Equal & Fair

At Semarang, in the heart of Java's Communist belt, President Sukarno of neutralist Indonesia last week delivered his first public report on the trip which he made to the U.S. two months ago. In the audience, at Sukarno's special request, was the able U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, Hugh S. Gumming Jr.

Sukarno began by extolling the material wealth and achievement of the U.S. "In San Francisco," said he, "I saw a bridge that is four kilometers long--a bridge that is more than 50 meters above the surface of the sea and under which big ships can pass . . . This is the result of imagination, work and big-mindedness."

It was not U.S. prosperity alone that impressed Sukarno. "America," said he, "has not sacrificed freedom of expression for freedom from want . . . This American freedom of expression is called political democracy." Then, noting that he would soon be visiting Russia and Red China, the Indonesian President continued: "I do not expect to find--" Smiling, he broke off in midsentence and said, "I must be equal and fair."

He would be interested, Sukarno resumed, to observe material achievements in Communist countries, "where they have gone about this backward--they have started out to establish freedom from want and--" Once again he broke off, and this time a ripple of laughter ran through the 1,000 top-ranking Indonesian officials who made up the bulk of the audience.

After the speech was finished, Sukarno followed up his pointed innuendoes with an equally pointed gesture. When it came time to leave, he strolled off with his arm about Hugh Gumming. (Also present but unembraced: Soviet Ambassador to Indonesia Dmitry Zhukov.) Clearly, Neutralist Sukarno's U.S. tour had been rewarding--not only for him but for the U.S. as well.

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