About-Face

Noisily and grudgingly the House last week corrected one of its own blunders. It approved, 240 to 134, a $60 million economic aid program for the U.S.-sponsored Republic of (South) Korea.

By one vote, the House had blocked the Korean aid program three weeks earlier, in perverse and illogical retaliation for the State Department's refusal to extend aid to the Chinese Nationalists on Formosa. Secretary of State Dean Acheson made some hasty trips to Capitol Hill, agreed to spend $10.5 million or less on Formosa from some leftover ECA funds in return for funds for South Korea, a U.S. ward perilously adjoining the Soviet puppet regime of North Korea. For two days House Republicans railed against the Administration's "do nothing" policy in Asia before 42 of them (out of 169) finally joined in supporting the Administration in an area--Korea--where it really was trying to be positive.

After only seven minutes' debate, the Senate approved the bill next day and sent it to the White House.

Last week the House also:

P: Voted to let Sister Kenny, the Australian nurse who brought a new treatment for polio to the U.S., enter and leave the country whenever she wants to without a passport, immigration visa, or other required documents of all aliens entering the U.S. The privilege had never before been extended to anyone. The measure, already approved by the Senate, was the Congress' way of saluting Sister Kenny for her work and making it easier for her to continue it.

P: Passed legislation giving permanent asylum in the U.S. to Victor (/ Chose Freedom) Kravchenko, onetime U.S.S.R. engineer and industrialist.

P: Approved legislation for a $130 million-a-year boost in U.S. postal rates. The bill would raise rates in all classes of service except letters, boost the mailing cost for postcards to 2-c-.

The Senate:

P: Authorized construction of military and naval installations costing $500 million and including 7,500 homes for married Army, Navy and Air Force personnel costing an average $14,750 each. Until economizing Senator Paul Douglas went to work, the houses were to cost $16,500 each (not including land). He pointed out that FHA was getting thousands of houses built for $9,000 including land. He got the bill reduced by $9,000,000.

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