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Pudgy Walter Ulbricht has tried both the carrot (higher wages) and the stick (police purges) in his efforts to keep his citizens at home. In fact, every time the Communists try to impose an unpopular policy, the refugee rate among the group most affected increases and more valuable manpower is lost. Thus Berlin keeps the Communists from being as ruthless as they would like. So far this year, the refugee exodus rate is even higher than last year.
Khrushchev growled to President Kennedy in Vienna last week that Berlin was a bone in his throat, and it must be removed. Just as grimly, the President of the U.S. replied that the West is in Berlin legally, not by Russia's sufferance, and intends to stay there.
If Berlin is a painfully exposed position for the West, it is an almost intolerable embarrassment for Khrushchev. For all the world to see, its refugees are vivid proof that, given a choice, men still choose freedom.