Ada Louise Huxtable's warning to Syracuse: How to avoid creating a downtown 'wasteland'

By Sean Kirst, The Post-Standard on January 24, 2013 at 6:58 PM, updated January 25, 2013 at 6:52 AM

Clinton Square in Syracuse, 1958, as Ada Louise Huxtable saw it a few years later - before the demolition of the Urban Renewal era. Courtesy Onondaga Historical Association

You can read Ada Louise Huxtable's critique of Syracuse from 1964, and a response from John R. Searles Jr. of the Metropolitan Development Association, at the conclusion of this column.

Theresa Rusho has always loved a piece about our city written by Ada Louise Huxtable, a piece that in Syracuse becomes Huxtable’s epitaph. Rusho has cited it several times in a terrific blog called Syracuse B-4, which uses long-forgotten newspaper clippings — primarily from the decades after World War II — to nail down the moments and decisions that created Syracuse as we know it today.

The idea is that we only learn from our mistakes by confronting the way we made them. Huxtable, who died this month at 91, left us with a clear list. She was a pioneering architectural critic for The Times. Her insight and ferocity were enough to win international acclaim and a Pulitzer Prize.

Almost 50 years ago, Huxtable came to Syracuse to judge the progress of a federal program called Urban Renewal.

Her conclusion: “Ugly Cities and How They Grow,” reprinted in The Post-Standard of March 28, 1964. To Rusho, that appraisal remains critically important. After Huxtable’s death, Rusho used her blog to bring back the piece from 1964. It was a timely reminder amid heated debates in Syracuse about good planning and the best way of sustaining our downtown.

“After I read (Huxtable’s work), it was like: ‘Whoa. What else do you need to say about what happened in Syracuse?'" recalled Rusho, an Onondaga Hill native who now works for the Rhode Island School of Design. “She saw the potential, and the great architecture that we had, and she wasn’t dismissive of great new buildings. But she knew we needed a cohesive vision that wasn’t piecemeal.”

For all her concerns, Huxtable found much to appreciate in Syracuse. She was excited about renowned architect I.M. Pei’s vision for what would be the . She called the old Syracuse Savings Bank a “Victorian Gothic masterpiece.” She described the art deco Niagara Mohawk Building “as the most magnificent ‘modernistic fruitcake’ ... this observer has ever seen,” a love affair that would continue: Years later, Huxtable would name the building, now used by National Grid, as one of the great deco landmarks in the nation.

The National Grid Building, formerly the Niagara Mohawk Building: The late Ada Louise Huxtable, renowned architectural critic, called it one of the great art deco buildings in the nation. David Lassman/The Post-Standard

Still, Huxtable prophesied that was bulldozing its way toward being “a dreary wasteland.” She noted how Urban Renewal planners were all too ready to level precious landmarks. Huxtable liked , and she worried about the fate of the distinguished Third Onondaga County Courthouse — a building that was soon to be demolished.

She was also dumbfounded at the way city leaders allowed a “flat, pusillanomous” state office building to go up alongside our beautiful and graceful City Hall on Washington Street.

“In cities like Syracuse,” Huxtable wrote, “new and old coexist as bellicose, resentful strangers.”

To Rusho, the value of the piece lies not only in what it says, but in its timing. Almost a half- century later, it is easy to remember Urban Renewal as a vague and irresistible force visited upon Syracuse by federal money. The truth is that some prominent voices did speak against it, usually to no avail.

And certainly, Huxtable gave voice to what many everyday Central New Yorkers were feeling. Her take on Syracuse, Rusho writes, received a printed rebuttal from John R. Searles Jr., executive vice president of the old Metropolitan Development Association. He argued that preservation often made no sense: “Owners of obsolescent but historic property cannot be expected to let sentiment outweigh economic considerations for any substantial period of time,” wrote Searles, a succinct description of the philosophy behind Urban Renewal.

In 1964, Huxtable warned Syracuse about the risk of “civic self-destruction.” She praised a book — newly published at that time — that highlighted the importance of landmarks in Onondaga County, and she predicted civic policies “that reject the past and fail to deal in continuity ... will make a nightmare mix.”

Today, many of us are expressing cautious optimism about a wave of downtown restoration. Rusho, for her part, implies that what really matters is who uses downtown once all the work is done. She wonders, for instance, how Huxtable would have felt about the transfer of the Centro bus station to Adams Street, which pushed a crowd of daily riders from the heart of downtown to its southern edge.

Huxtable, Rusho said, once wrote that architecture matters primarily as a celebration of the “collective spirit that we call society.”

She saw that mesh as the only way to make a downtown work, which is exactly what so many graying Central New Yorkers remember about ... well, about Syracuse B-4.

Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Post-Standard

1- *j • * How to Save Our Heritage Trying to Moke the Cake Fall Flat y;dor i . Ugly Cities and How They Grow Job nson Woos 6 loc of U n ions IN THE WAKE OF PUBLICATION of tilt handsome book, "Architecture WASHINGTON-PUNDITS MAY DIFFER, ths CIO'* Moratory-treasurer when Reufttr but I believe the 1964 presidential campaign wai Its president. Worth Saving in Onondaga County/' hai come much'discusjion of an article pub- really began at 10:55 a.m., Tuesday, March _ <• lithed March 15 in The New York Timei by its architectural editor, Ada Louise 24, at the entrance of the Shera- IT IS NOT GENERALLY KNOWN BUT Huxtable, who reviewed the book and included some pithy comments on con- ton Park Hotel That was a leaders of this construction group went to John \ temporary Syracuse architecture. '•'.•••'«•••* , ^ - few moments after Lyndon Kennedy at the end of 1960 and argued against Entitled "Ugly Cities and How They Grow/' Miss HuxtableV essay was, il- Johnson's limousine swung into the proposed appointment of his brother as the driveway. head of the pept. of Justice. Bob Kennedy lustrated with fine picture* of the old Onondaga County Courthouse on Clinton There was an exceptionally learned of this and it engendered no love for Square and the steeple of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the story inspired a large reception committee them. They were also opposed to for appoint- letter to the editor "of The New. York: Times from John R. Scarier, Jr., execu- made up of 19 influential men ment of Arthur Goldberg as secretary of : —all labor leaders.. Eighteen tive vice-pmident of the Metropolitan Development of Syracuse and Onondaga labor.. .+ - County, giving a different point of view on preservation of historic structure! of them were heads of the 18 The construction high command wai fur- national 'unions which make up ther incensed when Joe Keenan. secretary of If. Herewith is Misi Huxtable's article, followed by Mr. Searles' comment, both the powerful Building antf Con. the International Brotherhood of Electrical published in the interest of stimulating community thought on onf of our vital •fciiction Trades Dept. Rlesel Workers, was not named assistant secretary of problems — hour to preserve the best, of the .past while we progress into the future. (AFL-CIO) and the other was Neil Haggerty, defense for manpower. Keenan is one of tht t president of tfie department itself. . most popular men in this .group. They be- York Times Reported: In. cities likt Syracuse, new and old co- Though there were some 2,000 second line lieved they had a White House pledge for his The " exist ai btUiooae, resentful stringers. Then ii officials waiting inside, the President did not appointment, but Defense Secretary Me- ly ADA LOUISE HUTTABLE a curious, .Martian .mixture of almost iur< .rush to the grand ballroom. Instead, his .old realist. ttrangehMs; Queen Anne gingerbread friend Neil Haggerty ceremoniously introduced Namara rejected him. This also angered THE CRISIS ei our dtiei can be jtated In ntzt to cantilevered steel him. one by one, to the assembled national AtfL-CIO President George Meany, an old col- ¥*ry limplt ttrmi: They art beaming in- * * •' i . union chiefs. As each one of the M*?r leaders league and intimate friend of Keenan's, with tftMrinfly hideous. Underneath tht uglinesi The old waits grotesquely for the new to stepped forward, a union cameraman took a whom he travels frequently. and often causing it are many real ills brought «wdep it to destruction, and the all-important picture of him with the President. So bitter was the reaction to this rejection lesson of urban design is still unlearned. You « * * t ' en by overwhelming lodal and -economic l * 4MBl^^^HlHhriki^bi^^h^^M^hri^ ~ that John Kennedy invited Keenan to a New Changei and population pressures since th« .don't wish .the old city away; you work with \ FOR THESE UNION CHIEFS IT WAS A York hotel room conference to explain it away war. Tht cities are sick and urban renewal its assets, allying them to the best new build* proud moment and each picture will soon ap- * and McNamara attempted to do the samf by is government-applied first aid. Ing for strengthening relationships for toth. pear on the front cover of the publications of dropping (nto AFL-CIO national head One suspects that tfie doctor's cures may At present,. most urban 'renewal seems each influential union. This means that each here. bo killing tht patient. Visit almost any city doomed to sterility. As long as its architects of the 3 million members of this bloc of unions, . in- the United States and 'its most striking as- reject the past and fail to deal in continuity, Which represents the hard core of American' R1GHTLV OR WRONGLY, MANY IN THE pect Is a bull-dozed wasteland in its heart. Out what they produce will make a nightmare mix. The Morning's Mail labor, will have a copy in his home. There it construction unions blamed Bob Kennedy for of the wasteland, more often than not, rises Values will be lost instead of added. Tlit surely will be interpreted by the members 'as their difficulties with the previous administra- another dreary wasteland of new construction. Council's architectural study, is the first sign Raps Coverage Asks Retraction an endorsement pf the President by their own tion. Meany and John Kennedy, however, de- Tht story i§ tht same for private redevel- of the civilized maturity that can save cities national union leaders. veloped such fondness for each other that like Syracuse from self-destruction. Of Rights Issues To the Editor of Tht opment Only one sure fact emerges—the Here is a copy of the letter Having been photographed with the "who's there soon developed what insiders described new is replacing the old indiscriminately, as To ihe Editor of The P«f-3fa who" of men controlling the AFD-CIO's Execu- as a father-son relationship. But there was a kind of sanitary cure-all often without sat- t I sent to Mayor William tive Council, Mr. Johnson went with them into never a thaw in the coldness between Bob Ken- isfactory rationale or results. All too fre- John Searles Replied: I am concerned by this Walsh, the big hall, where he slowly made his way nedy and Meany, who comes out of a construc- quently, good is replaced by bad. paper's coverage of local civil In today's issue (March 24) to the speakers' dais, shaking hands and ex- tion union, the plumbers. tfi$- Editor, Th$ New York Times: rights issues, especially the of The Post-Standard you are changing greetings all the way. This has political significance, because * " School Board's "Integration quoted as follows from your From the President's viewpoint all this Meany will be the spokesman for labor's bloc THESE REMARKS could apply to almost ADA LOUISE HUXTABLE'S article in the address before the Onondaga Sunday Times, M*rch 15, 1964, properly at- Plan." The board's plan for was more subtle politicking' than it appeared at the Democratic National Convention next any American city, since most share the same Fall enrollment is a necessary County Bar Association: on the surface. There was an undertone of August, just as he was at the 1960 sessions. ills and cures, but they are prompted by a tacks the current ugliness of American cities, " . .. The disgrace of col- but does not mention efforts to probe the cause first step involving only a few which many were unaware, but of which the. At that time some 200 union officials were del- visit to Syracuse, N.Y., a community of ap- bus loads of children; these lege professors, for instance, President was not. egates and alternates to the Los Angeles nom- proximately 216,000 afflicted with all of the and to find cures for the disease. In this she and of some clergy urging de- may give comfort to hand wringers and finger plans hardly represent a full This is one bloc of unions which is opposed inating sessions. There will be more this year. symptoms of a city this size, at this particular scale integration, program with fiance of law and order, is in Just as important as the convention votes printers who plead'for historic preservation my judgment, indefensible." to Robert Kennedy. And they have not hesi- time. but hurt positive action programs which can all of the dramatic changes tated to say so for some time now. The con- which these men can cast during a possible There is one important difference. A sig- that would ensue. By dwelling "Urging defiance of law and fight for the vice presidential spot, is the cam- actually preserve architectural assets and ally order" is a very grave struction organizations are the conservatives of nificant pilot report on the architecture of them "with the best new building." on the sensational, is this pa- American labor and have not been enthused paign machinery they can swing into action. Syracuse and the surrounding county from the per not only misinforming the charge, and if sustained by over the attorney general's friendship and co- It is important to the Johnson ticket to whip 18th nentury to circa 1910 has been prepared Further, she may be unfair by implication public but perhaps also arous- evidence, should be severely operation with such former CIO leaders as up their enthusiasm. On this his camp is tak- by the New Yc-rk State Council on the Arts. to Syracuse which, although "in a state of ing unnecessary hard feelings punished. I regard your state- Walter Reuther and James Carey, who was ing no chances. Its purpose is, to promote preservation and spotty .disorder" and thus typical of other and resistance? ment as very unfortunate and use of the city and county's best buildings and cities, does have a vigorous citizen effort to irresponsible, and or > .which their incorporation into tie redevelopment tak- save and restore its limited and scattered ar- Is this paper making a cannot be left unchallenged. Drew Pearson chitectural treasures, This is one of the mockery of civil rights is- May I respectfully request ing place. sues in other areas as well and "Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga reasons for the preparation of the pilot study that you name such persons "Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga what can such an attitude ac- and offer evidence for the County" is a remarkably competent survey complish? Johnson Passes Buck on Pardon of buildings of architectural value and his* County" by the New York State Council on charge you have made. In the Arts. '. It is my opinion that §yr- the absence of such substanti- torical importance. A trend-setting study, ation, I believe that you WASHINGTON-A CALL BY SPEAKER whereby Mind people were to operate the Tend- it gives official recognition to architecture of Most cities, like Syracuse, are making cuse civil rights groups are ably demonstrating the cour- should immediately and pub- John McCormack at the While House was not ing stands inside Government buildings. quality as an art and as a necessity within the traumatic adjustment from the street licly retract this statement. officially listed on the President's schedule. That law has been enlarged since then so the framework of urban growth and change. car to the automobile; from the pretentious age of their convictions: and they have their sights on some I am asking the Onondaga However, it was rather im- that the blind can now benefit from selling -*"... mansion to the apartment and ranch house County Bar Association to cir- portant. magazines, candy, chewing gum and other and from an economically dominant down- goals which are both necessary JN SPITE of a general effect of spotty dis- and realistic. Bannering the culate this protest to its mem- • The gaunt, gray, kindly knick-knacks not only in government buildings order, Syracuse is rich in good architecture or town core to a collection of shopping and bers, BYRON FOX. Speaker asked. President John- but in Federal parks. As a result some 4,000 commercial centers dispersed through an ur- sensation and deriding their all periods. Jn addition to a range from great techniques will not hurt this 132 Cresline Drive, son to give a pardon to ex- blind people have been benefited who other- Greek Revival to high style High Victorian it banized area. Syracuse in the last genera- Congressman Frank Boykin of wise would be charity patients. tion has also bad to accommodate itself to progress but it can greatly in- Syracuse. has the most magnificent "modernistic" fruit- crease conflict within the com- Alabama, the- man famous for This month the Congressional benefactor of l cake that this observer has ever seen, in the the transformation of the New York Central his motto, "All is made for the blind was near blindness himself. Ran* .right-of-way and the (both cut- munity and could cause un- Niagara Mohawk Power Building of the nine- necessary discord. Hail Rights Stand love," his grandiose parties of dolph, now a Senator from West Virginia, has teen thirties. What is happening to all of it, ting through the center of town) into traf- wild turkey and bear meat, and been in the hospital undergoing surgery for a however, is so typical, and so deplorable, that fic arteries. Fayetteville now has its own To iht Edilor of The Pozl-Standord: for his lobbying for friends, in- detached 'retina. Syracuse can stand as a case history. * Civil Rights group entitled This is a copy of a'letter It used to be that the chances of blindness "sent to Mayor Walsh. cluding savings and loan execu- Clinton Square, the former downtown cen- TO MEET THESE CHANGES of Uie last FIGORA. (Fayetteville Inter-, tives. ' Pearson from this ailment were about SO per cent. To- faith Group on Racial Affairs). Your recent statements on day, thanks to medical science, the chances ter from which business has now moved south- 30 years, cities had no dear plans—and if the racial situation here in It was the last which got him into trouble ward, is a well-scaled public space surrounded they had plans—they had no legal powers to The concerns of this group are with the Justice Department and brought are much less. Sen. Randolph has been suc- Syracuse and its relation to cessfully operated on by Dr. James Spencer by line vintage buildings. The Syracuse Sav- give effect to plans which might direct new primarily locai at the present our police force were most about his conviction. Bank of 1876 by Joseph Lyman Silsbee, construction and destruction toward more time, but events in Syracuse Boykin has been under a suspended sen- Dryden, a surgeon with a heart as well as welcome. It is comforting to skilled hands, and will soon be back in the later trained Frank Lloyd Wright in Chi- aesthetically pleasing results. The increase in concern us as individuals. know that our public officials tence and Speaker McCormack urged the cago, is a Victorian Gothic masterpiece. automobile traffic and the loss of pedestrian Many of us work in Syracuse, President, with the expiration of that sentence, Senate. are ' becoming increasingly Sen. Randolph says: "The years roll on. it is a splendid Second Empire traffic has had such a devastating effect on shop in Syracuse, and go to aware of this national attack to grant him a pardon. downtown property values that cities relying Syracuse for entertainment. You never know when you work at something structure, the Gridley Building of 1867, and on law enforcement that pa- in your youth whether the problem you try to the third Onondaga County Courthouse pf 1856, heavtty for financial support on ad valorem Furthermore, - what happens rades as participation and PRESIDENT JOHNSON OBVIOUSLY WAS real estate taxes have been understandably solve for others will come back to affect a liftdmark of high quality by Horatio White. in Syracuse affects us because genuine interest in civil not unaware of IJie fact that Attorney General you." Opposite is a competent Classic Revival post obsessed with the economic rather than the we are all part of a larger^ rights. Bobby Kennedy had made thv conviction r.f aesthetic effects of urban change. office of 1928. Each is a top "example of its community. It is my hope that Those who engage in and Frank Boykin a major issue in the Justice De- THE PUBLIC DIDN'T KNOW IT, BUT IT style. How many cities can expect a Williams- suburban residents will take encourage civil disobedience partment. Kennedy had even gone to Balti- was a transatlantic telephone call from Presi- Between them are more recent strut- burg treatment or have the opportunity to en- a more active role as respon- seek only to destroy those more to testify against him. dent Johnson to Prime Minister Inonu of Tur- tures, dull beyond credulity, but still not de- joy a Georgetown rehabilitation movement? sible citizens pressing for civil civil rights they so loudly Presumably the President also was not un- key which slopped war between Greece and structive of the complex. The old buildings Owners of obsolescent but historic properly rights progress. demand. Congratulations on aware of the sour glances cast in his direction Turkey during the height of the Cyprus crisis. relate perfectly in size and scale to the cannot' be expected to let sentiment outweigh a courageous stand. by the Attorney General in the drive by the If war had broken out, all the eastern Mediter- MRS. J. B. LIGHTSTONE, Kennedy clan to make Bobby President, At !square; they offer rich stylistic variety to economic considerations, for any substantial Fayetteville. JOHN, ANNE AND ranean and the Balkans would have become the city. The rub, of course, is that most of period of time. Children sell the family man- SUSAN POLLOCK, any rate, the President told the Speaker that involved. them are obsolete. sion when the land becomes more valuable as 345 Clairmontc Ave., If he, McCormack, would clear the matter LBJ, a tough fast-talker on the telephone, an apartment or office site than it could pos- Syracuse. with-Bobby, he, Lyndon, would grant the gave his most rigorous sales talk to fchu THIS IS THE TRAGEDY and the prob- sibly be worlih with .the old house—heavily Accounting Sought pardon. Turkish Premier; was supported by another lem of urban "progress." The Savings Bank taxed and expensive to maintain—un- Speaker McCormack was most unhappy. phone call by Prime Minister Sir Douglas- exists by grace of a previous owner who prized demolished.. To the Editor of The Pa*l*5lattJarJ: To Josephine M. Ryan He knew how -little chance he had with his Home of Britain. it. The courthouse, which has had "tempo- fellow Boskmian of getting a pardon approved The best current solution and indeed per- I am so glad you are in- SYRACUSE HIGH SCHOOL, for "all is made for love" Frank Boykin. . War was averted. But the Cyprus dispute rary'* government uses for 50 years, faces haps the only solution of.general availability forming your readers about SECOND 1897. drags on. demolition with the removal of the adjoining is urban renewal. The acquisition of obsolete the Leukemia Society. Any Rcquioscat in pace. Requiem Some observers compare the stagnated Police Headquarters to a new building in Syra- blighted property and resale subject to con* charity organization that can aeternam Dona ie, Domine, IT WAS 28 YEARS AGO THAT A YOUNG deadlock between Greeks and Turks to the stag' cuse's chief urban renewal area, where a corn- afford to hire paid canvassers You classmate mine of Jong Congressman from West Virginia, Jennings nated filibuster over civil rights in the U.S. civic and cultural center will rise. dttions of preservation and architectural t2if standards is making possible the retention of and hire office space in a ago, Randolph, introduced R little noticed bill Senate. • _ ^118 renewal scheme and Its buildings are many fipe old buildings.' The use of renewal downtown office building with When life was In .its morning, ncT Sjjing evaluated here. That would take an- to study and preserve structures in the College a staff of paid telephone op- No sorrow then or grief or Congress Task otijeijiriicle. Its ambitious concentration of Hill area in Providence is an outstanding erators should publicly and woe, mm - — _ cultural services may be questionable planning example. honestly say where the tliou- • Such evils we ascorning. and an.unrealistic burden for a small city, but A number of architecturally significant sands of dollars they collect Though Fate has kept i^'ffffcmises at least one structure of special structures in Southwest Washington which from the people of Onondaga us both apart, Reorganize Foreign Aid Prog interest—a striking museum by I, M. Pei. were surrounded by slums and inadequately County and other communi- Since study hours were ended, s y»-£There are no plans for preservation of- maintained are being brought back to life ties are allocated. Yet often fondly through my By MAJ. GEN, T. A. LANE, U.S.A., Ret., strated noteworthy administrative capacity, | uie outstanding older structures on Clinton heart. Military Analyst of The Post-Standard. they are the exceptions. Diplomatic training 'Square. Syracuse is wearing those peculiar through urban renewal. Wheat How, built by Also how much is honestly The thought of you wai WASHINGTON—THE CENTRAL ERROR Lawrence Washington, George's brother, the given for research. I under- does no\ t produce good administrators. renewal blinders that make it fail to see the . Washington, Lee and Barney Houses are be- stand over $54,000 was collect- blended. of foreign aid organisation is placing the possibility of the present conversion of a his- May God from on His Agency for International Development in the DIPLOMATIC TRAINING DOES PRO* toric structure for a concert hall for ex- ing integrated in Architect Clothiel Wood- ed last year. My neighbors ward Smith's design for the Harbour Square and myself would like to know throne on high, State Department. State has duce solicitude for the good will of other pow- ample, rather than marking a nebulous fu- Your spirit keep, His angels no competence to administer ers. In reality, the foreign aid program hai ture'"!" in the new cultural center. apartments.. The Law House to the north of how this money was distrib- N Street S.W. was required to be preserved uted and names of hospitals ' nigh, such a program and has serious provided the State Department with a gigantic * And guard you always midst basic disabilities for the work. slush fund for diplomatic use. Existence •;? THE CITY WEARS BUNDERS in many in the Tiber Island Development. Both pres- and laboratories which re* ervations were accomplished through urban ceived any of it. the blest,' It is important to recog- the fund under State Department control in- I ways. It fails to appreciate the superb cut renewal. In lasting peace, eternal rest, nize that the administration of vites foreign pressures for dubious purposes. ' granite mass and steeple of St. Paul's Church. MRS. WALTER R. GROUP. ' WILLIAM RYAN. foreign aid is a formidable task. American taxpayers should be grateful to Rep. It ignores the numbing object lesson of the THE BEST OPPORTUNITY for Syracus- 206 First North St. ' = Syracuse High School, Consider that the total construc- Otto E. Passman of Louisiana for his vigilanca contrast between its strong rusticated,, 19th- ans to save the Third Onondaga Court House Syracuse. •Second 1897, tion program of the Corps of in exposing, condemning and curbing waste century Richardsonian City Hall and the flat, Engineers, U.S. Army for and inefficiency. However, basic improvement pusillanimous, 20th-century State office build- is through urban renewal There is no current apparent economic use and developers seeking BROTHER JUNIPER Army, Air Force and Space of the program will be possible only after it ing next to it that wins some hand of booby the building as a parking lot gain support Agency and for civil works is removed from the State Department. price for totally undistinguished design. with offers of taxes for currently public prop* across the country is about two When the foreign aid program was trans- erty. They are held off only by a group led billion dollars annually. ferred to the State Department, it was argued by Common Council Majority Leader Albert For this work, the Army Engineers have that aid must support U.S. foreign policy. This Orenstein, who has a considerable following in a permanent and highly skilled organization is true but it is not a good reason for placing I THE POST-STANDARD his efforts to solve a very difficult problem, which employs the powerful resources of the the Agency in the State Dept. The same argu- 4 Soturdoy, March 28, 1964 Local citizen efforts saved the Weighlock American, con-struction industry. It should be ment would support transfer of the Defense Building on the old Erie Canal. The Syracuse' apparent that a program spending more than Dept. .to the State Dept. because our military Hit Standard ...... 1829 Thf Post. .,...1894 three billion dollars annually Jn developing forces must support foreign policy. Tht Port-Standard Savings Bank has made an "uneconomic" in- 1899 vestment in the' preservation of its local countries cannot be efficiently administered by Published Every Day in the Year by building. . • an improvised (organization of diplomats and SEN, WAYNE MORSE HAS SUGGESTED THI POST-STANDAR1 D COMPANY inspired social workers. termination of the present program and the 300 East FayetU 1Street A total downtown urban renewal plan now The foreign aid program must be given establishment of a new agency which would Syracuse, N. Y. 13201 underway has among its objectives one of sav- Administrative leadership of the highest qual- deal exclusively in project development The Henry &• Keller* Publisher ing the bert of the old architecture not only ity. There is no good precedent for the work, agency would have no funds for currency J, Leonard Gorman, Editor for sentiment or to blend, but also to influence 00 creative initiatives are required, Only when stabilization nor for other.political operations. Mario Rosti, Manafjinp Editor anil guide'the design of new .buildings. Syra- the work is properly organized and directed Let the developing countries administer their Loren Bailey, News Editor cuse would be vain to aspire to become a will it be possible to Judge the performance own currency stabilization through the inter- John #• Whitney, City Editor Paris or Vienna, but it is proud and becom- of subordinate employes, . ; national organizations created for that pur- fUBaCftlPTIOM BT MAIL ing increasingly sensitive about its appearance, ta fttfvtjxji fttmltUnce should be pose. Let the State Dept. seek from Congress to tht VetMMtaatrd comptrw in (Jutted sutca fund*. We agree with Miss Huitable*s estimate ADMINISTRATIVE FAILURE IS SEC* political action funds winch it can justify. Let IN NEW YORK STATE ondary to .and flows from intellectual failure. C4MUKR SERVICE IS NOT AVAItAJLR of the significance of the Council on the Arts* the new agency foster development, project ^^ 1 Tr. ftMot. 3 Mai. \ excellent study, but disagree strongly that The foreign aid program has bogged down in by project, as a. prudent banker should. J5 "most urban renewal seems doomed to platitudes about cheap security, avoiding war, The Morse proposal is the only construc- HerlWy." Rather, ctttei w|iicht like Syra- supporting U.S. industry and protecting the tive suggestion made in the 1963 debate for cuse, wish to use their excellent .old buildings poor from communism. None of these fre- reorganization of foreign aid administration. . 1 Yr. a Mot. 9 Mo* at tht corner stones of reconstruction, will quently claimed credits are important. They Some such revision of organization and man« fttll? ,„•••••i...,M, 917-JUJ 19.90 t a.M fTnd urban renewal to be their*belt and per- reflect the cliche-bound limits of bureaucratic agement'is urgently needed.. The presidential •uur ••••••,««*t»«*i M'W 7.29 3.71 haps only solution. policy making, , message of March 19,1964, tells that the State tun«t?.. ..uiioi t 1,71 JOHN R. SEARLES JR., Diplomacy involves the administration of Dept. has nothing constructive to propose. §MU4>CUw f Mton. Mi »« iyr§euM. Vim Tort Executive Vice President. 'relations among or between sovereigns. The Congress must proceed on its own Initiative. aMOOIATB) purpose is to promote good will and to create It can make a good start by removing tht Metropolitan Development Aiiodation conditions favorable to trade, Although some Agency for International Development from pf Syracust and Onondaga County. "No more Cole Porter on the carillon!" diplomats issigncd to tht - A.I.D. have demon- the State Department,