Sue—James Ridgeway has given us an interesting account of peace
and politics in the November US elections (Spectator, January 4, 1963). How- ever, his comments on the Californian results are likely to mislead the reader unfamiliar with the political situation in that State. I should like to point out that two of the defeated John Birch Republicans were effectively gerrymandered by a Democratic-controlled State legislature. (This poli- tical geometry was not aimed specifically at the extreme right, but was part of a State-wide plan drawn up by Democrats to retaliate for past Republican aggression of the same type.) It is there- fore of questionable value to describe the defeat of the right-wing candidates as a 'slaughter' if we are to attempt an analysis of the poll. This becomes readily apparent" when we consider some of the other Californian results, Although it is true that three candidates, supported by peace groups and using peace as a major issue, were elected to
Congress, it is also true that three other -candidates of the same inclination were defeated, and one of these had the advantage of a brand-new gerry- mander.
On the other hand, one should not miss the sig- nificance of six peace candidates in California, for the only other peace advocate in recent elections there was Mr. Archie Brown, now languishing under a prison sentence for holding a minor trade union office while belonging to the Communist Party. That voters favoured three of the six is a promising indication that peace is no longer anathema to the American electorate.
TILL London School of E
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