1959-12-28 — Page 5

Page

LIKE IT

THE CHINA MAIL, MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1959.

OR NOT... this is the

real power in the world!

a

AS THE second contribution in this China Mail report that is more than nostalgia star woman writer pins down one of the most significant social shifts of the decade... the rise of a

new group of dictators; now the centre of sales cam- paigns, angry accusations, per- plexed attention.

by

The facts

that flavoured

the 'FIFTIES

ANNE SCOTT-JAMES

London.

IN the 1950's I learned the words of a new language, though the natives die of amusement when they hear me speak it. Their bony hips rattle with laughter when they hear me say "chick” and “square” and “oldie" and "daddy-o." Because this is hep-talk, the dialect of teenagers.

any primitive Teenagers are a new race, new since 1950, vital as race, but far more powerful. The accepted meaning of the word teenager Their tribe in is an unmarried working boy or girl between 15 and 25. Britain earns £1,480 million a year, and they have about £4 a week each to spend exactly as they choose.

They spent it on teenage

for Left

་

into high-heeled shoes in the bus. This was rather dashing.

You've got to go a lot purer

than that to rebel in the fifucs, As a minimum, you've got to

Jive, meet in cellars, and wear decadent clothes in order to be a rebel in the most tolerant society since Nero.

Earners

.

The new things that the

Must we let Adenauer

block

the_path

to peace?

**

THEY hold secret party meetings in Germany too, just as we do at democratic Westminster. Not so long ago-exactly 10 days before the British General Election-a most extraordinary meeting of, this char- acter was held in Bonn by the Christian Democrat M.P.s belonging to Dr. Konrad Adenauer's Party.

Dr Adenauer was there in person with as juicy a piece of inside information as anyone could wish for. teenagers are rich. and they If there had been a leak then, it might have caused have money because they have quite a stir in our own Election campaign. earned it, This gives them their independence and their power.

Ever since Me Iforvid That boy in the shori Italian Macmilan had gone 10 Jacket and pointed shoes IsMoscow In February, Dr making £8 a week in engineer- | Adenauer had been. reging Ing. The girl of 18 he is jiving|ngainst this British Initiative. with, in her black sweater. He thought the rooves to- swirling red skirt and petticoats, | wards Summit Inceling be is earning £5 10%. as a clerk.

fwoon the Russians and the Bath are in skilled joba,

West, might upset hils own

And what an they flying on? apple-cart. Teenagers are not

drinkers.

They dance like witch doctors

on coke and lemonade.

Peacemaker

་

The regrettable thing is that the teenagers have become so

In particular, he was Isolated-even hosle. This is alarmed at the statement

Cure..

by MICHAEL FOOT

private talks, that the proper- al. jointly agreed with Mr Khrushchev, would be quietly dliched acce the British people had gone to the pollat

With the worst will in the

what we must understand and agreed between, Mr Macmillan world towards our Prime Minis- and Mr Khrushchev that study ter, រ can't believe it. The "Adults don't like us, they should be given to the idea of accusation is too monstrous. are jealous of us," one said toxing a zone in Central Europe

"Ther resent our freedom where .crmies

me.

and armaments I guess what really happenedă I get nagged for spending too should be limited.

This might was that much on clothes, but I have just become a Modern, before was a Trad., it cost me a lot to ad absurdum of the change over to pointy shoes and

sharp, Udy suits."

the matter was left be the first offelal step towards open is a muzzy misunderstand- Dr Adenauer thought he what others call a "disengage. ing. ment" plan

could chance his arm.

clothes and teenage book called "Bonjour Tristesse." reductio

fashion youth cult?) hobbies, and they live in a Francoise Sagan set a

Blanke clothes and

IN SEPTEMBER 1959, nearly teenage world, Children still

from that spread moody talk

5,000,000 pop records were cold Kensington to Kansas.

in Britain, about 70 per cent IN 1955, a young American to teenagera. called Elvis the Pelvis, with a Yes, these facts favoured the

strange, distust voice, a guitar, and a savage's 'Afties with a wriggle, grossed 1,000,000 dollars ing taste. from a new rhythm called rock 'n' roll..

at school do not belong to it and anyone who marries leaves the tribe und comes an oldie,

be-

consider this vast, the healthy, boiling tribe most exciting fact of the 'fifties,

I can't pin the date when

Killed

to

Straight

"But

Dr Adenauer was further ag- grieved when a reference to the sorra idea appeared in the

| official Conservative Party <loc-/

tion manifesto.

Abandoned?

And here comes the rub. His risky arrogance has paid off." All the indications are that the

"Adults think we are looking for fights," said a boy dressed

Yet at that, private Party British Government has aban- Italian style. "Actually we are

meeting In Born In September, done the proposition, peaceful, but they hate us.”

"You wouldn't fit in with my seemed unexpectedly, cool. Nor

the gruff German Chancellor.

Indeed, sosatieded.. waa. Dr said It is natural to be crowd,"

another to my mally he forgoes few oppor- Adenauer after his recent talks shaken by them, but flotte pretty secretary, aged 25.

Yould add all right with the Beats But now he paraded as the new graciously suggested mid- tunties for needling the British. in Downing Street, that he has or and the Chelsea Set, they even beindignant

peacemaker

April as a convenient date for a frightened, The potht is, have pensioners."

Summit meeting. He will not where do we go from here? the teenage movement IN MAY 1956, the most ex-

The sensible. thing to started, but all through the pensive

have was held for Bunny and Flocky remember that the young have 'fifties the young

It cost at least £5,000, and, just always been moody and rebel- that adults have and been making news

as the elephant Is the end of lous--and gaining power. 1 am evolution, it killed the deb busi. always groused about it. 'speaking now of

young ness for ever. people of all sorts, whether they

this are

special teenage tribe, or just young people under 20.1

Drainpipes

IN 1953

becume

the

་

Teddy

deb party ever given

.

IN 1958, rock 'n' roll got out of hand. A film was released called "Block Around the Clock." flared up in and teenage riots cinemas all over the world.

IN 1958 Tommy Steele made £2,000 a week.

IN DECEMBER 1955, the Arst Boys coloured tights were Imported one of the sights of Into Britain from America. Britain. In skirty jackets and drainpipe trousers, with lovely IN 1957, shrewd manufactur- wavy hair, you could see these ers got in on the act, sensing the handsome dandics on every potential size of the leenage ztreet corner.

market. Teenage fashions sold to the tune of hundreds of

In some places they became millions. nuisance to the peace, but call

10

the Teddy Boy movement IN 1958, Beat black stockings basically criminal is a complete swept In from Parls.. und misunderstanding.

Britain's shops were besieged by

(cenagers (and would-be .teen-

IN 1954, an espresso bar was agers) who wanted the wicked opened in London, followed by weirdie look.

hundreds more all over

the

country. They had a new docor IN 1838, the criminal statistics (jungle style), - new food showed a sharp 13

per cent Viennese cakes), and A new Increase in juvenile crime. drink (strong, frothy coffee), IN 1959, "Lolita" was launch-

tho and they became rendezvous of the young.

natural

ed with a literary party honour- ed by such intellectual giants a IN 1954, a laconle ittle girl in the Duke of Devonshire and Paris wrote a very grown-up Mrs Reginald Fellowes.

not their fears AL rest. The but will happily leave the pro-

of tection zone 1

of his interests would be General de Gaulle,

All" through the fties For he told his followers to be going to the Summit himself, we adults have complained British plan for, ls

and resisted too much, and limited armaments

this

"as dropped we've driven

pre-

Election 19

aver." In cocions generation Into words, I was just, a stunt.

I used to rebel by going out to a party in flat slippers (my

corner.

In the 'sixties wo must mother's choice) and changing things straight

put

(The

(1-7

Memory Lane

mid- This was the "Affies in stream: THE MOOD spraig, perhaps, from a symbol which came from France and express- ed much more than a pout and a way of walking: Brigitte Bar- dot.

ferment where crushed

IN NEW . YORK Shaw's "Pygmalion" was put to music to become a fantastic sellout

"My Fair Lady." AUTUMN brought

Hungary ... ftrat valiant rebelllou was ... then. SGEZ,

quickly. followed by Sir Anthony Eden's retirement and an unexpected promotion for Hold Macmillan.

MEANWHILE

under

DULLES #parked a new word Brinkmanship," while the world held its breath;

THE RUSSIANS launched Sputnik Into space; ·

蘸

AFTER & remarkabin coup a isme came back from the past do Gaulle was hailed as the cure to France's ever-grambling Government, the Fourth Repub- llo became the Fifth Republic;

THERE WAS a new Pope 1. Popo' John blew a fresh cast of Informalliy through the Vallean J. ENGLAND'lost the Ashes in

Australia;

the And BORIS 'PASTERNAK Mediterranean sun British blood-wrele “Dr Zhivago” and earned was shed in a deadly cat-and- ́the faár at his Kuantan innsters: mouse struggle in Orprast

KHRUSHOHEV/visited AmeriesTM while Enrope' Basked' in the long hot-summer of the out-

sary:

KHRUSHICHEV ́ clòsued out MACMILLAN won a hat-trick the Kremlin: sent Mplotar into plociles and the-Busfabe_blệ tho exile in Mongolia and Bulganin." mbali,...

to a bank;

Ber

Ire Hagglund.

*Did you hide the silverware in that bar behind the

refrigerator like I told you, Hedry?".

"He must've fainted, Chief, You and the Mayor help

me and the Governor lift him off the Deven

Foon

As their

other

If the Macmillan-Khrushchev suggestion was still high up on the agenda you can bet your Now how could Dr Adenauer Last Reichsmark' that he would bo so

Had Mr not be displaying such a season- sasured? bisemillan told him, in their able spirit of goodwill.

www

JI-18

APEX TOY TRAIN

co.

"The decision, then, is 5 to 2 in favor of having our - model number 16743D go toot-toot-toot

instead of tp0-0-0-at-toot" "

Cumming

In short, Dr. Adenauer has of treedom in sne Hungarian won a notable diplomatic victory. home. Disengagement-or rather the first tentative step towards it-- Is killed stone-dead,

ở,

Disengagement is the only policy that can do that. And yet, the ame. nations, Hetiain Included, which denounce the Hungarian dictatorship, and the Kuselan · intervenilan, bolt and bar the door to the only plan which could lead to the withdrawal of been

those samO Bumian armies, But Indeed, it may be aired,

No, move is to be made towards a reduction of the armies in Europe. Instead, thà rearmament of Germany goes forward apa00. Mr. Harold Watkinson has recently

130

the purchase

rockets,

United States,

The hope

to Bonn fixing up the details. And the German parliamen- tarians have just agreed to. If these are some of the likely apend $10,000,000 next year consequences of disengagement,

of atomic will the

Russians ever agree? mostly from

the is it not a pipe-dream to sup- pose that the Soviet leaders will ever consent to withdraw their Certainly Dr Adenauer has armies from these territories? grounds for his satisfaction. Well, the short atawer is that Within a few

short years he nobody knows. Nobody, has had has made Germany one of the the sense to try to and out. arbiters of Europe.

a Within few short months he has largely dissipated the incipient threat to his authority which had emerged in the ranks of his own party. But what about

Time and again since 1950 Mr Khrushchev has said the rest of us?

that he Can we be so would agree to large-scale with- drawals Time and again the Disengagement le a clumsy, Western Powers, have brushed unromantic terin.

Here

in aside the whole suggestion with- Britain it stirs no hearts and out condescending awakens no fervent

even to political initiate diplomatic inquiries. response. Yet in the care of And then last February, when millions of people in Europe. It Mr Macmillan went to Moscow, Bounds so differently. For them a new dicker of hope appeared it carries the breath of hope on the horizon. Mr Macmiliats" and freedom.

agreed with Mr Khrushchev that the possibility of moving the first few inches down the road to salvation deserved further study. At last there was the Several months ago I was in chance that this item might be Poland. Disengagement was the discussed at a Summit" con- magic word on everyone's lips. ference.

content?

Remember

The Poles had produced their Yet by December the own plan for preventing the prospect has faded. One day, piling up of nuclear arms both we must suppose, the great men on their own teritory and who hold our desiinles in their ecross the frontier in Germany, hands will deign to meet one From this beginning they could another at a Summit meeting. move forward to larger ambi- But, it Dr Adenmter has Lions the withdrawal of way, will there be anything left Russian ariales from Poland on the agenda worth talking itself and the removal of the about? growing German armles ovLT

the, border:

The Poles have long memories. You can't travel on tramcer without seeing

lion

Arms race

his

the concentra- Surely this should be a omp brend

on half a moment in world history for tar- Jozen bare arms. We should seeing statesmen; for glants,

war for Poland.

Bat

remember too. Once we went to not pigmies. For who believes the am race in Europe can disengagement, for

continue indednitely. without them,

"entastrophs?. Who believes it in- IOANE more than A

for guarantee that the terrible sense

all the political past shall not be repeated. Is leaders of the West to adopt the offers a shield from the icy same trozen postures to the old blasts, of the cold war,

man of Bann?

Who will sheep safer in his bed when GormMKLY

as got her atomic rocketą.

How bitter, therefore, must be the laments In Warsaw when Dr Adenauer uitters

kiires onell their dreams, and when the other Western statezmén seem to bow so obediently to

Or consider: another country"- whose trials wh bemoan with such lavish crocodile tours. Re4. cently at the United Nations

kis dictaten.

The biz, imaginativa. Ides for breaking the dandleok- kgptured by many · Lasding experts in the Water and * 'engagement: Aru/ww jo allow

thals grand oudounties 3 be nikblod sway" byƐmise?

If the Summit, is not lo

• resolutions was passed condemn sgpalabares ing the failure of the fun-lost garlan Government and the Britain-Bad Rujalan tolcomply" with pre- for: # The -VIOUR. U. N„ demande,-¦ Deskite tokker schothe less the sickwures ope: juntand. bed befor But then willnot save and Bun- <ar^,5 thờ!! sarian pallot from, the gallowsc They wishet rekindle the hope