Protest: Advise & Dissent

Harry Truman, who knows what it is to fight a foreign enemy under a bombardment of domestic criticism, had some sharp-tongued answers last week for the current generation of dissenters. Lyndon Johnson, he suggested, should simply ignore criticism of his Viet Nam policy by the likes of Senators Robert and Edward Kennedy. "They are outsiders, just as I am," snapped Truman. "They have no more business sticking their noses in than I have." As for draft-card burners, said Harry, "all they want is front-page attention."

If so, they should be happy. A federal grand jury in New York indicted four pacifists for violating a 1965 law that prohibits the willful destruction of draft cards. If convicted, they could be imprisoned for five years and fined $10,000. The foursome, accused of burning their cards during a Nov. 6 demonstration, will be defended by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which announced that it would challenge the law's constitutionality. As for Selective Service Director Lewis Hershey's decision to reclassify as 1-A draft-card burners and sit-in demonstrators at draft boards, Emanuel Celler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, objected that this "degrades" the system. Replied Hershey: "Any deliberate, illegal obstruction of the administration of the law cannot be tolerated."

The Army meanwhile made clear that dissent is for civilians. Lieut. Henry Howe Jr., 23, was photographed in November carrying a placard that read: "End Johnson's fascist aggression in Viet Nam." Last week a court-martial at Fort Bliss, Texas, found him guilty of showing contempt of authority and conduct unbecoming an officer. Howe was sentenced to two years at hard labor and dismissal from the service.