The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 19

Adult Education fit Ecuador Grownups Proud of Knowledge MONDAY, DEC. IS, 1961 1 9 jri classrooma with the new Minister of Education. Juan Isaac Lovato; Jorge Mantilla, subdirector of the daily El Comercto Crash Literacy Program Pondered Bj GERRY ROBIOIAUD QUITO, Ecuador. SOME 30 people, ranging from a 14-year-old bootblack to a 60-year-old construction laborer, were gathered In tha, dimly lit and dilapidated schoolroom. Sharing a front- HE Kennedy Administration is "active! stud.

Washington. crash program to try to raise board In a small, but still vi wuuo, ana jiumnerto vaca, who directs tha newspaper union's literacy program. At each center our party arrived unannounced, but wa were greeted warmly by the teachers, many of whom ara volunteers, and by the students after introductions had been made. row desk were two barefooted young mothers, each nursing Ing" proposal for i literacyacross the Many officials leem to feel that Colombia visited by President Kennedy only recently would be the best bet for an Initial experiment. Collins discussed the proposal privately with the President as long ago as last spring, and reported that Mr.

Kennedy was "extremely Interested." Several other Government agencies have expressed an Interest In the proposal among them the State Department, the Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps. Some officials, however, point out that Improving literacy Is not a simple problem nor Is It cheap. Some United Nations literacy projects, for example, have been a small baby. Like everybody else in the room, they had their eyes fixed on the blackboard, where a ragged boy of 17 was laboriously writing. Mama asmasa masa para Ana." In English, it mcaris "Mama kneads dough for Anna." The boya face was contorted in concentration, and he clutched the short piece of chalk tightly as he painstakingly wrote out each letter and word.

When he finished the sentence, with a look of obvious relief, the classroom erupted in a short burst of applause. unspecified, Latin American country. The Idea Is to employ all of the techniques of modern communications television, radio and tape recording, for example to teach reading and writing on a mass basis. The proposal was first suggested by former Got. Leroy Collins of Florida, now president of the National Association of Broadcasters.

It was shuffled about the Washington bureaucracy for months, however, before settling, only recently, In the United States Information Agency. Now the USIA, under former broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, Is considering it seriously. less than glowingly successful. By THERE was no lack of students eager and willing to show their newly acquired reading and writing prowess.

But I sensed and the others did, too. that the students were more anxious to get on with their work than to waste precious time with a Cabinet Minister, a couple of local newspapermen and a gringo foreign correspondent. The program has been going on for 17 yeari and thousands of once illiterate Ecuadorians are now able to read and write, and many of these have Increased their earning capacity, as well as knowledge. "The great tragedy of it all." said Mantilla, "is that they never had the chance to learn to read and write when they were children of school age." In poverty-stricken Ecuador there are still not enough classrooms for all the school-age children. Lovato estimates that there are 250,000 children who are without classrooms, and there is a corresponding lack of teachers.

For years to come, the newspaper union's literacy campaign may still be the only available means for many Ecuadorians to learn to read and write. THE boy and his classmates are learning to read and write In one of the 75 centers set up in and around Quito to combat "adult" illiteracy. As of now, nearly 1600 atu-, dent are enrolled in the courses, which are sponsored by the National Newspaper Union of Ecuador, composed of publish- ers, editors and editorial employes of various Eduadorian i i i i bright Indian costumes, others wear patched working clothes, and some are literally in tatters. pride and to be able to aspire to better jobs and a better place in society. To most of them, the transition from illiteracy to liter- JAMES McCARTNEY mirrors itself in their eaeer thev a hpttor riti70n than invited to tour several of tha fTy1 men mostly laborers in factories or on construe- acy is a great adventure, which uoiary ciuds ana omer service organizations, logeiner 'with business firms, contribute funds for pads, pencils, chalk tnd, most important, a cup of warm milk and a white bread I Nn jobs.

The women range from young household servants to old laundresses. Individually the students faces and in their fierce concentration as they scrawl out letters and words with chalk or pencil. From the night that may nave notning much in common except poverty and an ioll for every student. almost Insatiable hunger for knowledge through the written word. They want to Jearn to read and write to satisfy their rsEKTOra Louclla 0.

Parsomumm The first classes start at 6 P. just as the sun is setting on this high (9350 feet) equatorial city. The second classes get tiinder way an hour later. Young and the old troop in together, holding enamel ore lay cups in one hand, notebooks and pencils in the other. Some wear conventional, cheap western dress.

Some wear shoes, some have rope or leather sandals, but many of them are in their bare feet. A few are attired in a. A-m sr a Hollywood Pauses for Christmas Prayers if. I 5SCTrsssas3 dlt IIW spot iirasssajscnasKra b. I the Presbyterian Community Church, all within a block of each other, some of the biggest names in the motion picture business are scheduled to be among the worshipers.

A few weeks ago, the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, visited Good Shepherd, and Democrat and Republican alike joined him in prayers for peace. On Christmas Day, at that tame little church, one may see Danny Thomas and his beau- tiful actress daughter, Mario, his son Tony, his second daughter Theresa and his wife Rosemary. IN THE same church, Rosalind Russell, Freddie Bris-son, with their handsome son Lance, are joining in the Christmas along with Mrs. Gary Cooper and lovely Maria Cooper, Irene I JjfidGm hi FINAL I DECISION 1 1 dept.

1 Why Red Honor St. MOSCOW. THE simple farmers of the remote villages of Russia are remembering St. Nicholas at Christmas time this year. But he is not the reindeer-driving, gift-bringing saint of the West.

He is a clever, artful saint, a farmer's friend who is always ready to turn the powers of heaven themselves to help the plain man down on his luck. When the prophet Elijah, according to the Russian legend, strode through the fields, punishing the farmers he disliked, humble St. Nicholas slipped along a step behind him. WHEN Elijah said. "Destroy that crop with hail and storm," Nicholas would visit the farmer secretly and say: "Sell your field fast, because Elijah has it marked for destruction." When Elijah perceived that he had as it appeared to him destroyed the field of an innocent man, Nicholas persuaded the prophet to restore it.

In this way he left everybody happy: Farmers and prophet. Nicholas and St. Cassian, a more elegant! saint, happened on a horseman stuck belly-deep in mud. "Let's help him out," proposed Nicholas. "How can I'll arrive at my destination all dirty," answered St.

Cassian. TICII0LAS rescued the rider and arrived in a filthy with the immaculate Cassian, at the gates of Paradise. St. Peter asked for an explanation. Nicholas explained the accident, omitting Cassian.

"But weren't you with him?" asked Peter of Cassian. "Yes, but I'm not in the habit of mixing in things that don't concern me." "All right," said Peter. "Henceforward you, St. Nicholas, who weren't ashamed to work yourself "The chief's wife decided to work at the office!" thev enter the beeinners' class they ever were before. I was lucky enough to be Premier Nikita Khrushcher and his atomic bomb threats are realizations that may be waiting for us around the corner, and certainly it has led more people to pray for the blessed peace which has made this country so wonderful.

THAT old cliche, "there are no atheists in a fox-hole" comes so very near to being true that the whole world is praying for peace as the Nation's Christmas gift. In Beverly Hills, called tha richest little community in the world, there are many regular churchgoers. I'm taking this as an example, since there are probably more motion picture people living in this area than in any other comparable section. At trie Good Shepherd Catholic Church, the All Saints Episcopal Church and Herb Stein LONDON. CORNEL WILDE, who is on a backbreaking do-it-yourself kick, will spend six months, from March through August, in Europe triple-threatening on a motion picture for his own independent movie company.

He'll co-produce, direct and co-star in a $2 million production of "Lancelot and Guinevere." Wilde's wife, Jean Wallace, will play Guinevere to his Lancelot. Cornel's coprodocer is Bernard Luber, who is opening offices here for the unit and will also explore other deals for the combo to follow this one. At a meeting with Wilde and Luber at the Dorchester, Wilde filled us in on the "LtG" movie. "This is the same subject as 'Camelot'," he said, "but where that is satire with music, ours is a hard love story of the origi nal legend. We feel this is the only serious picture of this subject with a modern approach.

The others were in a fairy tale i i ft. 13 9 vein. Did you know that in Metro's 'Knights of the Round Table' there wasn't a single kiss?" Wilde will better that. He and Miss Wallace will be the only, Americans in the cast. Featured players will boast top British performers.

The picture will be shot on location in Yugoslavia with interiors to be done in London, probably at Tine-wood Studios. When we saw Wilde and Luber they'd just completed arrangements for the shooting in Yugoslavia. "We'll be there to get all the pageantry and fanfare of an important picture," they told us. "There'll be thousands in this film." The breakdown: For a period of at least six weeks Wilde and Luber have a lockup on all the extras and horses available. "We will use 12,000 extras and 3000 horses.

That exhausts the pool for the month and a half in Yugoslavia." According to Luber, this 000,000 picture couldn't possi bly be made in the U. S. for 1 ti nnn Ann vn irss lima um would It be tough to assemble that many extras and horses in a specific area, but the costs would be prohibitive. Coproducer Luber has been in Europe four out of the past seven years working on TV and motion pictures. We first met Luber when he was associated with Jack Benny's company years ago.

Since then he has spent 15 years at Paramount's Hollywood studios in the talent department and also with Pine-Thomas Productions when that outfit was active at the same studio. "Lancelot and Guinevere" is being made for release through Universal International and both Wilde and Luber expect it to be ready for release late next year, Mohert Sylvester William A THIS season, when an old year is departing, drama critics look back to pick the "best" play and film writers the "best" movie. This political critic joins the game by presuming to pick the Man of the Year of the Kennedy Cabinet. My personal nomination is Robert S. McNamiri, the Secretary of Defense.

McNamara's distinction has been most improbably achieved. When he took oath last January, all the form suggested that here was the man least likely to be able to succeed in the most difficult, most es- sentlally unmanageable Gov- ernment department in Wash- ington, the vast seething, echo- ing Pentagon. He was, to begin with, with- out known political skill. Ife had no "contacts" with the pow-I erful politicians In the Demo- cratlc Party, and even less with those of the Republican Party which he himself had In the past supported. His connection with President Kennedy, until the very day of his appointment, had been prac- tically nil.

He knew little of the jungles of official Washington, where the saber-toothed tiger wears p'ants or a party dress instead of stripes. He was going to head a multi- billion-dollar enterprise where the civilian bureaucrats usually tend to join the generals and ad- mirals in one filing anyhow: A mutual distrust of "outsiders." (He had also to endure a thou- sand bad, stale jokes about "McNamara's band." His quiet fortitude in this regard might in itself entitle him to the Legion ofMerit.) Right away, however, he be- gan to prove that he had not reached the presidency of the Ford Motor Co. before his 45th birthday simply because Ford liked the way he combed his rather sparse hair. He set out to tame the military prima donnas, the generals and adml-rials, without terrorizing them or breaking their spirits. He took hold of the Pentagon, and somehow made that incredibly hulking monster work as few had done before him.

He took the lead, under the President's direction, in revising an all-or-nothing national military policy which had depended almost wholly on the ultimate atomic weapons. He supplanted this with a policy which is making us capable of fighting any kind of war, anywhere. He restored the old-fashioned soldier in strength and morale, while adding to the atomic arsenal, too. He advised the President when asked. Otherwise, he tended to his owrt shop, and in such a spectacularly efficient way as to suggest that businessmen can be profoundly useful Government administrators, indeed, if they will only realize that business is one thing and Government a different thing.

Most of all he stayed out of partisan politics and just did his Job. His problems, of course, are far from over. The new year will bring fresh and perhaps even greater military crises. He has not yet been able to persuade our allies to put their backs into strengthening the common Western defense, as he has surely done on our side. Moreover, he is going to ask the President to ask Congress for the biggest military budget we ever knew outside of hot war days more than $50 billion.

There will be much howling in the nighttime over Pentagon shortcomings, as there has been in the past. But it can be fairly said of McNamara that he has come closer than any previous Secretary of Defense, except for the late James Forrestal, to achieving a task which is basically impossible running a good railroad at the Pentagon. copal church, which, of course, is part of the Church of England. JAMES STEWART Is an active member of the Presbyterian Community Church, which is just a block from the Good Shepherd and All Saints churches. His two daughters go to Sunday School there every Sunday, and Jimmy and Gloria are both active in church work.

This is the church where a few weeks ago Greer Gar-son gave a memorial window in her mother's name. The Ralph Edwards are also members of the congregation. A Merry Christmas to all of you, and while you are giving this season's greetings, remember to say a little prayer of thanksgiving at the same time. Leonard Lyons NEW YORK. MEMORIES of the late Moss Hart-In Moss Hart was contained all that was ideal in a Broadway playwright disciplined talent and fabulous success coupled with charm, wit and rare generosity.

Fxom the day of his first hit when he moved his family from their Brooklyn apartment, leaving everything, including the toothbrushes, he cared little about money. He bought a vast Bucks county estate. "It's not that I don't like being near neighbors," he said. "It's just that I'm passionately fond of eating onions." He moved hills and transplanted 7000 trees, and Alexander Woollcott said: "This is what God would have made, if He had enough money." When Hart brought his bride home from the honeymoon, they stopped at the threshold and he said: "I can carry you across, and this will sprain my sacroiliac and put me In the hospital or else we can walk right in. Which shall it be?" She took his arm and walked in During a canasta game he made a misplay.

His wife, who was his partner, beamed: "Moss, you're a great playwright, a wonderful husband, a wonderful father. So why should I it I expect you to be a wonderful canasta player, too?" Nobody ever resented Hart's spectacular successes, and he was always the first to laugh at himself about his humble background. Once I heard him argue with Ellin Berlin about the pronunciation of "squalor." Mrs. Berlin insisted it was "squay-lor," and Hart said "Squahlor." He finally told her: "Look, Ellin, when I lived in it, it was squahlor." CELESTE HOLM Identified. (Sea Sylvester) 7i 1 LX.LA Dunne and her husband of many years.

Dr. Francis Griffin. Also Maureen O'Sullivan, John Farrow and their six children, as well as Flo and Jack Haley, will be among those asking God to take away the scourge of Khrushchev and give us the blessed peace for which Christ stands. Last Christmas, the family of Robert Young, of "Father Knows Best" fame, filled up a whole pew in the All Saints Episcopal Church. There were 11 of them his four daughters, his wife and some of the in-laws.

Bob is active as a vestryman and is a well known figure in church circles. Fred Astaire and his daughter Ava, Van Johnson (when he is in this country), the Curt Masseys, the James Masons and most of the British colony go to this little Epis- in the world," he repeated, "But I want to tell you I'm sorry about all your trouble with Billy Rose." Phil Miles, of the Restaurant Associates firm that owns several swank eateries, phoned the press agent to give him an item. Phil said he had lunched with Anthony Quinn and Quinn had told him that while in Europe he had bought a Van Gogh for his collection. The publicist asked how much Quinn had paid for the painting. "He didn't say," said Phil, "but it must have been plenty, because when coffee was served he borrowed a cigaret from me." Rudy Vallee, now in the "How to Succeed" hit after a Broadway absence of many years, was asked if he thought Broadway has changed.

"Well," decided Rudy, "instead of a broken heart for every light on Broadway, there'- now an upset stomach for every pizza parlor." Two lady suburbanites made a tour of the United Nations last week and, over the afternoon Martini, one remarked: "There's one nice thing about all those foreigners carrying briefcases. It makes them look like Americans." And a men's clothier was nostalgically recalling the days of the big dance bands as against this era Ja combs groups, in tne oia days, wnen a bandleader came in, he'd order from 16 to 28 identical suits for his men. Today he comes in and asks for three." David Merrick, trying all sorts of things to publicize his musical "Subways Are for Sleeping," will send a special "sleeper spotting" crew through subway trains to wake up sleepers and reward lucky ones with tickets for the show. Deborah Kerr will get $400,000 for making "The Innocents," and was told that the sum is much more than Henry James ever earned for writing the original of the classic. "That," decided Deborah, "is because men never whistled at him." HOLLYWOOD.

CHRISTMAS, 1961, is a prayerful day all over the United States. "Peace on earth, good will toward men" has a special meaning this year. With the threat of Communism never as menacing, Hollywood, with the other grateful members of this beautiful Free World, will go to church and thank God for our freedom. Don't for a minute think this town, which has a reputation of being materialistic and thinking only in terms of self, isn't a churchgoing town, especially on Christmas. Just as you find in the little towns all over the world, there will be more people at church today than at any time in the history of the world.

The ominous shadow and the menacing figure of Soviet JEAN WALLACE Guinevert (See Stein) mice Connolly HOLLYWOOD. THE nursemaid hired by Liz Taylor and Eddie Fisher to tend their three children in Rome for $2000 a month while Liz lenses "Cleopatra" quit. She has gone to work for Hjordis and David Niven for a mere $500 a month. Reason: the Nivens have only one child. Joan Collins, under analysis In London after her break-up with Bob Wagner, has now become very friendly with the analyst.

Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's mentor, takes his job seriously. While vacationing in Palm Springs, he noticed that Presley's "Blue Hawaii" was playing at the Village Theater. Tom immediately went to work on the street in front of the theater, shilling for his client by plying passersby with leis. Allcja Corning Clark, heiress to her late husband's $20 million fortune, is reportedly ready to invest a million of it in a new movie, "Marco Polo" but only if they replace their star, French actor Alain Dclon, with her favorite actor, Bob Evans.

Simone and Curt Jurgens resolved their domestic difficulties just before Christmas. He'll finish "The Longest Day" for Darryl Zanuck in France and she'll join him in Cambodia for his next picture, as yet untitled. Betty and Al Bloomingdale ordered all photogs barred from their New Year's Eve twist party at Romanoff's. They won't want a reccurrence of Ernie Ko-vac's recent spill while twisting at a Tinseltown'teetotum. No scene from a Jerry Lewis movie was as funny as the one at Bel Air Country Club, where Jerry was teeing up at the first hole.

A process-server from Paramount, for whom Jerry is refusing to make a movie called "It's Only Money" because he doesn't like the script, nailed him right there with a subpena. Funny, that is, to everyone except Jerry I if I Vis Farmers Nicholas 1 into a dirty sweat to help a '4 stranger, you will get. two A feast days a year. And you will be considered by Rus- sia's farmers as their great- i est sain a me, naturally." "What about him?" said i Nicholas, pointing to Cas- aian. "You, Cassian," said St.

Peter, "must get your hap- pincss out of wearing such a beautifully immaculate smock. Your feast day will come but once every four years." -GEORGE WELLE I Clirlslin.n Trado Itccord in Japan TOKYO. I THEIR pockets bulging i with fat bonus payments, the Japanese have embark- ed on the mostlavish holi- I day spending spree In their history. Tokyo's giant department stores, aglitler with Christ-. I mas decorations, have been i crowded with free-spending shoppers.

It is estimated that holiday sales will be 20 to 30 percent greater than last year's. The estimates are based partly on an anticipated 30 percent lrx rease in year-end bonuses. Some companies are granting bonuses equal 1 to five months' pay. Total 1 bonus payments were ex- 1 pected to! exceed $1.7 billion. I In Japan the year-end bonus is considered a work- I er's right, and not something bestowed by a benevolent management.

Even if an em- ployer loses money, he still has to pay a bonus. Traditional exchange of gifts during the New Year holiday accounts for the bulk of sales in Japan. But Christmas is fast coming up, especially among younger Japanese. New Year's gifts are stereotyped. Christmas gifts are likely to be more imaginative and more expensive.

-KEYES BEECH I 1 i 1L fv kV DOBBIN'S PARTY party for horses (and small animals) in its dispensary at 315 S. Chadwick since 1917. Under a Christmas tree are blankets, chest protectors and bags of food for the horses and such items as bones and biscuits for the smaller animals. GREETING CARDS About how many greeting cards are sent during the Christmas season? L. If.

This Christmas season's cards are expected to reach a grand total of approximately three billion and that should be enough Merry Christmases to put the entire Nation in good spirits. To Uncle Sam it means about $120,000,000 in postal revenue. I 1 I I 1 I I I I i I I felfc mmiw Submit questions in writing and sign name and address, though not jor publication. CHRISTMAS FOR DOBBIN Have you any information on the custom, initiated in Massachusetts, I believe, of preparing a Christmas tree for horses? A. W.

G. A Christmas party for horses Is still an aqnual Yule custom for many units of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Apparently it owes Its origin to the S.P.C.A. in Bos is- ch of ton, back in 1888, whic promoted it as a means NEW YORK. CELESTE HOLM, one of our best looking stage stars, has a special soft spot in her heart for taxi drivers.

Celeste says she always gets stimulating conversation from hackies. The other day. for instance, she got into a cab and the driver said: "I'm the dumbest man in the world, but I know who you are. You're Margaret Truman." Miss Holm said, no, she wasn't. Well, said the hackie, he had seen her on TV recently so she must be June Havoc.

No, again. The cabbie then named three other blonde actresses and Celeste had to decline the identifications. Finally the driver asked her name. She said Celeste Holm. "Homes?" asked the hackie.

"No, Holm. II 1 The driver nodded. "I said I'm the dumbest man By John C. Metcalfe CHRISTMAS DREAM 1 I dreamed about a Christmas tree Which grew one day to he so high That each corner of the earth It could he seen hu every eye And ii 1 VVle ho 'r blac an hrni'n Alona With lPI- lon red and while In all the lands stood marveling At such a stately won- drous sight And man- kind in the whole wide I i orfd Woj ploinfj even wore impressed When in the ftwliaht of the day A star upon it came to rest And with this mighty miracle Which all the human races saw A strange and raptured si- lence fell Among the people in their awe And all their swords and angry words In quietude were ff laid aside And some began to weep and pray To see all men in peace abide. 1 spreading its ideas among the drivers.

The latter were presented with blankets for their horses and general advice on their care. Even though the number of horses has dwindled since the "old days," the S.P.C.A. in Boston still holds an annual party for Old Dobbin. Last year's took place in the Boston police horse stables. Do- nations were given to stable owners while the four-footed visitors received gifts of grain.

The Massachusetts S.P.C.A. also "maintains, near Boston, a rest farm for horses. These also receive a share of goodies at a phristmas party. In the period Just before the First World War, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani- mals, New York City regularly held a Christmas party for in tno Madison Square Park. Each received a blanket for winter, a perky straw hat for summer and a bag of feed.

What more could a horse "want? nllere in Philadelphia, the Women's S.P.C.A. has been sponsoring an annual Christmas lajpstw.