper, Thoreau, Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and possibly Henry James. But in fairness to the foreigners, it must be said that their view more or less corresponded to that of American critics. Cooper and Twain, as Leslie Fiedler observes, have tended to be consigned to the juvenile shelves. Emily Dickinson was almost unknown at her death in 1886, Melville almost forgotten when he died in 1891.

On both sides of the Atlantic, the solidly established tally of American authorship embraced Ralph Waldo Emerson; the poets Longfellow, Lowell, and Whittier, the historians Prescott, Motley, and Parkman; and Oliver Wendell Holmes of the "Breakfast Table" series-all of them New Englanders, all except for Emerson embodying what was to become known as the "genteel tradition." Irving, COQper, Poe, and Hawthorne were respected, but at a rather different level. American humor was emerging as a separate category, some-

already noted, it has permeated the global repudiation of the tribe, and the resultant where between art and recreation. exultations and agonies of aloneness-rose In literature, mythic, Adamic America consciousness.

The spread of American popular culture up and suffused the imagination of manwas still an uncharted continent. The dreams and nightmares inherent in Mel- abroad (Reader's Digest, Hollywood, TV kind. Heartbreak, fury, letdown, ribaldry, American ways ville, Hawthorne, or Whitman were essen- shows, syndicated cartoons) has helped to surrealistic fantasy-the tially to be discoveries of the 20th century. universalize the American image. This is of coping commended themselves as eshappening on a greater scale than ,ever "sentially truthful if not always heroic or Real, everyday, vernacular America-the before in the history of top-dog nations, hopeful. land of the divine commonplace-was American authors supply material for pre-eminently the province of the novelist and with far more rapidity. The fame in William Dean Howells, but he was not other countries of American intellectuals every sort of fantasy, and much of what exotic enough or racy enough to thrill the rests more than they would probably like they supply, not merely through the cinema to realize upon the energy of an exporting or pulp fiction, is more outrageous, more foreign reader.

If we move forward to 1930, the year process that they might denounce as c,om- weird, more haunting than anything the foreigner can imagine. We could say that that Sinclair Lewis got his Nobel Prize, mercial imperialism.

But this is clearly not the whole story. the special feature of American literature the change within a generation is astounding, at every level and in every field. T.S. There is some resentment of the dominant was the clean book, whereas now it is the Eliot and Ezra Pound, domiciled in impact of the American idiom, in litera- dirty book. High-mindedness is still an Europe, were among the grand masters ture as in other fields. After all, one of the American quality, and high culture in the of modern poetry, and, at least in the dictionary definitions of impact is "colli- United States has a cosmopolitan reach English-speaking world, Wallace Stevens, sion." However, as an Englishman-and and assurance far removed from the old E.E. Cummings, the Southern Agrarians, thus a member of a former top-dog na- days of nervous deference to Europe. But rendered in and other poets were beginning to be tion-I am conscious that the boot used low-mindedness-experience highly esteemed. Robert Frost, CaJ;!Sand- to be on the other leg. For long years the language that leaps and jars like an electric burg, and Vachel Lindsay were other Americans suffered under the near-mono- shock-is the distinctive, incomparable confamiliar names. The American vein of poly wielded by English literature. Cul- tribution of 20th-century American writing. radical utopianism, previously best known tural and economic leadership usually run Ultimately, the conquest of the world abroad through Henry George's Progress together, but leadership is more than a by this literature has come ab<;>utbecause, and Poverty (1879) and Edward Bellamy's question of brute force. Western Europe is in both the world's imagination and that Looking Backward (1887), had now broadstill both economically and culturally of America, the United States seems to sum ened in world consciousness to include vigorous; so it must be something more up the miseries, ironies and aspirations of Jack London, Upton Sinclair, and a host than American salesmanship that impels modern man. The ancient dreams and of muckraking journalists. Modernism in young Frenchmen or Germans to read nightmares have been both domesticated the theater was triumphantly represented Jack Kerouac or Allen Ginsberg in the and universalized. Some of the messages

by Eugene O'Neill. For readers of avant- original. that foreigners pick up become garbled garde fiction, a formidable American In the original-surely that is the key. in the transmission. But in essence they sequence ran from Stephen Crane to These societies have their own strong get the point. They may be appalled by its Hemingway and Faulkner (A Farewell to literary traditions. In some areas they re- implications. They may to a degree enjoy Arms and The Sound and the Fury both tain or reclaim the lead. American theater, the feeling that their own countries are in appeared in 1929). Books by popular for example, no longer excites foreigners better shape. But the American impact is American authors-Booth Tarkington, as it did in the days of O'Neill, or in the more profound-it is even exhilarating.

O. Henry, Zane Grey-were almost invari- era of Tennessee Williams and Arthur In the act of shuddering at revelations of ably bestsellers in other English-speaking Miller; and Edward Albee, too, has faded. American violence, crassness, anomie, the countries.

'What counts, nevertheless, is a conviction foreigner can only admire a literature that The element of language is worth stress- not so much that America owns the air- lays itself so wide open, that is so recklessly ing. America's impact abroad was first waves as that America is broadcasting on (or innocently) explicit. It gives him the upon what the French callIe monde Angloa universal wavelength. If the messages metaphors, the vocabulary, the fantasies Saxon. Some work was almost impossible were chauvinistic they would be resisted, with which to confront 1984, 2001, and to translate. Maurice Coindreau's sensi- or simply tuned out. That was one reason all the other apocalyptic years that lie tive rendering of Faulkner, Le Bruit et la why American literature failed to register ahead.

0 Fureur, did not come out until 1938, when in the 19th century. Not only was it freJean-Paul Sartre responded with a subtle quently unoriginal; it was also heavily analysis. With most American writing didactic. The American dream was as- About the Author: Marcus Cunliffe is a British there was a time gap and a cultural gap serted rather than conveyed. The Ameri- literary critic and one of the world's leading between the English-speaking world and can nightmare was denied, or written in a authorities on American history and American literature. Since 1965, the rest. An educated British or Canadian code that could not be cracked: Who could he has held the posior Australian reader in 1938 might well, have understood Melville's The Confidence tion 0/ Professor of for instance, relish the humor of James Man: His Masquerade in 1857?

American Studies at Thurber when this humor seemed incomWith the growth of national ,confidence, the University of Susmunicable elsewhere. In general, the non- and affluence, the priceless American asset sex, U.K. His books English-speaking world did not become at- of candor came to the fore. The great includeThe Literature tuned to American literature until after buried, iI1!memorial themes of the New of the United States World War II. Since then, as we have World myth-displacement, wandering, and American Presidents and the Presidency.

two greatest American conceptual minds of the 19th century. They lapse into silence and tend to look as though the question is an example of English bad manners.

The answer, though, is pretty clear-cut.

One was Charles Sanders Peirce, a bizarre product of Harvard, who doesn't belong to the present discussion. He was a somewhat disreputable character with a beautiful mind, who single-handedly and apparently without influences anticipated a great deal of our contemporary (i.e. late 20th century) analytical philosophy.

American pre-eminence in science is a fairly recent The other, the one who is relevant here, was Willard Gibbs of Yale, a major and phenomenon, says Lord Snow. As a list of Nobel lonely eminence in the whole history of Prize winners in various scientific fields will show, science. Gibbs was not only of Yale, but it is only in the last three decades that 'a great apart from one foray as a very young man share of scientific activity has come from America.' to Europe scarcely left the place. He lived with his sister in hermitlike bachelor seclusion, rather like Kant or Henry Cavendish.

During the last 30 years, a very high much more successfully, with Rutherford The university realized that he was a man proportion of the best pure science in the at Manchester. England dominated the of genius, and made him in his mid-20s world has been done in the United States. revolution in experimental physics. Simi-- Professor of Mathematical Physics, with It is hard to make an estimate of the lady, any ambitious young chemist had effectively no duties except to think. amount, and it's not especially useful, but to make his way to Germany. American He thought to some purpose. In fact, just for the sake of argument perhaps one scientists went to England or Germany as a he not only created, but in principle can say that at least 80 per cent of Western matter of course. polished off, an entire new domain of science, both in quality and quantity, is In a good many fields, including theore- science-the thermodynamic side of physibeing carried out in American institutions. tical physics in its most creative period, cal chemistry. This was a theoretical In world terms, if we restrict ourselves to this was still the necessity as late as the construction of extraordinary power and pure science, the proportion is still very 1920s. The young Robert Oppenheimer beauty, executed by the solitary brooding high. The United States is right out ahead had to go to G6ttingen and Copenhagen of one man, as much unaided by collaboraas the world leader. to learn what was really happening in tors of the intellectual climate as Einstein It may surprise young American scien- quantum theory. He then returned to in his two theories of relativity. There have tists to learn that this is quite a recent America to spread the gospel, but for a been very few other examples of scientific phenomenon. Around 1906, Ernest Ruth- major contribution from himself or other work so totally the product of a single erford, at the age of 35, was already re- Americans, that was already too late. mind. It has been said that the whole of cognized as the most important experi- Quantum theory was one of the greatest, classical physical chemistry is to be dismental physicist alive. He was born and perhaps the very greatest of all intellectual covered in the papers of Gibbs: But he educated in New Zealand and at that time edifices, and it was the work of Europeans. made it so difficult, using a symbolic (1906) occupied a chair in Montreal. He That happened less than 50 years ago. language known only to himself, that it had lectured all around the United States, It is unthinkable that any scientific break- would be somewhat easier to work it all and was totally free from European biases. through on this giant scale could take out a priori for oneself.

A very great thinker, but a sp0rt. One He had been offered major professorships place today without Americans leaping at Yale, Columbia, and half a dozen other in, probably right in front. The nearest of the most illustrious of all Americans, top American universities. He turned them analogy would be molecular biology, but no indication of what the corporate all down on the grounds-as he made clear started in England, partly for historical effort of American science would become. in his private correspondence-that the and personal reasons, partly because it After all, most civilized countries throw United States was too far from the center could be done with slender resources. It up the occasional sport. A tiny country of things) i.e. the center of scientific things. wasn't long-and here the difference with like Denmark 50 years after Gibbs's time In fact, he almost immediately moved to quantum physics tells its own story(he lived from 1839 to 1903) threw up Manchester, England, where for the next before M.W. Nirenberg made an Ameri- Niels Bohr.

12 years he did most of the work (the dis- can contribution of the highest originality.

What was more significant, though the covery of the nuclear atom, etc.) for which Of course, this is nowhere near suggest- results didn't surface for long enough, was he is now best known. ing that there was no American science of that America was slowly working out its Before the 1914 war, any young physi- supreme distinction before the 1930s. That own strategy of higher education. The cist wishing to research in the most ex- would be a denial of historical fact. The earlier American universities had been citing fields had to do as Rutherford did. most supreme work of all came from a closely modeled on the English (occasionalNiels Bohr, one of the greatest of physi- remarkable eccentric figure. It is a pleasant ly the Scottish) pattern-not surprisingly, cists, went from Copenhagen to study parlor game to ask highly educated Ameri- since so many of their faculties came from with J. J. Thomson at Cambridge and then, cans, cultivated in the arts, to name the the old English establishments, predomi-

SCIENCE

tTHE U.S. IS THE

WORLD LEADER'

/ F4'

IS

nantly Cambridge. The English idea of a university was the teaching of undergraduates. Research, if it happened at all, was a sideline, or something like a private hobby. Right up to 1914, both Cambridge and Oxford were really what we should now call liberal arts colleges-though good ones and attracting many talented men. The only genuine research department at either was the Cavendish at Cambridge, started in 1874.

Much the same was true of the great U.S. universities of the East Coast. There wasn't a substantial academic difference in the early 1900s between Oxford and Cambridge on one side of the Atlantic, and Harvard, Princeton and Yale on the other. But, two generations earlier, there was already another powerful influence working in America. This came from Germany. German university education had taken an entirely different course.

Teaching didn't matter much. Students went in masses to formal lectures, and otherwise looked after themselves. But research mattered a great deal.

Humboldt in Berlin, before the end of the Napoleonic wars, had organized a serious research department. This example was followed in a dozen German universities. So that although England, and the United States not long after, got in well before Germany with the industrial revolution, the Germans, particularly in chemistry, were far better equipped to give the emerging industries conscious scientific backing. Why this should have occurred is still something of a mystery. But it did occur, and its results were sharply apparent in World War 1.

The message, or part of it, was rapidly caught up in the United States, often far away from the traditional universities of the East. Let me take one example, more or less at random, of an institution of which I have some personal knowledge.

The University of Michigan was founded in 1837. By about 1860 it already had a working physics research department on something like modern lines. This was 14 years before the Cavendish at Cambridge was conceived. It was later than that before anything else equivalent was initiated in England. That was in Manchester, where, perhaps not accidentally, there was a large educated German population and soon a pioneering professor by the name of Arthur Schuster.

It is true that the main effort at Michigan was some distance away from the

broad stream of Rutherfordian physics.

Rutherford was right to say that, for his purposes, America was not in the center of things. Very sensibly Michigan bit off their own speciality and for many years made a success of it. It didn't attract much attention, but it was a quiet example for the future.

Just as the land grant colleges were. To found them at all was an exceptionally imaginative piece of social legislation. The spirit in which they were founded made it clear that their research activities would, to begin with, be in applied science. Quite soon, however, again quietly and almost invisibly, research departments for all kinds of science were becoming part of the American structure.

And yet-it was going to take a long time for all this to work through. Whether American scientists and social thinkers were disappointed, there doesn't seem to be much evidence. Up to and including the 1920s, America, in the judgment of the world scientific community, was still not one of the two or three leading scientific powers.

Nobel Prizes are not everything. But they are awarded as judiciously as can be managed, within the limits of human frailty, and the lists have their own bleak eloquence.

The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. In physics, the earliest American winner was Albert A. Michelson in 1907curiously enough, not for his classical experiment on the velocity of light. In the first three decades, up to 1930, there were only two other American awards in physics, Robert A. Millikan (1923) and Arthur H. Compton (1927).

During those 30 years, there were seven English winners and 10.German.

In chemistry-the record tells an even sharper story. In the first 30 years, preciselyoneAmerican, Theodore W. Richards (1914), five Englishmen (most of whom would more appropriately have appeared on the physics list), 12 Germans. Similarly with physiology and medicine. One,American, Karl Landsteiner, got a prize the last year, 1930, of the first three decades. In that period, three went to the U.K. and five to Germany.

That was a rough estimate of the scientific power rating, in the minds of detached observers, between 1900 and 1930.

In the succeeding 20 years, there was a tendency to split the prizes, no doubt

because of the development in scientific teamwork. The figures from 1931 to 1950 (both inclusive) show a sharp change.

PHYSICS U.S. 6 CHEMISTRY U.S.

6

PHYSIOLOGY U.S. 12

England

2

& MEDICINE

England

6

Germany 4

And then in the period 1951 to 1973 the American predominance becomes overwhelming.

PHYSICS U.S. 23 CHEMISTRY U.S. 12

England

PHYSIOLOGY

& MEDICINE

U.S.

27

England

11

8

Germany 4

Why has all this happened? The indications are as objective as we can reasonably expect. The U.S. has moved out on its own. The U.K. has done surprisingly well.

Germany has declined markedly since 1900 to 1930 (i.e. before the Third Reich).

Of other nations, awards not shown here suggest the U.S.S.R. and Japan becoming major, but not yet leading, scientific forces.

There seem to be three possible agencies for the U.S. success, interconnected and difficult to disentangle. Obviously the U.S. is the richest industrial society on earth, and one would expect this to be reflected in its scientific achievement. But that is unlikely to be the whole story. The U.S. was already far more advanced industrially than England and Germany at a time when its science didn't compare with theirs. Though there is a relation between pure science and industrial development, it isn't by any means self-evident. For instance, the U.K., still very good at pure science, is critically backward industrially, much more so than Germany, which in science England' now outclasses. Soviet industrial weight is very much more impressive than Soviet contributions at the Right: Scientist studies molecular structure of a new chemical compound at RCA Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey. In this article, C.P. Snow cites thf' strength of American industry-with its vast network of research laboratories-as being one of three causes of u.s. pre-eminence ill science.

highest scientific level (as some of their own academicians have been the first to point out).

So, though American industrial riches have played their part, it isn't the only part. Society, or any expression of society, is more complex than that. Incidentally, American industrial riches have often benefited pure science in an indirect and benevolent fashion. The second American Nobel in chemistry was Irving Langmuir (1932). He worked for most of his career in the General Electric Research Laboratories at Schenectady in New York State.

But the work which made him famous was of about as much practical use to the G.E. as if he had spent his talent on protoMycenean history. It was actually on the theory of valency, or molecular binding, which is a subject Americans have made very much their own. Compare two other eminent Nobel Prize winners, Linus Pauling and Robert S. Mulliken.

Another cause of the American triumph is contributory but not sufficient in itself.

In my view it is slightly but significantly overestimated on the European side of the Atlantic. Without any question at all, as a result of Nazism the U.S. received the greatest influx of high ability that any society ever had. This wasn't like the mass immigrations of the past. It wasn't even like the selective immigration of craftsmen and traders-such as the Huguenots in England-which had been sources of practical strength. It was the arrival in the United States of substantial numbers of some of the best minds in the world. On a much smaller scale, similar fortune accrued to the U.K.: But, quite naturally, the future home that most great scientists chose was in flourishing America. Most, though not all, were refugees-that is, people compelled to move because of necessity. Most, though not all, were Jewish.

The names speak for themselves. Here is a minute sample, taken entirely from top-level physics. Einstein. Fermi (Fermi wasn't Jewish, but his wife was). His colleagues agree that he was the only physicist of this century who was equally a master. in both theoretical and experimental rcsearch, and ranks with the most illustrious scientists of all time. Wigner, a major theoretician (the revolution in theoretical physics in the 20s and 30s was almost entirely the work of Jewish genius, with the striking exception of Dirac-who happens to be Wigner's brother-in-Iaw-and

Heisenberg). Segre. Bethe. Szilard. Teller.

At least half a dozen comparable figures.

Practically, the nuclear bomb owed a great deal to the refugees. Intellectually, the effect lasted longer. It would give any society greate~ creative confidence suddenly to be presented with some of the world's best scientists, in many cases (as with Fermi) at the peak of their powers.

What was another bonus, nearly all of them identified themselves devotedly with American life and the American state.

Everything worked together toward scientific success. It is possible that the astonishing internal Jewish explosion in America was accelerated by the process, that is the explosion of talent either native-born or as good as native-born. More likely, though, this was already on the way and a great man such as Isidor Isaac Rabi was one of the forerunners. If anyone doubts the Jewish explosion in the United States, he has only to run his eyes down the names of American Nobels since Rabi (1944). Feynman, Gell-Mann and others take places in theoretical physics which the U.S. left vacant in the 1920s.

In a more restricted sense, much the same has happened in litcrature.

The Nazi regime, along with American industrial riches, were great blessings to American science. But it is easy to isolate them as single causes of the modern American triumph. It is more realistic to think that something like it was likely to break through anyway. In the background, as has been mentioned earlier, was the formidable structure of American higher education. It didn't pay dividends at the highest level for a mysteriously long time.

In some aspects, it hasn't yet paid the dividends that people expected a century ago. But in scientific research, and in most other branches of scholarship, it has.

It has paid most handsome dividends.

An outsider, used to traveling widely in the United States, is impressed by one thing above all others-the amount of ability in universities and colleges which most Europeans have scarcely heard of.

I can speak from personal experience here.

I happen to know American higher education in a geographical sense better than most Englishmen and better than a good many of my American friends. The research departments in the great state universities, established most of them three or four generations ago, are of course now in full maturity and have become famous.

But the organization of research, the com-

plete professional exercise, has percolated much wider. It is not uncommon to arrive in a small college town and be set down alongside a scientist or a scholar whose work is authoritative by any standard.

Of course this immense spread of resources can be wasteful. It was bound to be. Enormous expenditure on any kind of education always involves excessive optimism, and America has never been short of that. Nevertheless, to produce the highest creative work at the top level probably needs both time and waste.

Waste is necessary. Good science emerges from dull science, and good literature from a mass of valueless stuff. One meets too many persons, granted, working away industriously at Ph.D. theses which aren't going to add one speck of material to the monument of 20th-century knowledge.

That is likely to be the price for preeminence in world scienee.

Anyway, whatever the history has been, there is no doubt now about American pre-eminence. At times, the rest of us cannot help feeling a little envious. In the U.K. we have had to nibble away at scientific fields which were suitable to our means, like molecular biology and radio astronomy, and do our best with them.

Otherwise we have to console ourselves by falling back on the good old piece of scientific moralizing, and say it doesn't matter where the work gets done so long as it does get done.

One has heard that said, with deep and sanctimonious feeling, by people just beaten to a scientific discovery who could cheerfully cut their successful rival's throat. On the world scale, though, it is true. In the last 30 years, a great share of scientific creativity has come from America. The point is, this is scientific creativity, and that is good for us all. It is the greatest thing upon which humankind might congratulate itself in this dark and tumultuous century.

0 About the Author: C.P. Snow, the other British

contributor to this issue, is that unique combination o/talents -a brilliant scientist and a man 0/ letters. He has held positions in many U.S. universities, has more than a score 0/ honorary degrees, and authored many scientific papers. He was knighted in 1957. Lord Snow has also written novels, science fiction, plays.

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

"It's too bad you close your mind to astrology because, wow, have you got a year coming lip!"

"It's been a wonder/ul evening, Ed. Don't spoil it by asking/or another date." ©"1974. Reprinted

by permission

of Saturday Review and Jerry Marcus.

"You know what I think? I think eternity is a drag." © 1971. Reprinted by permission of Saturday Review and Kenneth Mahood.

"That reminds me-did you file your application/or that government small-business loan?" © 1971. Reprinted by permission of Saturday Review and John Ruge.

TOWARD THE GLOBAL SOCIETY

HOWA DWHEN? A review of Lester Brown's book 'World Without Borders'

Everywhere-and not only in the "severely afflicted" countries of the developing world of which India is onethere is recognition of the need for a new global international economic order. The emphasis, at least since the Seventh Special Session of the United Nations in September 1975, has been on the word "global." Both the problems and the solutions deemed effective are now seen to be worldwide. In this sense the accent is markedly different, although many strands are similar, from the well-worn North-South controversy hallowed by debates for over a decade in "the Group of 77," as well as in the ineffective confrontations of the developed and developing worlds in UNCTAD I, II, III and IV. There is now a marked new element in the old debates, following the spectacular October 1973 action of OPEC [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries]. In that month the countries of OPEC by an act of supreme audacity, breathtakingly simple since it merely involved raising the price of crude oil, became huge partners in Western affluence. In the process they inherited some of the acrimony that other Third World countries visit on the very rich, colonial or otherwise, Thus there is now an internal stress: Its resolution has called into being new phrases such as "collective self-reliance" and, inevitably, a different demand pattern for resources for Third World development.

The North-South confrontation, because oil resources were and are mainly in the South's possession, has also taken on a truly global character.

In fact, the problems of the developing world or the basic challenges in the industrialized world were never North-South problems but global problems. Well before

Octo ber 1973 there were some good expositions of the need for an integrated global approach to all these issueswhether in the form of the environmental crisis, the energy crisis, the food crisis, the urban crisis or, perhaps greatest of all, the crisis of unemployment and its incidence on "Marginal Men." More than one distinguishedcontribution has come forth from the Overseas Development Council of the United States animated by its president, James P. Grant. Many of these studies owe much to Lester R. Brown, a Senior Fellow of the council, whose earlier books, Seeds of Change: The Green Revolution and Development in the Seventies and By Bread Alone, have illustrated uniquely the global elements in an integrated food and population policy.

One of Brown's latest books, World Without Borders, has recently been reprinted in India. * In this book, he casts his net much wider, conceivably bringing in too comprehensive a range of global coordinates to be dealt with adequately in a single presentation. Nevertheless, World Without Borders is a substantial contribution to an understanding of the global, as distinct from the regional, imperatives of change. For us in India, it is an impressive guide for a layman, who recognizes that a new frontier is required but can nowhere find the elements of a global philosophy and the imperatives it carries in the creation, virtually from scratch, of an entirely new global society.

The unwisdom of dissecting the future The book, because it is broken into no fewer than 17 chapters, necessarily has to traverse organizational prob-

The United States, says Lester Brown, 'is the first and the only truly global society in terms of its interests, contacts and involvements.' lems repetitively and illustrates at once how unwise it is to disaggregate sectoral projections that are, inevitably, closely related. For example, how can one separate explosive population trends in Part II ("Keys to Our Future") from Part V ("Shaping the Future") with its section on "Improving the Quality of Life"? Or how can the quality of life be separated from the problems of education, urbanization, global production, or communications and transport, discussed in other chapters? Again, is it not inevitable that many areas of microplanning should be thrust into the background, being dealt with in paragraphs rather than chapters of their own? The multinational corporations may look very important as an instrument of global operation, but in fact when the larger problem of organizing global societies with a new institutional framework is concerned, they return to their microcosmic role in the world's industrial structure. They do not, therefore, acquire the right in this book to 20 pages of print; nor can the conclusion be reached that because their growth rate is currently higher than the growth of the global gross product, "they herald the eventual emergence of a global economy which is organized much more along economic than political lines [page 211}." One must read current political forces very wrongly to see any dominance of economic market forces over political phalanxes deployed massively. Was the OPEC triumph of October 1973 a political or an economic operation? And if it succeeded against all the West together, despite huge political and military dominance, how can the meager thrust of Western multinational corporations claim greater long-term effectiveness? Obviously the global societies, when they come, are to be integrated political, economic and social units, equivalent in power to but far greater in reason and flexibility than the world's nation states. One can talk of the European Community as being such a prototype: But where, indeed, except on its floor are to be found its multinational corporations?

Four global parameters of a new authority What then are the truly global parameters to be integrated into a new pattern for Third World development inside a global framework of policy? In slightly oversimplified terms, these are four: population; agricultural and industrial production; payments; and, for want of a better word, partnership. All four look like economic categories-and indeed for more than 20 years they have been dealt with in frames of reference that set them in grooves of economic development policy. One of the great revolutions in thinking of the last two years has been the

argument that the course in all four is determined by international compulsions, and these, whether physical or monetary, have their springs in the politics of nation states, particularly the superpowers. The United Nations operations, which Lester Brown proposes (chapter 14) to redesign for the new challenge, are only pale reflections of conflicting national wills, helpless when a superpower ¡or even a lesser nation with a veto declines to go along. For the New Global Society, the United Nations is a nonstarter. Somewhere near the lines of pooled sovereignty of the European Community, a new international authority is to be created. How and when? These are the questions. We are nowhere near first base at present. What are the irresistible forces making for movement in a new direction?

The answer must be found in the explosive character of the current situation in each of the four major categories in the poorest countries of the Third World. The most explosive of these is population. But only a short distance away is the problem of massive poverty engendered both by lower rates of agricultural and industrial productivity and by great pools of unemployment that in "the revolution of rising expectations" cannot be endured for another 30 or 40 years. It is not the widening rich-poor gap that is explosive, because very few of those destitute know of its existence except in their own countries. But a minimum above the poverty line must be visible, say, in 20 years. The "Marginal Men" will settle for nothing less. Marginal they may continue to be, but the margin must be rising for them and their children. Destitution in its most severe forms must be banished all over the world before the end of the century.

The population explosion in the Third World For these Marginal Men, although they have totally failed to see it, the most serious impediment to their escape from poverty is the failure to plan families. They are behaving at the end of the 20th century as though they are living in the 19th century. In fact their behavioral patterns have changed no more than their economic misery. In this sense, one might say the Third World-country by country, since population control is domestic, not international-can raise itself by its own bootstraps by a massive display of will. This has been singularly absent over the last 25 years. In World Without Borders, the chapter on "Stabilizing Human Population" is one of its best-though it exaggerates the efficacy of a global strategy. This is an area where statistics are inescapable, and some in this book (as well as in other recent publications, notably Mankind at the Turning Point, the second report of the Club of Rome) are conclusive on the

2,000,000

1830

100

1930

THIRD BILLION

30

1960

FOURTH BILLION

15

1975

bounds of rational economic management. Undoubtedly this recognition, deeper almost than any other element in the current confrontation between developed and developing countries, will bring them soon to a conference table where population and production policies can be linked in a global frame of reference. For the present, however, the prophets of doom are still unable to relate population and production. One talks of a population explosion as though it were a global, instead of a Third World, phenomenon. It is because of its population, inevitably resulting in an explosion of Marginal Men of import to all mankind, that the Third World's production programs will need massive global support. If this is not organized soon, a catastrophe, as World Bank President Robert McNamara sees so clearly, must descend on the world in the next 25 years.

FIFTH BILLION

11

1986

Production programs in the Third World

SIXTH BILLION

9

1995

dimensions and imperatives of change required. Consider first the eloquent table produced on page 134 of World Without Borders.

Years required to add one billion people FIRST BILLION SECOND BILLION

Year reached

If accurate, as it seems to be up to 1975, the prospects are frightening, whatever view one takes on "limits to growth" or the scarcity of natural resources. An explosion of population between 1830 and 1930 could be endured because in these hundred years only one billion people were added over all the world. The doubling of population between 1930and 1975was, however, critical, for two billion people added in less than 50 years meant, inevitably, a substantial food crisis and, less inevitably but still relentlessly because of unpreparedness, a massive growth in numbers below the poverty line. But the crisis between 1930 and 1975 is as nothing compared to what could happen if we were equally unprepared for the next 40 years-in 20 of which we could add two billion to the world population at current estimates. Much of this picture of unmitigated disaster is not portrayed as well in World Without Borders as it is in Mankind at the Turning Point. The latter book states that _ if the Third World acts immediately on a "population equilibrium policy"-a complex, many-faceted policy of population control-it would roughly double its population in 35 years. In other words, its population would be 6.27 billion by 2010. However, if the population equilibrium policy were delayed by 10 years, there would be 7.97 billion people in the Third World, instead of 6.27 billion, by 2010.

And if we delayed 20 years, which is unthinkable, there would be 10.17 billion-well over three times the current Third World population. At that seemingly impossible figure, the developing world would have six times the population of the industrialized nations, and would inevitably be much more dependent on those nations both for food and for markets for all its products. It is because of this inescapable fact of interdependence that the population problem is at the heart of the pressures for a new economic order. Neither the industrialized nations nor the developing countries can permit unplanned populations to burst the

If the challenge is population, the response must be production and production alone. Since the crisis is that of Marginal Men and not of national growth rates, production must be tailored to their needs. The environmental crisis, the energy crisis and even the widening rich-poor gap are, curiously, all peripheral issues for the developing worldthough they are in the forefront of the problems of industrialized nations. Therefore, it is right that the productmix of the Third World be conceived only marginally in these terms and predominantly in terms of food and employment at a living or at least a subsistence wage. The thrust of Third World development must be in industry, wherever possible of the labor-intensive variety. But growth rates must be sought equally in agricultural and industrial programs designed to secure a rate of average per capita income growth of 5 per cent per year and a removal of current basic poverty covering about one billion people in the next 25 year"s.Various programs of development with Western technologies set in Third World cultures have been devised. Many of them do not seem to work, but there have been some dramatic successes. And now the developing countries are achieving a 6 per cent rate of growth against only 4 per cent in the fifties and 5 per cent in the sixties.

Can this be raised to 7.5 per cent to provide for employment of "marginal" populations, by an international welfare operation in which "viable" and "compassionate" (or subsidized) elements are integrated into a policy for poverty, which is also a policy for Third World self-reliance and a policy for reduction of the notorious North-South gap?

The short answer is that it can be and it must be. But the institutional framework for this, the greatest of all human revolutions, is still to be created. The nations of the world cannot, it seems, in Bismarck's classic phrase, be forced to unite by "blood and iron." How long must we wait for signs that there is to come at last a "Parliament of Man," a "Federation of the World"? ."

The imperatives of production in the Third World need not be argued at great length since they have been set

'It is we in the Third World who must provide the engines of structural change. The long night is ending. We can seek and find our own deliverance.'

out with admirable preCISIOnin many brilliant reports, notably the Dag Hammarskjold Report of 1975. In fairly simple and concise terms one can describe the objectives in five definite, if somewhat oversimplified, answers, remembering still that the political controversy rages round the gap in growth rates though its solution lies elsewhere.

First, and above all, the ratio. What would be an acceptable ratio at an appropriate date from now for the real income per capita of the developed and developing world?

Answer: three to one. Second, what would be the appropriate time for this objective to be fulfilled? Answer: 40 years. Third, what rates of average growth of real income per capita are to be assumed for this purpose for the next 40 years? Answer: 1.7 per cent for developed countries and 5 per cent for developing countries. Fourth, what does this imply for growth of population in Third World countries? Answer: a population growth of less than 2 per cent per year by 1985. Fifth, since destitution and hunger must also be physically as well as financially overcome, what rise in the world's food production will be necessary so that all those living in the Third World do not suffer from shortage or malnutrition? Answer: growth in food production at about 3 per cent per year as against 2 per cent at present.

What are the chances that the five-point program indicated-which goes somewhat beyond Lester Brown's prescriptions-will come to life in the next decade? In World Without Borders, Brown sees, as indeed do most observers, the key largely in the United States. He says: "Creating a global community is a coin with two sides, one consisting of actions to encourage activities and build institutions of a supranational character, and the other consisting of actions designed to consciously denationalize the nation-state ....

Although it may appear ethnocentric for an American to ~ ~ ~ 0'

<;_170

say so, one country-the United States-in many ways holds the key. It does so by virtue of the enormous economic and technological resources it commands. In economic terms, it accounts for more than one-third of the world's total productive capacity. Its research and development budget represents nearly 40 per cent of the global research and development budget. It is the first, and at this point the only truly global society in terms of its interests, contacts and involvements ....

The United States must be willing to use its economic and scientific resources in pursuit of global social objectives; we are reaching the point in the evolution of human society where it is becoming more and more difficult to defend our pursuit of superaffiuence while much of the world still suffers from abject poverty."

The challenge within Is the global society impossible without a major initiative from the United States? In terms of finance this seems to be so, but finance, Kautilya notwithstanding, is not the beginning of all great undertakings. The population problem and collective self-reliance are in Third World hands. So, indeed, is food production. It is not necessary, or desirable, that the Third World seek initiatives for its own betterment in the industrialized world. There is need now for a mobilization of Third World resources greater in every way than the deployment of Western resources in the Third World. We need Western technology and perhaps Western equipment for at least the next 25 years (and perhaps, in diminishing quantities, forever). But the key truly lies in Third World hands. That is in fact the challenge as, indeed, it is our glorious opportunity. It is we in the Third World who must provide the engines of structural change by a determination to deal fiercely with our population, production and employment imperatives.

This then is the revolution to be created, with the Third World as the active component and industrialized nations as the passive component of change. Our trumpets still give forth an uncertain sound. But the new confidence shown in the Seventh Special Session of the U.N. General Assembly operating inside the Third World is forging a more determined thrust. Thelong night is ending. We must not wince or cry aloud. For, truly, now our destiny is back in our own hands. We can seek and find our own deliverance. 0 About the Author: Eric P. W. da Costa, a well-known economist,

is editor and publisher of Monthly Public Surveys and Monthly Commentary on Indian Economic Conditions. Both of these are publications of the Indian Institute of Public Opinion, of which da Costa -is the founder and managing director.

AGlOBAl CHAllENGE individuals who can develop, identify and apply technology suited to the needs of developing countries ....

The fourth element of our approach is to make the process of transferring existing technology more effective and equitable.

New technology in industrialized countries resides primarily in the private sector.

Private enterprise is in the best position to provide packages of management, technology and, capital. To enhance that contribution, both industrialized and developing countries must create an environment conducive to technology transfer ....

The fifth element of the U.S. program is to set goals for achievement before and during the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, now proposed for 1979. The United States strongly supports this conference and its objectives ....

To speed our preparations, the U.S. will convene a national conference next year to bring together our best talent from universities, foundations, and private enterprise. They will be asked to consider the broad range of technological issues of cbncern to the developing world ....

Debt problems Rising import costs caused in large part by higher oil prices, and reduced export earnings resulting from recession in the industrialized nations have generated unprecedented international payments deficits. Although global economic recovery has begun, many countries will face persisting deficits this year.

A major institutional effort must be made if these countries are to avoid severe cutbacks in their imports and consequent reductions in their economic growth. There are three priority areas: -We must ensure that flows of funds for development projects are neither reduced nor diverted by short-term economic prob-

lems. In addition, long-term financing must be increased and its quality enhanced.

-We must enable private markets to continue to playa substantial role in providing development capital. For many countries, private capital flows are, and will continue to be, the principal form of development finance.

- We must see to it that the domestic economic policies of al1 our countries are sound. They should not place undue pressures on payment positions by unnecessary accumulations of debt. And we must give particular attention to those countries unable to avoid critical debt problems.

First, resource flows. We have been heartened by the immense effort made since the Seventh Special Session to assure adequate balance of payments financing for less developed nations.

Especially important has been the expansion of the International Monetary Fund's lending facilities. These efforts should help ensure that sufficient balance of payments financing is available on an aggregate basis to developing countries ....

Second, private capital. For many developing countries, particularly those in the midst' of industrialization, private sources make up the bulk of development capital. ... The IMF/IBRD Development Committee is studying a wide range of measures to insure that international capital markets continue their imaginative adaptation to the needs of developing nations.

In addition, negotiations on the replenishment of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which we proposed at the Seventh Special Session, are substantially advanced. The IFC is actively engaged in examining the U.S. proposal for an International Investment Trust to mobilize capital for investment in local enterprises.

The United States gives its ful1 support to these efforts.

Third, debt problems. Many countries have had to resort to short-term external borrowing to finance their deficits. Debt payment burdens are mounting; a number of countries are experiencing serious problems in meeting their debt obligations.

Generalized rescheduling of debts is not the answer. It would erode the creditworthiness of countries borrowing in private capital markets. By tying financing to debt, it obscures the significant differences among countries, and prevents an appropriate focus on those in most urgent need. And it would not be fair to those nations which have taken strong policy measures to reduce their obligations.

The debt problem must be addressed in relation'to each country's specific position and needs. The United States stands ready to help countries suffering acute debt service problems with measures appropriate to each case. . . . .

To improve the basis for consideration of balance of payments problems of particular developing countries, the United States proposes that the CIEC Financing Commission or another mutual1y acceptable forum examine the economic and acute financing problems of developing countries ....

Needs of the poorest Resource flows to the poorest countries must be freed from restrictions on procurement sources and the financing of local costs which distort the design of projects, waste resources and cause excessive reliance on imported equipment.

The IMF Trust Fund now beinKestablished will importantly ease the immediate balance of payments problems of the poorest countries.

For the long term, a substantial replenishment of the International Development Association is imperative. The U.S. will, as always, meet its commitment to this vitally important source of assistance.

And we look forward to generous OPEC support for this important institution.

Thus the United States has already taken a number of steps to assist the most needy countries. We will do more ....

-The U.S. Congress has already authorized a contribution of up to $200 million for the Lnternational Fund for Agricultural Development . . . and we urge others to contribute generously so that the $1,000 million target can be met. ...

-Seventy per cent of our bilateral development assistance is now programed for countries with per capita GNP of $300 or less.

-For countries whose per capita GNP is less than $500, we strongly support proposals to increase their share to over 80 per cent of all UNDP grants. One-third of this should go to the least developed countries in this category ....

*

*

*

The magnitude of the task before us will require unprecedented international collaboration.

No nation alone can surmount, and only together can all nations master, what is inescapably a global. challenge of historic proportions ....

If we succeed, this decade will be remembered as a turning point in the economic and the political evolution of man....

0

QUIETI ECONOMETRICIANS AT WORK American economist Lawrence Klein and his students at the Wharton School are building complex mathematical models of the Indian economy, of the world economyand just about everything else.

"Project Link," an ambitious effort to build mathematical "models" of the world economy, is yielding new insights into how and why nations are becoming increasingly interdependent.

"This is fundamental, and it's getting more fundamental," says the director of the . notice a year-by-year improvement in our project, Dr. Lawrence Klein. "That is, ability to interpret world trends." . economic developments in areas of the For example, the linked econometric world that were relatively isolated are now models provide a good indication of the becoming increasingly interdependent with degree to which higher prices of fuel and developments in other areas. other commodities are transmitted from "We can see this pretty clearly in the country to country through increased costs Link simulations. We can see bilateral of producing industrial goods, he said. trade-flow patterns building up where they He explained that models, complicated hardly existed before. And we can see how as they are, "represent economic phenomcountries become dependent on imports of ena in simplified terms." Because they essential materials." attempt to explain economic phenomena in Economists have been building "models" terms of numerical economic formulas, of individual national economies for years. they are called "econometric" models.

By using dozens of complicated, interThese techniques are relatively young. connected mathematical formulas, these "During the 1920s and 1930s, they were models seek to show how changes in variaconsidered very much ivory tower-and bles such as government spending or the mainly of academic interest," Dr. Klein price of a key raw material will affect other said. But now they are "a bread-and-butter aspects of the economy. When most of the proposition. Daily decisionmaki"ngin many known values for significant variables are of the major governments, international cranked into the equations, the "models" bodies, and large corporations relies heavily often do a good job of predicting the course on econometrics." of an economy several months ahead.

Econometric techniques were first deProject Link carries the process a step veloped in Europe, but after World War II further by seeking to show, in addition, the principal work in this area shifted to how the changing conditions in individual the United States. economies interact worldwide.

Dr. Klein said econometric methods Dr. Klein is the president-elect of the "are just catching on in the countries American Economic Association and an with centrally planned economies.

"I would say the level of this work being economic adviser to Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter. Project Link, one of the done in those countries today is similar to world's most ambitious model-building what we were doing in the United States in projects, is being conducted under his the 1950s and 1960s."

Dr. Klein pointed out that the Wharton supervision at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "It has been in Group has been working on the application existence since 1969," he said, "and we of econometric techniques and model-

building to the problems of developing countries for several years.

"We have attracted students from developing nations over the years," he said, "and one of their favorite dissertation topics has been the building of models of their own countries. So we've had IndIan models, Korean models, Ghanaian models, Thai models-models from just about every country of the world, done by our research students. " Dr. Klein noted that "a queue of countries wants to join Project Link."

"We already have 13 industrial countries and different branches of the United Nations, covering developing countries from all regions .as well as the centrally planned countries," he said.

The Wharton Group has given special attention to commodity markets. "We have constructed models of individual commodi~ ties, world supplies, world demands, government stockpiling policies, and price determination in these markets," Dr. Klein said. "OUf work has taken into account foods, tropical products, fibers, industrial materials, nonferrous metals, ferrous metals, and such industrial materials as jute, sisal, and rubber ....

"We're trying to hook all these models into the Link system, in which the commodity exports of producing countries are tied to world prices. From the interlinked geographical system, through Project Link, we try to predict the export earnings of the producing countries, and then feed this .information back into the commodity models."

Dr. Klein suggested that when this work is further advanced, "we will be in a good position to look at various stabilization policies that have been proposed-bufferstock schemes, interventionist schemes, and quota schemes, for example."

Ultimately, this approach might enable the international trading community to develop some useful guidelines regarding what kinds of buffer stocks would be appropriate for individual commodities.

"That would be our goal," Dr. Klein said. "I would say it's premature to think we have solved this problem. But I think we at least see the structure of the problem, and we have some useful information to show that progress can be made here." O.

not one of degree, but of kind, just as a keg Nor are some other details of the project of gunpowder is different from a fusion credible. A colony of 10,000 in space by bomb.

1989; one billion colonists out there by Both O'Neill and Asimov are looking 2075; and by 2150 more people in space Dear Sir: Future-gazing has its uses and at the problem from the wrong end of the than on earth-these represent futurologiits joys. But it can sometimes explode in telescope. Instead of trying to tackle it cal number-juggling with a vengeance!

At the present rate of population gain your face like a firecracker. A view from a here, they are running away from it, hoping that it will somehow be left behind and (about 1.9per cent) we shall have to arrange distance gives you perspective. It also forgotten.

But they will probably find, for the migration of 80 to 100 million peoenchants. But if you stand too far away, when they arrive there, at the colony at one ple a year.

By 2000 we must send away what you see will only be a blur, like the of the Lagrangian points, that the same . more than three billion people. For that we Andromeda galaxy. Dr. Isaac Asimov's problem awaits them, monstrously grinshall need not one or two but thousands views [in the July 1976 SPAN] on colonizning at them. of colonies. ing space and his interpretation of The time factor is totally misconceived.

Professor O'Neill's calculations are just a The basic technology appears all right, We don't today have the equipment or the except in one crucial respect: energy. The fascinating blur.

Mark you, I am a devoted Asimophile. money to carry out so colossal a task as plan is to obtain it entirely from the sun.

The Foundation trilogy and his numerous despatching millions of people into space. This will not work. If no radical way to tap other novels and stories are great fun. They And by the time we do get them, it will have cosmic ray energy has been discovered in thrill and inspire. His serious science been too late. Professor Garrett Hardin of 12 years (or even in 50 years), Asimov's popularizations are equally good; for the University of California says that in design for energy will be nonsensical. instance, View From a Height. But here, order to "export" one day's new population I shall explain. The maximum amount I'm afraid, he is way out: His article is to a space colony we shall need $369 of solar energy used by green plants on neither practical science nor sound science billion. earth is 600 billion kilocalories per second. fiction.

Only half of this is turned into food by Its whole rationale is wrong. Escape to photosynthesis. If fully exploited (and that space colonies to lighten the population is impractical), this can sustain a maximum load on earth? "Move on to new lands," of 1,500 billion people-with all other as the old colonizers did? The difference is animal life wiped out. To support these

Aslmol has ela, feet

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1,500 billion, earth has a solar energy col1ector area (that is, its total surface area) of 504 million square kilometers. To support 10 million people a minimum col1ector area of 3,360 square kilometers is needed. But the larger O'Neill twincylinder space station, housing 10 million people, has a col1ector area of only 603 square kilometers, less than a fifth of what is absolutely essential.

Asimov refers to "our groaning planet, sagging under the weight of humanity."

Clearly this is an amusing hyperbole. The total weight of humanity (at an average of 50 kilograms a person) is 200 million tons.

Let's say the artifacts we need weigh 1,000 times more. That means the "weight of humanity" is about 200.2 billion tons, while the mass of the planet is 5,977 bil1ion bil1ion tons (5,977 fol1owed by 18 zeroes).

Where is the "groaning" or "sagging"? It is comparable to a common housefly sitting on the island of Sri Lanka.

What about the physical hazards? Some of them are facilely underrated. As for the grave danger from primary cosmic radiation, no projections on security have been made at all. This is a major flaw. The space colonies will have no atmospheric shield or ozone layer and, importantly, no magnetic field to repel energetic particles. And it is known (as Armstrong and the others who went to the moon have testified) that

space is an extremely hostile',environment.

So much for the physical aspects. What about the social, psychological, political and, particularly, cultural problems? Man has been on earth for nearly three million years (14 million, if you consider Ramapithecus to be Homo's ancestral cousin), evolving gradual1y with time, at first a victim of the environment, then a toolusing molder of the environment. With such a long past behind him, man cannot survive the phase transition to a new world without irreparable psychological damage.

Then there are the political questions, inevitably. Who wil1go first? Who is fit to go? (Recal1 the rigorous training of the Apol1o astronauts.) Who will be willing to go? Above al1, who will decide who and how many will go-and when, in which batch, to which colony?'

Physicists cannot shrug off the imperatives of the life sciences. T1J.eycannot ignore man's ethological, psychological and biological characteristics. People, as Professor Monod of the Pasteur Institute says, are intensely conservative systems. They are not as easily uprooted and transported to a colony in the heavens as a ton of potatoes from Haryana to Bombay.

We do have a terrifying time bomb aboard this planet. But space colonization is not the practical answer to this problem.

It has to be solved right here and right now, and its solution has much to do with human behavior. As Bronowski notes: "The real content of evolution (biological as well as cultural) is the elaboration of new behavior." There lies a clue.

That brings me to my last point: A futurologist must take an integrated, multidisciplinary view of man. So must a science communicator. Man is an organism, not an artifact. The futurologist's approach should not be merely technical or based only on economics or feasibility-many feasible acts are socially undesirable. It should be holistic, considering man, not just another thing or animal, but a thinking, emotive being with a unique personality of his own.

Thus, I reject the Asimov thesis. It has not been pleasant to disagree so categorically with one whom I admire, but the Titan, I see to my glee, has his feet made of clay too. I rise from the earth-a mere 1.8 meters; he rises perhaps 1,800 kilometers.

But his feet and mine are equally rooted in clay, on this sad old unsordid earth.

M.V. MATHEW Assistant Editor Times 0/ India Bombay

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TOURING AMERICA

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The PJ~ Columbia .:u River Valley Draining an area larger than Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh combined, the Columbia River of the American Northwest runs through the heart of Washington and Oregon, which many a seasoned traveler has called the most scenic part of the United States. It is an area of dramatic contrastsawesome deserts, evergreen forests, fertile farmland (above and right), towering mountains of snow and ice (back cover) and, of course, a majestic river, which a tourist can cross in a ferry with a female pilot (far right).

Dropping some 2,600 feet in its l,200-mile journey to the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River generates almost three times as much electricity as Russia's Volga. The gigantic Grand Coulee Dam (above right) is the world's number-one producer of hydroelectricity-power that has irrigated vast deserts and created scores of industries. It is a power that has been immortalized in the famous folk song of Woody Guthrie: "Uncle Sam took up the challenge in the year of '33/For the farmer and the factory and all of you and me, IRe said, 'Roll along, Columbia, you can ramble to the sea, IBut river, while you're rambling, you can do some work for me.' "