NEW YORK—It must have been a relief for the President to return, with his stop in Hawaii, to American soil. I think, however, that at the end of his trip there might well be a real reappraisal of this country's whole position in the Pacific.

The President has promised to defend Quemoy. He also has been most reassuring to Taiwan, the Philippines and South Korea. But the Kishi government in Japan evidently has not been vindicated and remains unpopular, with the Premier ready to resign some time after the security treaty has gone into effect. Okinawa also is restless, demanding to be returned to the Japanese instead of being held by us.

Does not this Japanese unrest mean that the treaty is not satisfactory to them, that they feel it has put them in danger and that it was not accepted by their country through democratic processes? Does a pact that is this unpopular benefit either party, and should we have become a part of it? I hope these questions will be seriously considered in the next few weeks.

I am delighted to see that Vice-President Richard M. Nixon is moving away from the position of Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson on food production and food surpluses and following Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's suggestion for a food stockpile.

Of course, the Vice-President does not go as far as I would like to see him go and all that he advocates has been urged in the past, but at least he is calling for a complete reappraisal of our agriculture situation, and this is vitally necessary.

I am glad that Frederick M. Eaton, the American delegate to the disarmament talks in Geneva, upon his return to Washington has expressed the opinion that our attitude in these negotiations must be less rigid. For if we continue as we have been, the rest of the world will feel that we are obstructing moves toward disarmament.

Since the Soviet Union has come closer to our previous position, it is only common sense that we should make some concessions also. We cannot negotiate from a fixed position. We must be able to move one way or the other, and the time has come for us to do so.

I went to see "Fiorello!" on Broadway earlier this week, but no words of mine can add to the praise that already has been given this show. A crowd that filled every seat in the theatre attested to its popularity, and, of course, there is certain nostalgia attached to the La Guardia character.

I have been saying lately that I would give a great deal if we could just find a Democratic Fiorello La Guardia. It would be such a relief.