The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin • 10

1 lPffpMw A-1 SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 1992 "I nJ I THE SUNDAY POST-CRESCENT APPLETON-NEENAH-MENASHA. WISCONSIN mm Washington calling A weekly briefing from the Scrlpps Howard Washington editors Hi .4 i I Al ti- "vj r- "r-- i rrt u. i t't C4 -tt Perot leaves himself open to criticism hinks begin to show in Ross 1 Perot's armor. Political tvpes are con vinced his two-hour rY -rW, A Jiftl Associated ress ivewsieaiures pnoyj, THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS of the Union of the Democratic Forces protest in front of the Bulgarian National Assembly on June 11, 1990 in Sofia, Bulgaria, unsatisfied with the results of the first free elections there. With democracy, economic freedom and emphasis on human rights, the East seeks to emulate the West's stability and prosperity.

3 wmm mm Emm loir Leaders hope to avoid costly past mistakes 1 The Renaissance marked the beginning of an explosion of knowledge about the world and the development of modern science. But Havel said it also led to efforts to explain all human experience with a few fundamental laws. Communism was an aberration of that way of thinking, but its failutf nevertheless exposed its weak nesses, he said. In a speech in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year, Havel said: "The fall of communism can be regarded as a sign that modem thought based on the premise that the world is objectively know-ble and that the knowledge so obtained can be absolutely generalized has come to a final crisis This era has created the first global, or planetary, technical civilization, but it has reached the limit of its potential, the point beyond which the abyss begins." Man the scientist has documented the greenhouse effect, the danger of population explosion, AIDS, nuclear terrorism and a host of other problems, but cannot cope with them, he said. "We treat the fatal consequences of technology as though they were a technical defect that could be remedied by technology alone," he said.

"We are looking for an objective way out of the crisis of objectiv ism." in Goencz, a translator and author who spent six years in a communist See EAST, Page A-11 session on NBC's "Today" show and other TV stops raise questions that will hurt him. Perot told viewers dairy farmers are unrepresented in Washington, but the dairy lobby is legendary. He continued to shift on Social Security, this time suggesting he would ask rich people like himself to voluntarily forgo benefits. And he insists he believes in live and let live, despite a puritan streak that includes having refused to hire people with beards or known adulterers. The biggest emerging concern is the question of how outsider Perot would deal with Capitol insiders.

GOP Rep. Vin Weber of Minnesota says lawmakers would give President Perot a 75-day honeymoon, then turn him into an instant lame duck if he started tramping on toes. miTHE PENTAGON grows mum on hopeful predictions of Saddam Hussein's imminent fall from power. Despite an economic embargo and a clandestine campaign to topple Saddam, defense analysts concede he is still supported by a core group of elite troops and has enough goodies to distribute to his followers to keep them in line. Food and supplies are getting by the embargo overland through Jordan, and private companies have secretly supplied equipment needed to rebuild the Iraqi military machine.

PRESIDENT BUSH is primed to do more TV interview shows such as CNN, Barbara Walters, Larry King Live and MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour on PBS. But campaign officials say he'll steer clear of such "infotainment" shows as Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue. REPUBLICANS GROW edgy over polling that shows their support slipping among young voters. The GOP has held a sizable lead among the 18-29 crowd since Ronald Reagan's 1980 landslide. New polling shows the young tilting Democratic.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake credits the sour economy for drift, noting good jobs are scarce, even for college graduates. WHEN BORIS YELTSIN comes calling Tuesday, American scholars will have their eye on one of his aides, Gen. Dimitri Volkogonov. The Russian soldier-scholar is working to declassify long-secret Russian archives, which historians think could shed light on old mysteries like the Hitler-Stalin Pact of World War II, successes and failures of American spies, and maybe even the murder of JFK. COMBAT IDENTIFICATION of U.S.

Army troops gets major attention early next year when the Pentagon proposes to Congress a new system aimed at reducing the threat of "friendly fire." Stung by criticism of U.S. troop deaths by friendly fire during Operation Desert Storm, the Bush administration wants $6.8 million to fund new ground combat identification systems for troops, 'i By January, the Defense Department must give Congress a report on Jesting of the systems, then get ready for likely hearings. U.S. POLICYMAKERS rethink the economic sanctions on Haiti, which only made life more difficult there and encouraged people to try the dangerous boat trip to Florida. The refugee population at the U.S.

base at Guantanamo, Cuba, has fallen in half to 6,000, as Haitians are sent home or to new homes in the United States. THE SECRET SERVICE worries its radios are vulnerable to eavesdropping at political conventions, telling Congress that $50 shelf radio sets can intercept transmissions on the movement and planned activities of the candidates. CIA EXPERTS warn the White House that the future of the world can be seen in Yugoslavia. Tribalism, intense nationalism and ethnic forces will dominate many parts of the world, especially Somalia and Liberia in Africa and the former Eastern bloc countries. Spooks have no easy solutions to suggest.

THE FIRST coast-to-coast rail service is set to begin next April after completion of rail improvements between New Orleans and Jacksonville, Fla. Amtrak says its Sunset Limited -which currently runs from New Orleans to Los Angeles will be the nation's first ever no-change-trains transcontinental train. A one-way trip will take 58 hours, cost between $275 and $300 roundtrip for coach. THE RUSSIANS aren't the only ones opening their secret files. The CIA has 15 new positions for people declassifying documents and sending them to the National Archives.

It hasn't been easy. When ordered by director Bob Gates to form an openness task force, agents promptly marked their final report "classified." The report, the CIA says with some chagrin, is how available to the public. By Mark J. Porubcansky Associated Press writer PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia -Eastern Europe at the end of the 20th century suffers the indignities of being the Continent's junkyard of failed political philosophies. For the better part of a century, successive scourges of nationalism, fascism and communism have spurred its people to hate their neighbors not so much for who they are, but for what ethnic or economic class they represent.

Millions have died because of the mistakes and misapplication of political thought. Now democratic elections, economic freedom and emphasis on human rights are starting to take hold as the East seeks to emulate the prosperity and stability of the West. In the process, three philosopher-presidents Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia, Arpad Goencz of Hungary and Zhelyu Zhelev of Bulgaria are finding an enduring message of human dignity and responsibility for the ravaged East and the victorious but troubled ZHELYU ZHELEV wants to learn from communist mistakes. Havel chain-smoked and seemingly traced his thought with his finger in the pattern of his armchair as he spoke. "My term in office, my experience with the fall of communism and my everyday experience confirm this philosophical conviction of mine again and again," he said.

What Havel has in mind is nothing less than what in the 1960s was popularly called the coming Age of Aquarius the end of a 500-year period of Western civilization and the start of a new era of tolerance, mutual respect and pluralism. ARPAO GOENCZ is saddened by the return of nationalism. perience of world war brought by fascism and decades in the wilderness under communism are at the core of their message. From playwright Havel's sweeping description of what might be termed a second Renaissance to philosopher Zhelev's insistence that man at last learn from his past, their meditations provide a strong counterpoint to the packaged TV politics of Western leaders. "It is my conviction that a historical period of civilization is coming to an end," Havel said in an interview in his office in Prague Castle.

VACLAV HAVEL: Sees an era coming to an end. West. Each man suffered imprisonment or exile under communist rule. While trapped in what Havel calls the "non-history" of a static communist society, the high-technology Western world whizzed by. Their slower lifestyle gave East bloc dissidents more time to think, to care for friends and to try to preserve their culture.

They have continued to think even as they struggle with practical politics. Now that history improbably has chosen each to be a modern-day philosopher-king, their ex- it isasto Deadly 1942 blaze led to advances By Eve Epstein Associated Press writer IvprV1 if rv" At about 10: 15 p.m., with a chorus of showgirls about to take the stage on the main floor, the fire broke out in a corner of the Melody Lounge in the basement. Hewson Gray, now 83, noticed a commotion in the corner. "I stood up and said, 'Oh, there must have been a Gray recalls. Then came the flames, feeding fast on the highly combustible decorations of paper and synthetic materials.

"Get some water," one patron cried. But it was moving too fast. "I saw flames all along the wall," Gray said. Cries of "Fire!" "Fire!" rose with the flames. Those in the main entertainment area above did not hear their screams.

Fire officials believe it was a sizable fire almost from the outset, but somewhat oxygen-deprived. When the front of the wave made its way up the stairs, the oxygen was supplied, igniting a blowtorch that within five minutes enveloped the entire Cocoanut Grove complex. Some 1,000 patrons about twice the club's official capacity who had squeezed their way into Boston's best nightclub had seconds to get out. A wrong move could, and often did, cost a life. One group of people rushed for a window that was lit from the outside, only to perish after realizing it was barricaded with an iron grill.

One of the first firemen inside opened a large cooler and found a small group had taken refuge there. They were alive. Louise Pontbriand was kept alive because firefighters happened to focus their hoses into the area where she fell, and because a stranger had thrown a wet mink coat over her to ward off the flames. In the Melody Lounge, Hewson Gray and his wife fought their way to back stairs leading to a door. As See DISASTER, Page A-11 BOSTON Firefighter John Collins has carried one image of the Cocoanut Grove fire with him all his life.

It's that of "a pretty girl a strikingly pretty girl -sitting at a table with a cocktail in her hands." With her eyes wide open, she looked as though she were ready to take a sip from her glass, and Collins had an urge to speak to her, to ask her why she hadn't fled the flames. But she was dead, a victim of a flash fire 50 years ago that killed 491 people. It was the second most deadly U.S. fire. It spread so fast that some customers hardly moved a muscle before they died.

Others who the fire allowed a few more minutes were found piled seven and eight deep behind the main revolving door that had become jammed with bodies. Like other great disasters, Cocoanut Grove remains a fascination because of its ferocity, the suddenness of its terror, and its still mysterious beginning. Conversely, though, the fire led to improvements in burn treatment and fire prevention that saved untold lives in World War II and after. It prompted legislation establishing fire codes and other safety regulations. The Cocoanut Grove's maze of dance floors and lounges in three connected buildings were packed that Saturday night, Nov.

28, 1942, with a Thanksgiving weekend crowd. World War II was nearing the end of its first year of American involvement, and GIs were having one last fling before shipping out. Spirited football fans who had seen Holy Cross upset rival and previously unbeaten Boston College were now reveling in the Grove's tropical decor dancing, singing and drinking among the fake palm trees, rattan and bamboo, and under the wispy decorations on the ceiling. .15 .1 -CTLX VVT' r-V-v 5 Associated Press Newsfeatures photo POLICE AND FIRE officials survey the ruins of Boston's Cocoanut Grove after a fire killed 491 people there in 1 942. ').