The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 18

t-lt Sunday, Jan. 1, 11 The SiiRtvrponT Timfi WASHINGTON WATCHES The Kennedys' Next Move 1 1 i til mnMI Wi WKSi r(St" underscored by a beautiful woman who Is a born lady." At times It has seemed that the most formidable problems of the New Frontier would bt; How much entertaining will the Kennedys do? And what types of painting should hang on the White House walls? But, with our sophistication both refreshed and gentled, let's look hopefully forward at each manifestation of this coming oi the new order The special platform at the Capitol where the oath of office will be taken The big reviewing stand being built across from the White House The bustle at inaugural headquarters where plans are made lor the big parade and the big ball. These political changeovers. by the way, don't come as often as you might suspect. In the past quarter of a century we have had but one real shake-out similar to this: Dwight D.

Eisenhower's triumph in 1952. Before that it was Roosevelt, again and again and again. With FDR's death, Harry S. Truman moved in, as dramatic a day as any in recent Washington history but without any immediate changes in the supporting cast. In all our history we have had but 15 party overturns in the White House.

And now Kennedy and his vice presidential choice, Lyndon B. Johnson, will take over. In a sense, both are Washington boys. Although Johnson never misses a chance to piug Texas, and although Kennedy often refers to Massachusetts and its historic role in our nation, the career of each has been made in Washington. Each came here as a young man; each has stayed on to become a lively part of the Washington scene.

And yet it's easy to look back it seems only a few years to a visit to the House press gallery. Down on the floor of the chamber a tousled young man was shyly talking with his elders. "Who's the kid?" I asked. "That's no kid. That's a new congressman, Jack Kennedy." Time, as if spurred by the restless Kennedys, has scurried by.

Now he's ready for that big move, and, as president in the difficult and challenging sixties, his inescapable date with history. nedys, with their Incredible will to win, may well become the best football team in town. Evon If the clan appears but fitfully, which seems unlikely, the Jack Kennedys alone offer an abrupt change of pace. TOREADOR PANTS? One small example, featuring Jacqueline Kennedy, demonstrates this. Can you imagine Martha Washington, Eleanor Roosevelt or Bess Truman in toreador pants? You see? The Kennedys are unique.

I don't know how it has been in the rest of the country. But around Washington more newspaper space appears to hav'e been given the Kennedy ladies, Jacqueline and Caroline, than the Kennedy men, John F. and John F. Jr. One reason has been that John F.

being only a month old, hasn't said much worth reporting. Caroline, at 3, hasn't said much either, but she's a honey, irresistible to photographers. Pictorially, a man who has merely been appointed to the cabinet can't hope to compete with Caroline. As President-elect, John F. has been the subject of reams of copy, but in Washington this has barely earned him a draw with his wife.

Most of the time Mrs. Kennedy has been immobilized because of John F. but this hasn't deterred our indefatigable lady reporters. Those of us who are serious students of the women's pages have had a giddy time splashing through the froth. (Let's be fair about this: The girls may often bury us to our ejeballs in adjectives, but hidden among them are some real news nuggets.) So let's adjust our boots and wade into a couple of sample sentences.

"In her slim self," one society writer said of Mrs. Kennedy, "she packages be-guilingly some of the outstanding qualities of Martha Washington, Dolley Madison, Francos Cleveland and perhaps even Eleanor Roosevelt THE BIG ISSUES "Under her guidance, the White House will sparkle with youthful vitality. refreshing sophistication gentled by exquisite taste and a Tightness of protocol happily By ARTHUR EDSON AP Newsfralure Writer WASHINGTON. W) Well, the big news here this holiday season is that the J. F.

Kennedys are all set to move down the road a piece, a little over a mile nearer town. For the Kennedys, the nation and the world that's a mighty long and important mile between 3307 N. in fashionable Georgetown, and 1600 Pennsylvania where the White House glistens with its new coat of paint. Although the move doesn't look like much on the map, it has cost Kennedy four years of steady work, constant travel, incessant speech making and a big bundle of ready cash. For Washington the move has special, home town interest.

Not only will the White House be in new and eager hands, but all the top executive spots will also be changed. There will be new faces to get used to, new ideas to kick about, new directives to mull and maybe laugh over. But the Kennedys themselves will supply the most excitement. There has been talk that you have to go back to Theodore Roosevelt for a similar period in American history. This is nonsense, of course.

There is no similar period in American history. It's true that Teddy had more bounce thnn his favorite tennis ball. It's true that he had six children, one of whom once sneaked his pony upstairs on a White House elevator. But the Kennedys, brothers, sisters, inlaws, offspring, are more than an innumerable family. With their friends, and friends of their friends, they can become an active, combative army.

No one can say how often or how many of these will show up at the White House for festivities or touch football on the lawn. But since the Washington Redskins have iust finished last in their division of the National Football League, the Ken Guages, Meters, Burglar Alarm, Barometer Oh, and a Car, Driven by Ralph Davis GADGETS, GISMOS GALORE The Autom Auto a ted through a bulb similar to a sediment bulb on a carburetor. When the engine is started, oil is pumped into the bulb on the dashboard and the driver can watch its action. "When that bulb gets black inside, it's time to change oil," Davis said. He retired early in 1960 after 44V2 years with Texaco, Inc.

where he worked as a welder. He said he got the idea for rigging the car while he was in the Air Corps during World War I. "This car has been photographed more than Marilyn Monroe," he said, "but none of the pictures are really up to date because I keep adding new gadgets, changing them around, and just fooling with them in general." Davis says he has had all kinds of deals on the car, the best one from a Dallas Cadillac dealer. "Offered me a brand new Caddy on an even swap," he grinned. "But I don't want to get rid of it.

It's about the only hobby I have and I enjoy tinkering around with it." and any attempt to pilfer the car will set a burglar alarm to ringing. "See this gimmick here?" he asked. "It shows that during a 50-mile trip to Beaumont the other day I stepped on the brakes 1,201 times and this other one shows I stepped on the accelerator 1,369 times during the same trip." Another meter shows the number of revolutions the engine has turned, measured in thousands; a glass level arrangement allows the driver to know if he has a low tire, another shows the number of pounds of brake pressure needed to stop and the number of feet needed to stop at any given speed. An electronic gismo allows Davis to gauge the speed of oncoming cars. "See the guy coming here," he said.

"He's going 35 miles an hour. This gauge will register them up to 60 miles an hour." We checked a dozen other approaching cars and the gauge registered their speed from about 100 yards out. The oil pressure is watched By BILL SMITH Gadgeteers have been known to come up with some pretty farfetched hobbies, but Ralph Davis, a retired Port Arthur, welder, just about takes the rag off the bush. He has a 1953 Cadillac sedan that has more gauges and meters on it than an atomic submarine and will do just about everything but fly and run under water. Sitting on the front seat of the car you can tell the time of day, the day of the week, or the day of the year; predict the weather; tell the temperature of the tires, the transmission, the lube oil, the block and the exhaust.

The car is equipped with weather gauges, a barometer, a meter that registers the number of gallons of gas purchased, another for oil purchased, thermometers for inside and outside temperatures, a visual gauge showing the amount of water in the radiator. Davis can lock the vehicle up AP Newfatures Illustration PIERRE BOVLLE STIRRING MEMORIES 'BOOKS' World War II Navy History Offers Ringside Seat to Greatest Sea Fights Satiric Spy Tale Proves Heroism Is Complicated Dorothie Erwin Sunday Editor 1 (Vanguard, 254 A NOBLE PROFESSION, By Pierre Boulle. $3.95) A dazzling performer is this Pierre Boulle, whose now famous bridge went not only over the River Kwai but around the world in a book and a film. The dazzler has a slightly wicked air about him, too, as witness the latest of his precision-instrument novels. The not exactly subtle irony of the opening paragraphs of "A Noble Profession" should serve to tell you not to take anything at all for SENSE OF HISTORY Eloquent Admirer Pens Love-Letter to Venice THE WORLD OF VENICE, By James Morris.

(Pantheon, 337 $5) When Robert Benchley arrived in Venice for the first time, he took a worried look around and cabled home: "STREETS FULL OF WATER. PLEASE ADVISE." As much advice about Venice as any reader (traveling or non-traveling) could reasonably ask for in a single book is contained in this colorful and candescent report by James Morris, the "Manchester Guardian's" correspondent to Everywhere. New Books At the Shreve FICTION RUAN, by Bryer. Winifred ENVY THE FRIGHTENED, by Dayin. Yael MODEHATO CANTABILE.

by DurM. Marguerite THE COUNTRY GIRLS, by O'Brien. Edna THE LONG HAUL, by Rayner. Denyj. OPERATION TERROR, by Gordon, Mildred THE LATE UNLAMENTED.

by Og-nall, Leopold NON-FICTION GOD OUR CONTEMPORARY, by Phillips, John READING S. FOR REPUBLICANS, by fluidette. Fianklln READINGS FOR DEMOCRATS, by Ree, Edward THE SMUT PEDDLERS, by Kllpitrlck, James MAILMAN, U. S. by Doherty.

William LAND OF THE SNOWSHOE HARE. by Eitert. Virginia A ZOO IN MY LUGGAGE, by Dur- rell, Gerald THE LIVING HOUSE, by Ordish, George COOKBOOK. Ladies' Home Journal THE MAGIC MIRROR, by Nathan. George THE CLASSICS RECLASSIFIED, by Armour.

Richard MEN. WOMEN. AND CATS, by Van Doren, Dorothy LIFE UNDER THE PHARAOHS, by Cottrell, Leonaid DIGGING UP AMERICA, by Hlbben, Frank AMERICAN CHALLENGED, by Douf- las. William A MIRROR TOR ANGLO-SAXONS, by Green, Martin BIOORAPHT LETTERS, by Parkman, Franett EZRA POUND, hv Norman, Charles THE SIGN OF THE FISH, by Quen-nell, Peter CHIIDREN BOOKS SPRING FEVER, by Lambert, Janet SCOTTISH TREASURE MYSTERY, by Merwln. Decie The special qualities of Mr.

THE GREAT SEA WAR, Edited by E. B. Potter and Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz.

(Prentice-Hall, 468 $7.95) From Sept. 3, 1939, when word was flashed to the British fleet that "Winston is back," to August 15, 1945, when the U. S. Third Fleet received the order to "cease fire," the editors of "The Great Sea War" unfold an exciting and detailed narrative of naval action in World War II. The "Winston is back" message, sent to the royal navy on the day that Great Britain declared war on Germany, meant that Winston Churchill was back as first lord of the Admiralty.

The "cease fire" order to the U.S. Third Fleet meant that Japan had accepted surrender terms and World War II was over. The years between those two messages saw the greatest sea campaigns in history, and probably the last of their kind. For in this atomic age it is unlikely that great fleets will stand apart and pound each other with 16 inch guns or trade blows via carrier planes. Editors Potter and Nimitz, with a staff of Naval Academy historians, have compiled a volume that will hold the Navy buff spellbound, give the lay reader a ringside seat to epic battles, and stir the memories ing smile is all but demonic, and it is not directed exclusively at Cousin.

True, the would-be hero betrays a brave comrade, and makes himself believe that the comrade was a traitor. Blackmailed by an enemy who has proof of his cowardice, Cousin turns traitor beyond doubt, and then quite sincerely feels that he is performing a patriotic service. But unless Mr. Boulle intends only a straight spy story, he is saying that Cousin is really not the only person in the world with a tendency to believe what he wants to believe, or to rationalize his delusions. The imaginative Cousin simply happens to be playing for higher stakes than he did in civilian life, where the same imagination had served him so well.

Nor is heroism an uncomplicated thing, "A Noble Profession" goes on to demonstrate in a hair-raising finale replete with the stuff of melodrama but bringing with it a moral; or if not a moral, a reminder having to do with stones, glass houses, and the not always predictable human soul. Joseph Conrad, Mr. Boulle has said, is one of his literary idols. Mr. Conrad wouid have understood what his disciple is up to here.

John K. Hutchens BARDOT sign "padded" it to confuse the Japanese, adding the extra words, "the world wonders." When Halsey's communicators received the message they neglected to take out the padding and the full message was read to the admiral: "Where is, repeat, where is, Task Force 34. The world wonders." The angered Halsey took the last phrase as an insult. He finally turned back and headed south, a move he later regretted. "At that moment," he says, "the Northern (Japanese) Force, with its two remaining carriers crippled and dead in the water, was exactly 42 miles from the muzzles of my 16 inch guns.

I turned my back on the opportunity I had dreamed of since my days as a cadet." Another bit of not-so-funny humor occurred during the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, in November of 1943, when Capt. (later admiral) Arleigh Burke opened fire on a U.S. destroyer by mistake. "Hope you are not shooting at us," the destroyer skipper radioed. "Sorry," Burke replied, "but you'll have to excuse the next four salvoes.

They are already on the way." Several events make the reader wonder "what if For instance, what if Japanese subs had taken up their patrol between Pearl Harbor and Midway three days earlier than they did? The Battle of Midway might have ended differently, for the U.S. carriers Hornet, Enterprise and Yorktown passed the patrol line en route to the Midway area on May 29-31. The Japanese subs didn't take up their patrol until June 1. And what if a Japanese scout plane had been the first of group to take off instead of the last? Once again, the Battle of Midway might have had a different conclusion if the plane that spotted the U.S. fleet had taken off 30 minutes earlier.

Armchair admirals will find this book a treasurehouse of strategy and controversy. It contains many battle diagrams and maps, enough to keep them busy for many hours. Allan Lazarui. of those who fought the great sea war. To many who manned the ships or followed the war in the newspapers, the mere names of the battles will evoke emotional remembrance: The Salerno assault, the Battle of the Java Sea, Cape Esperance, Midway, the Coral Sea, Savo Island, the Philippine Sea, the Battle for Lcyte Gulf.

The book is full of drama, humor, tragedy and a number of thought-provoking "ifs." One thing that impresses the reader is the great role that was played by the industrial capacity of the United States. In 1942, for example, in the campaign for Guadalcanal, the Allies were left with only one operational fleet carrier, the Hornet, and one new battleship, the Washington, in the whole Pacific. By 1944, in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the U.S. had, in Task Force 58 alone, 15 carriers, 7 battleships, 21 cruisers and 69 destroyers. One bit of tragic irony recounted in the book concerns the submarine Sailfish and the submarine Sculpin.

In 19.19, the Sailfish, then named Squalus, went down off Portsmouth, N.H. The Sculpin located her on the bottom and made possible the rescue of her crew and subsequent raising. Four years later, the Sculpin was sunk by the Japanese and 21 of her survivors were put aboard the Japanese carrier Chuyo for transportation to Japan. The Squalus, now called Sailfish, torpedoed and sank the Chuyo. All but one of the 21 Sculpin survivors went down with the Chuyo.

Humor, perhaps not apparent at the time, cropped up during Adm. William (Bull) Halsey'a controversial northward dash during the battle for Leyte Gulf. While Halsey was chasing a Japanese decoy fleet, Adm. Thomas Sprague was calling for help, thinking Halsey's Task Force 34 was nearby. Adm.

Chester Nimitz. listening to Snrague's calls for aid in headquarters in Pearl Harbor, felt compelled to intervene and sent this message to Halsey "Where is, repeat, where is, Task Force 34?" In coding the message, an en Cool Study Of Sizzling Girl's Riddle gramea in me pages mat ioiiow. It really is quite amazing, Mr. Boulle observes with a faintly mocking smile, the heights of wisdom and intellectual honesty that we have attained, and with them the standards of judgment that infallibly tell us who in this world are impostors and who, like ourselves, are quite perfect. Duplicity and honesty within one and the same character? Any normal person can spot the dichotomy as nonsense, can he not? With that much said in preparation, Mr.

Boulle is off and running with his story of one Cousin, a French novelist and intellectual, and the singular matters that befall him when his country goes to war in 1939. But such is Mr. Boulle's magician's gift for misdirecting audience attention when he sees fit, that his warning tends to fade a little in the immediately absorbing course of action. Surely, you say to yourself, there can be only one sound view of this self-deluded Cousin who rearranges facts into day dreams justifying his cowardice, this intellectual bully who freezes in moments of crisis and then tries to blame his presumed inferiors. That, the author of "A Noble Profession" says in effect, may be what you think.

But attend, as they say over there. The "noble profession" Is espionage, or so Cousin regards it when, having escaped from France to England after The Fall in 1940, he is taken into the Anglo-Free French intelligence service. The English phy-chiatrist who examines him does not fail to observe that Cousin pales a bit when a cyanide cap-file's use is described to him. Cousin recovers his poise quickly. What better field than clandestine warfare, with all its strata-ferns and perils, for the hero he imagines himself to be? Ej' this time Mr.

Boulle's mock Morris' journalism a strong sense of history, a strong sense of humor, and a masterly (and liberal application of the most evocative adjectives are even more impressively demonstrated in his books; on South Africa, the United States, and, best of all, the Middle East Inflamed" is one of the most clarifying studies ever written about that troubled and troublesome area. Of Venice "a cheek-by-jowl, back-of-the-hand, undr the -counter, higgledy pigglcdy, anecdotal city" Mr. Morris writes not as a reporter merely, but as a lover whose ardor is not diminished by the fact that he sees his beloved clear-sightedly. He is eloquent about its past and present glories, and equally eloquent when he writes about the simplicity of the Venetian drainage system and the sharp practices of some of Venire's inhabitants "the Venetian," he generalizes, "moves through history surrounded by a thin miasma of dishonesty, like a golfer who can find no partners." He finds new things to say about familiar subjects, and he finds many unfamiliar aspects of Venetian history, geography and character to write about. You may learn here why it is so difficult to row a gondola, in how many ways Venice resembles the Orient, which Venetian stone lions are the most pathetic, the most imperial, the silliest and the jolliest, what are the chances of the city's sinking under the sea, what Venetian cat became an international celebrity, what has happened to the Venetian tradition of tolerance for cheerful sinning, how many of the Doges' names still survive in the Venice telephone directory, and of the struggle for the city's future between the go-getters and the romantic conservatives.

"The World of Venice as its author points out, is neither a history nor a guide-book, but it can be used as either. It is supplied with maps, and with a number of magnificent photographs. And Mr. Morris' descriptive talent is always richly and rightly employed. Listen 'that is the word) to his description of the sounds of Venice: "The streets of Venice have their own sound, the quick tap of heels upon stone flagstones.

From a thousand houses comes the chirping of a myriad of canaries. At the backs of trattorias skittle balls clatter against wood. The rattle of shutters is a familiar sound, for this is a resolutely closeted city, and is always opening and closing its windows. The boom of a ship's siren is a Venetian noise, and the trumpeting of tugs: and in the foggy winter nights, when the city is blanketed in gloom and damp, you can hear the faraway tinkling of the bell-bun's out in the lagoon, and the distant rumble of the Adriatic beyond." Maurice Dolbier. Best Sellers BRIGITTE BARDOT AND THE LOLITA SYNDROME, by Simone de Beau voir.

(Reynal, Brigitte Bardot seems like an extraordinarily light topic for a writer so serious as Miss de Beauvoir you remember her autobiography, "Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter," her novel, "The Mandarins." But when you also remember her "The Second Sex," you realize that the spectacularly successful young French film star really lies within this author's province, especially when she dignifies her title, or even weighs it down, with "syndrome." For this is a cool study of the hot nature of the Bardot riddle. She is an "export product as important as the Renault auto," ricTio HAWAII. Mirhtner ADVISE AND CONTEXT. Dniry THE DEAN'S WATCH. Gi'irff TO Mix A MOCKINGBIRD.

MISTRESS OF MELLVN. Holt we are told. With the French she is less popular than with Americans: They want some submissiveness in the female, we reputedly pretend to prefer some equality. And Bardot is as much hunter as hunted, says Miss de Beauvoir. She is the "exotic wTiose very frankness rouses up both friend and critic.

Akin to Francoise Sagan's young heroines, she is the child-woman revealed by Nabokov, by Colette, and on the stage, too. If 'he idea of a profound study rebuffs you, I have a surprise: There are also some 80 photos. W. G. Rogers.

KON-FICTIOM THE RISE AND FALL OT THE i turn) ht.lt THE WASTE MAKERS. Pckrd born fpfe. A-son Ar.FJSAN HERITAGE PICTURE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR. THE SNAKE HAS ALL THE LINES..