Senator Barry Goldwater renewed today his contention that “extremism is no sin if you are engaged in the defense of freedom.”

He did so in replying to criticism by Governor Rockefeller of a similar statement in his speech last night accepting the Republican Presidential nomination.

Mr. Goldwater said:

“Is it extreme action for our boys to give their lives in Vietnam? Would the Governor fight for his life? That would be an extreme action.

“I would like the Governor, for my benefit and the benefit of the party and of the people of America, to put down in writing his definition of extremism. Extremism is no sin if you are engaged in the defense of freedom.”

Mr. Goldwater cited the actions of Theodore Roosevelt in “Panama and Cuba” and said those might have been defined as extreme.

“I won’t condemn it,” he added, however. “They were used for the benefit of our freedom.”

The Senator commented on the Governor’s criticism before attending a meeting of the Republican National Committee at the St. Francis Hotel.

Mr. Goldwater surprised many people by making his remarks on extremism in the acceptance speech. The issue is one that has divided the party and the just-concluded convention, and he had been expected to take steps to restore party unity.

Last night, before he had come under attack, Mr. Goldwater defended his remarks. He told a member of his staff who discussed the speech with him that “I like that line,” meaning the passage on extremism.

Major Issue Developing

Mr. Goldwater may not have intended to make extremism a major issue in his campaign, but it now seemed inevitable that both Democrats and dissident Republicans would insist on making it one.

The Senator has often been asked if he would repudiate the ultra-conservative John Birch Society and has always replied that he could not repudiate anyone who did not advocate the violent overthrow of the government and who acted constitutionally. . . .

Mr. Goldwater called on former President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the St. Francis Hotel after the national committee meeting.

Last night after giving his controversial acceptance speech Mr. Goldwater granted an interview to John S. Knight, editor and publisher of the Knight newspapers.

In a copyrighted story Mr. Knight said that Mr. Goldwater was certain that the Republican party could be united but that “he has no immediate plans to achieve that end.”

Mr. Knight also said that Mr. Goldwater was not overly optimistic that racial strife could be kept out of the coming Presidential campaign.

The article added that Mr. Goldwater believed that Negro civil rights demonstrations against him would “react in his favor.”

Mr. Knight’s story said that Mr. Goldwater was deeply disturbed by what the Senator called the “false image” of him painted by Negro leaders.

Senator Defines Extremism

In an airport news conference just before his take-off for Phoenix, Senator Goldwater was still tossing barbs at Mr. Rockefeller.

“He’s so vague,” Mr. Goldwater said, “that I would think anyone who doesn’t agree with him is an extremist.”

Obviously he meant an extremist in Mr. Rockefeller’s view.

Asked for his definition of extremism, the Senator made it brief:

“Extremism in politics is either Fascism on one side or Communism on the other.”

Asked for comment on criticism that his nomination had drawn from some European newspapers, Mr. Goldwater said:

“I think they have misunderstood my position. My position is exactly the same as Ike Eisenhower and they got along well with him. If I were they, I would be worried about the Johnson Administration, which is slowly destroying NATO.”

The Senator said this country had traditionally looked with disfavor on the foreign press’s taking a part in American political affairs and that the United States had tried to stay out of theirs. . . .

Mr. Goldwater had a short answer to a question about California Gov. Edmund G. Brown’s statement that the Senator’s acceptance speech had “the stench of Fascism.” “It’s the stench of Brown — it’s ignorance,” Mr. Goldwater replied.

Source: Charles Mohr, “Goldwater View Is ‘Frightening’ to Rockefeller.” From The New York Times, July 18, 1964. Used by permission and protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.