STRATEGY: Ready to Confer

Six months ago, as U.N. forces swept up the Korean peninsula in the wake of a shattered North Korean army, General Douglas MacArthur summarily called on the enemy "forthwith to lay down your arms and cease hostilities." The Red reply was the massive Chinese assault from Manchuria which divided the U.N. forces and drove them south of the 38th parallel.

Last week MacArthur spoke to the enemy again. He threw down no ultimatum. Instead, he proposed negotiations for a truce on the field of battle. With the offer went a warning that the fight might be carried to the Chinese mainland...