National Affairs: Lines of Decision

Not only rockets for NATO, but other decisions—some with far-reaching implications—were in the works last week:

¶ The White House called for a "flash" estimate of the Pentagon's 1959 budget, got an answer of $42 billion as a working figure. This meant probable expenditures of from $39½ billion to $40 billion next year, with an increased schedule thereafter. The notion of a $38 billion ceiling on defense spending is as dead as a rubber check, perhaps for many years to come. ¶ There will be no tax cut next year; there may be an...