The Voyage Thither

"We extend to you," President Kennedy wrote last week in the International Edition of the New York Times, "our cordial invitation to travel to a new world.... This year is a most interesting year for a visit to the United States of America."

It most certainly is. In Texas the U.S. has a state which produces four times as much cotton lint as any place else around (4,308,000 bales in 1958); the Ohio River is spanned by the largest Simple Truss Bridge anywhere--the Metropolis Bridge has a main span of some 720 feet! Or take a camera to Oklahoma on September 16, for the colorful Indian ceremony known jocularly as "Cherokee Strip Day."

All this America has, and more. All worth a visit. But it must be noted that the President is approaching tourism from the wrong angle. He wants everyone to hustle out to Seattle. But this is clearly absurd. Why would anyone want to come to the United States for a "World's Fair." They can stay in the World.

The real reason people should come to America is for America. And for that they should visit Pennsylvania. Where else can one motor gently and successively through the hamlets of Bluebell, Intercourse and Paradise? At any rate, foreigners can happily make Pennsylvania their eatlife in this country: free samples of the principal products of Hershey, Pa., and Williamsport, Pa. (home of the World's Largest Peanut Butter Factory), will keep them chawing for weeks.

As the President says, and rightly, "We have made plans to welcome you." It's always on our minds.