Evening star. [volume], May 15, 1951, Page A-13, Image 13

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
David Lawrence:
Action Put Up to MacArthur
Truman Message of January 13 Was Not a 'Directive/
Testimony of Marshall in Probe Partly Reveals *
President Truman placed
upon Gen. MacArthur on Jan
uary 13 last the responsibility
of deciding whether or not to
evacuate United Nations troops
from Korea—a question of
both policy and military im
portance not only to America
but to her allies.
That’s the reason why the
January 13 message from the
President was not a “directive.”
Gen. MacArthur was to decide,
after reading some general ob
servations from the President.
This information, obtained
from Capitol Hill sources, is
partly revealed in the testi
mony of Gen. Marshall.
The all-important message
which Gen. MacArthur sent to
Washington just prior to Janu
ary 13 asked specific instruc
tion on three points—whether
he was to evacuate his troops
from Korea, hold on for a lim
ited period, or try to stay on
indefinitely. The general asked
for such instructions because
previous messages to him were
not clear. He never did get a
direct reply to his queries. In
stead, a message in abstract
terms came from the President
referring to various objectives
of the war in Korea and wind
ing up with the comment that
the message was not a “direc
tive.”
Gen. Collins, who was in
Tokyo conferring with Gen.
MacArthur at the time, thought
Mr. Truman meant that the
U. N. forces were to stay a lim
ited time. Gen. Vandenberg,
who was present at the Tokyo
conference, expressed the opin
ion that the President’s mes
sage meant an indefinite re
sistance and no evacuation.
Gen. MacArthur himself in
terpreted the President’s mes
sage to mean that he should
continue indefinitely to resist
and that evacuation was not to
be considered at all. He
promptly notified Gen. Ridg
way of this decision.
The interesting thing about
the episode is that, despite the
presence in Washington of most
of the high officials who com
pose the National Security
Council, including the Presi
dent, the administration here
declined to take the responsibil
ity for making the real decision
of policy at that time in Korea.
While this very important
conference was going on in To
kyo, Gen. Collins had with him
a copy of the January 12 recom
mendations of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff covering the four points
first mentioned in Gen. Mac
Arthur’s address to Congress
concerning a blockade, the use
of Nationalist troops, and air
reconnaissance over Manchuria
and China’s costal areas.
It was mentioned in the con
ference but no copy of this
memorandum was left with Gen.
MacArthur. Nothing was said
to him to the effect that, when
he did get the January 12 com
munication—as he did two
weeks later by mail—he was to
disregard it or to consider it
as having been modified by the
very general observations made
in the January 13 message of
the President.
The foregoing illustrates why
Senator Russell of Georgia.
Democrat, chairman of the Sen
ate Armed Services Committee,
notified Gen. Marshall on Mon
day that the committee had
been getting information and
message in “dribbles’’ and that
it wanted a complete and com
prehensive account of the mes
sages exchanged and not just
portions of the messages.
Again and again Senators
asked the Secretary of Defense
to point out in what respects
the January 13 message from
President Truman to <?en. Mac
Arthur was to be considered as
modifying or contradicting the
January 12 paper of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. Secretary
Marshall declined to give this
information, stating that he
preferred the committee get it
from Gen. Bradley.
■Senator Russell also pointed
out to Secretary Marshall that
the committee was desirous of
getting a written memorandum
stating specifically what direc
tives or orders or policies Gen.
MacArthur is alleged to have
violated as a forerunner to dis
missal. Up to now the testi
mony of the Secretary of De
fense on this has been far from
clear.
When other witnesses are put
on the stand, it will become ap
parent that the so-called “di
rective” of December 6, which
asked that all officials here and
abroad refrain from making
public statements without clear
ing them with Washington, was
interpreted by Washington offi
cials themselves—who advised
Gen. MacArthur—as intended
to apply to addresses and
speeches and not to the com
mander’s comment on military
events in Korea nor to conversa
tions or letters. If the latter fact
is established — namely, that
Gen. MacArthur was so advised
subsequent to the December 6
“directive”—this important bit
of evidence would throw a good
deal of light on the whole con
troversy. Senators familiar with
the background say such evi
dence exists and will be pro
duced.
(Reproduction RichU Reserved.)
Doris Fleeson:
Administration Is Demoralized
Little Effort Made to Put Nation on Military Footing;
Congress Also Retreating Behind Probe Fronts
r«u senuus euort is oeing maae
here to put the country in step
with thd ambitious military de
signs which it is so passionately
debating.
The Truman administration
Is demoralized and most of the
Congress has retreated to well
prepared positions behind a glit
tering facade of investigations.
They apparently believe that the
public will accept such enter
tainment in lieu of action.
There are honorable excep
tions. Stubborn Carl Vinson is
maneuvering the manpower bill
through a difficult conference
between House and Senate. In
dividual members are working
hard to avert actual mayhem
aginst the departments and in
dependent agencies. The Tru
man mobilizers, Messrs. Wilson,
Johnston and DiSalle, are tak
ing correct positions and striv
ing with obvious sincerity to
maintain them.
So far the help they have
been getting from the White
House and party channels has
been negligible.
Congress, of course, is taking
a chance. President Truman
made one do-nothing Congress
bite the dust. They seem to
figure that he is too deeply in
the trough this time to emerge
ana ao it again but they have a
year and a half to go before the
election.
Meanwhile, the President, seen
from Capitol Hill, is virtually
immobilized. His domestic pro
gram is a shambles and he
hardly discusses it with any one
except his titular leaders and a
very few old Senate friends. The
up-coming Dempcrats whose
names are before the public are
never before the President’s
desk in the famous oval study.
The Democratic National com
mittee has been reduced to er
rand boy status and further
damaged by the RFC troubles of
its White House channel, Don
ald Dawson. Many Democrats
feel that It would help if some
skilled veteran who had the con
fidence of the public and the
party would take over but no
one thinks it any use to propose
the change to Mr. Truman.
The international program is
being shored up by the unusually
strong Pentagon team of Gen.
Marshall, Deputy Secretary
Lovett and the Joint Chiefs of
StafT. They are doing for Mr.
Truman the job that Secretary
of State Acheson can’t do at
this point even though the pro
gram is largely his.
The monotonous baiting of
Mr.,Acheson continues. When
ever the administration seems
to be scoring, as with the week
of Marshall testimony, the at
tack breaks out, because Mr.
Acheson is vulnerable. A careful
check fails to disclose that in
the new crop of Acheson-must
go reports there is anything
more than has long existed. This
is the conviction among all
shades of opinion that the Sec
retary of State has died in the
trenches of this war, politically
speaking, and should be re
placed.
It will not make any differ
ence how well or how badly he
does when his turn comes before
the Russell committee. A bril
liant lawyer, the Secretary will
make his case well but he is not
going to change any opinions.
The Democrats will fight off the
attackers to the exact point that
they feel their own enlightened
self-interest dictates and no
longer. r
The public will begin to realize
next month when appropriations
are due and so much important
legislation, including the Defense
Production Act, expires, just
how much of a stalemate exists
here. And there are no in
vestigation fireworks on tap to
hide it.
Dorothy Thompson:
War Would Be Supreme Lunacy
U. S. Should Call for the Most Radical Disarmament
Along the Lines Suggested by MacArthur
In all the statements made
In the Washington hearings on
Korea, one at least, won the ap
plause of every mind and heart,
though it was quickly lost in
the scuffle. It was Gen. Mac
Arthur’s reference to the pej
manent disarmament of Japan,
as provided in the Japanese
constitution.
The general revealed that
this step was initiated by the
Japanese authorities themselves
in the conviction that war,
having reached a pinnacle in
the means of destruction, had
outlived any conceivable use
fulness as an instrument of
policy. The general then, speak
ing very deliberately, recom
mended that restrictions similar
to the Japanese be written into
the constitutions of every state.
Those provisions bar the main
tenance of any armed forces
whatsoever. Were such consti
tutional measures adopted, he
suggested, a small international
police force would suffice to
keep the world peace.
I can see a great function for
the hero of so many campaigns
before he “fades away.” That is
fn nnf Vile nnnrmnnc milHorv
prestige behind publicizing this
recommendation before the
United Nations and the world’s
peoples. ■
The meeting in Paris of the
deputies of the four powers,
preparing an agenda for a
meeting of the foreign minis
ters, has reached a deadlock.
On Wednesday Secretary Ache
son described as outrageous the
demand of Mr. Gromyko that
the West reduce its armed
forces without regard to the
militarization of the Soviet sat
ellites or the general level of
armaments, and reiterated that
the West would not slacken
its defense effort.
In this vicious circle the
■ dreary diplomatic bargainers
continue to move. Each ac
cuses the other of planning
war; each demands that the
other reduce its armaments.
But not one single head of a
state suggests that every coun
try, without exception, abolish
all arms, beyond those used In
normal internal policing.
One recalls Mr. Churchill’s
V
sardonic account of a disarm
ament conference among the
animals, in which the tiger,
eyeing the eagle, called for the
abolition of claws, the eagle
countering with a demand for
the abolition of fangs, etc.
The Soviet “peace” petition
was of such an order. The So
viets want to disarm the air.
where they are weak, but not
the land, where they are strong.
This hypocritical maneuvering
has nothing to do with peace.
Neither has Mr. Truman’s
doctrine to deter aggression by
the threat or use of armed
force.
The test in Korea has brought
not peace, but hideous war, with
the almost total destruction of
the country and appalling cas
ualties among soldiers and civil
ians alike.
Every government today
speaks in the name of democ
racy. and pretends that its oeo
pie are sovereign. Are they?
Pose .the question: "Would
Gen. Mac Arthur’s disarmament
recommendation, if put to vote
in every country, win a major
ity?” We know the answer.
It would win an overwhelming
majority—in the Soviet Union,
no less than in the United
States!
And if the people, nowhere,
can determine the fundamental
issue of their life or death,
wherein are they sovereign?
The theory of our Govern
ment is that fear alone keeps
the Soviets from launching all
out war. We differ. Pear is
the basic cause of war. Pear is
the justification for the present
rearmament everywhere — fear
of one power of another.
It is not true that commu
nism and democracy cannot
exist in the same world. But
armed communism and armed
democracy can hardly continue
indefinitely to confront each
other in acute and fearful ten
sion
rhe United States should call
for the most radical disarma
ment ever proposed, and do so
day in and day out with all the
publicity at its disposal.
For war. in the 20th century,
has become the supreme lunacy.
It can accomplish nothing for
an ideology, for it crushes every
idea It is the dissolver of all
social orders, since it is the dis
solver of life itself.
(Released by The Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
• ■ . ■ 1 1
Henry McLemore:
Men Would Rather Have
Hair Than Riches in Oil
Up until a few weeks ago I
had always felt that women
were the ones who considered
hair their crowning glory, but
I know better now.
Men are just as crazy about
having hair on the top, sides,
and back of their heads as gals
ever were. If you doubt me, drop
by my home some afternoon and
wade through the mail I have
received since I wrote a column
a couple of weeks ago about a
new recipe for growing hair.
It was given to me by Car
toonist Ham Fisher, creator of
Joe Palooka, and Ham’s head
is getting as fuzzy as a prize
winning peach. You couldn’t get
him to wear a hat these days,
his pride in the fuzz being so
great, whereas a few months
ago he wore a hat even when
taking a shower. The playing
of the “Star Spangled Banner”
was all that could make him re
move his chapeau.
Letters have come in from
practically all walks of life—
steeplejacks, subway guards,
bankers, shooting gallery pro
prietors, and politicians. In the
first column I didn’t give the
name of the laundry soap that
is supposed to help in restoring
your hair, for fear newspapers
wouldn’t like to give it free ad
vertising. .
But right now I am going to
say that the soap is Fels Nap
tha. and the procedure is to
give your head a good scrub
bing with it three times a we$k.
I do this not to give any free
advertising but purely to bring
happiness to the men who have
implored me for this informa
tion.
I believe the American man
would rather have a bushy head
of hair than be President, or*
win the national golf cham
pionship, or strike it rich in oil.
This craving for hair is not
easy to understand. Not for me,
anyway. With the price of hair
cuts what they are today, a
bald man would save enough
in a few years to buy himself a
small yacht, or take a luxury
cruise around the world.
I remember when the best
barber in town worked for
thirty-five cents, and for a buck
you got the works, including a
singe, an oil shampoo, and
enough lotions to keep you
smelling to high heaven for a
week.
It has been amazing how
many letters have come from
women pleading for the recipe
for their husbands and sweet
hearts. They frankly admitted
that they didn’t get much of a
thrill gazing on shiny pates, or
running their fingers through
nothing.
Why this feminine abhorrence
of bald heads? The gals go for
diamonds, just about the cold
est, barest thing imaginable,
and I never heard of one turn
ing down an automobile be
cause it didn’t have a fur-cov
ered hood. ^
The Fisher treatment hasn’t
worked on my head. Perhaps
my head is a strange one that
will only respond to fall plant
ing.
I have been eyeing a snappy
little wig in a window to use
until I get some results. It is
coal black and wavy, which will*
be a delightful change from the
straight red stuff I have been
wearing all my life.
Well, here’s wishing you luck.
'Distributed by McNeught Syndicate. Inc.
Constantine Brown: ~
De Gaulle in New Bid for Power
Would Include Germany in Western Europe Defense
In Realistic Program to Speed Preparedness
The stormy petrel of French
politics, Gen. Charles de Gaulle,
is making a serious bid to re
turn- to power as head of the
government this summer.
The French elections are
scheduled for June 17. All par
ties are determined to put up a
serious fight to reduce the mem
bership of the Communists in
the new National Assembly. The
Communists in the past have
been the largest single political
group in the Assembly.
Most non - Communist poli
ticians are fearful of Gen. De
Gaulle, who is stubborn and un
compromising in matters of na
tional defense.
At present he is believed to be
the only French political leader
who can approach the problem
of Europe’s defense realistically.
In conversations with a number
of Americans Gen. De Gaulle
appears to present a far more
preparedness than any other
French politician.
He is said to favor strongly
the following program:
(1) The inclusion of Germany
in Western European defense on
a far more equitable basis than
previous French governments
have indorsed it. He is less fear
ful of a resurgence of Germany’s
military might. While not dis
counting German military re
vival, he believes in first things
first.
Gen. De Gaulle apparently is
convinced that we shall have a
war in a very short time if pres
ent conditions persist in Europe.
The only deterrent to Russia is
a strongly rearmed free world.
Diplomatic solutions, attempts
at co-operation with Moscow and
appeasement in whatever form
are no longer of avail and, in
his opinion, will result only in
an increase of the Kremlin’s de
mands.
The threat to the free world,
he says, can be lessened only by
a real show of strength and de
termination to meet force with
force. Under such conditions
France’s fears of its neighbor
across the Rhine should be sub
ordinated to the actual advan
tages which can be obtained by
creating a sovereign Germany,
which would eagerly join in the
West’s defense effort.
2. In the same vein, Gen. De
Gaulle believes strongly in the
inclusion of Turkey and Greece
in the Atlantic Pact. His think
ing is military rather than politi
cal. So far, the French and Brit
ish governments—for reasons
which are still obscure to the
average observer—have prevent
ed these two Mediterranean na
tions from joining the North At
lantic Treaty Organization, in
spite of the pressing requests
from Ankara and Athens. This
stubborn refusal has given the
Turks the impression that the
appeasement proposal to Russia
at the expense of the Turks.
Gen. De Gaulle apparently
does not follow the tortuous
thinking of the diplomats when
he favors inclusion of Turkey
and Greece in Western defense.
The only thing he has in mind
is that these two countries com
bined have trained military
forces in being which exceed
considerably that of the entire
HATO.
3. Gen. De Gaulle is reported
also to favor the inclusion of
Spain in the Western European
defense system. He appears less
interested in the totalitarian
form of government which ex
ists across the Pyrenees than in
its manpower potential.
As a soldier, he places politi
cal ideologies, in time of near
war. far behind the military
necessities of the free world.
Spain has never threatened
France militarily. Spain is
strongly anti-Communlst. These
two considerations are ample for
this Frenchman to. believe that
the neighbor across the Pyre
nees, with an army of some
half million men under arms,
should not be left out of Eu
rope’s defense co-ordination.
(4) Gen. De Gaulle is said to
have expressed strongly the view
that France and the other
Western nations are marking
time and are not doing all in
their power to mobilize their
military potential. The politi
cians who have headed the
French government since the
crisis became acute still hesitate
to increase the compulsory mili
tary service from 18 to 24
months. Gen. De Gaulle is said
to be determined to force this
increase if he becomes head of
the French government.
These “revolutionary” views
of Gen. De Gaulle will be ~
strongly opposed by the non
Communist parties, which in the
past have contributed greatly to
the slowdown of French rearm
ament. Their inactivity has been
followed by the other nations of
continental Europe, to the dis
tress of Gen. Eisenhower.
While public opinion in the
United States has exercised a
sufficient pressure to force the
administration to change its
tactics in regard to European
rearmament, the present gov
ernments of France and Britain
have been the major handicaps
in the inclusion of Spain, Tur
key, Greece and Germany in the
defense setup.
The State Department met
the criticism of being too ideo
logical, at a time when aggres
sion by Russia may be expected
any day, by saying that it could
do nothing, since Paris and
London were irrevocably op
posed to further broadening of
NATO.
Lowe// Me//ett:
They Say They Prefer Truman
Republicans Pick Democratic Candidate, but
Continue Uncertain Concerning Their Own
In the penultimate year of
any administration there is
nothing the professional poli
tician enjoys so much as picking
what he calls his favorite presi
dential candidate for the other
party By this he means the
candidate he considers the
easiest to beat. In the past
dozen years the Democratic pro
fessionals have come up with
Senator Taft’s name oftener
than any other. In this they
have been encouraged somewhat
by the Republican professionals.
The latter have had, or they
used to have, a habit of saying
that while Senator Taft would
make a great President he might
not make a good candidate;
that he lacked political “it"
Just now you are not hearing
much of that kind of talk from
the Republican king-makers.
Probably because it has begun
1aa1» nil 1/ fltAti Ka
with Senator Taft next year
and there is little sense in cut
ting the ground out from under
him in advance. It seemed to
be agreed among those who
gathered for the National Com
mittee meeting in Tulsa last
week that Senator Taft now has
a long lead over all other party
regulars. As for party irregu
lars, of course, the name of
Gen. Elsenhower has not lost
its fascination, even though the
General continues to be an
elusive person politically, for
perfectly obvious reasons. Gen.
MacArthur? No, for the equally
obvious reason of his age and
the less obvious reason of his
unpredictability; the regulars
regard him as a little too hot to
handle.
But the Republican commit
teemen were fairly unanimous
in their choice of a Democratic
candidate. They named Presi
dent Truman. You could say
they were merely promoting the
idea that he would be easy to.
beat in order to frighten the
Democrats; that actually they
consider him the strongest con
tender the Democrats could of
fer But that is not necessarily
so. For them to think that
would be to admit that they
have spent six years trying to
tear Mr. Truman down all to
1 no avail. It is more likely that
most of them believe Mr. Tru
man will be the nominee and
that therefore they must pre
tend to like it.
Matter of fact, it could be that
they do want Mr. Truman.
Suppose that next summer Mr.
Truman should suddenly choose
J 4U. _
WW * UU VitV twpuwuuaiia
should find themselves con
fronted with a Douglas or a Ke
fauver or some other Democrat
who had bees busily building up
political magic of his own, not
too closely identified with the
administration. That might
make things a little harder.
They couldn’t do to anybody in
three or four months what
they’ve done, or hope they’ve
done, to Mr. Truman in six
years.
Returning to the question of
the Republicans’ own candidate,
a new factor has been injected
into that problem. That is:
whom would Gen. MacArthur
like, assuming it is some one
other than himself; whom could
he or would he give the most as
sistance, assuming he still has a
great pull with the people a year
from now?
Well, it is clear that Gen.
MacArthur is not going to give
his favor lightly. His thinly
disguised rebuke to Senator Taft
for undertaking the role of mili
tary expert could be a warning
to all other candidates. It could
be a tip-off to the Republican
managers that if they expect to
make use of the MacArthur
popularity they will have to pay
a price for it. The price could
be high. Aside from the presi
dency what might it be?
The highest non-elective office
within the gift of a grateful
President is that of the Secre
tary of State. Gen. MacArthur
is now wearing a Homburg hat,
virtually a badge of that office.
And, judging from the nictures
in the newspapers, he’s as hand
auiue in a nomourg as any sec
retary we ever had, as handsome
as Dean Acheson!
“SAVON II” FOR CHARTER
m si -
Gorgeous 90' yacht with crew of five
available this summer. Two double and
two single staterooms; beautifully deco
rated. Main Salon, Dining Room and
Lounge deck. Ideal for Business enter
taining or pleasure cruising. For complete
details write P. 0. Box 1422, York, Penn
sylvania.
ATTEiVTIOiV?
BUILDERS
NURSERY MEN
GOOD
TOP SOIL
20,000 Torn*
HILLSIDE 3000
*
[aptitude
1 TE5T6
H i
You II never knew how
■ /
I good instant coffee can be
I until you try
If The only "instant" backed by I
I 87 years of coffee experience I
| Instant Chou £ Ssa&om « Pure SoiubU Coffet mth Dextrin*, Mutton and Dextmu added J
f '
LOUIE —By Horry Honan
L ““I
Outside White
I HOUSE PAINT
• Permanent White o M OA
• Excellent Coverage Q , V/■
• Outstanding Durability y ■
• Lead, Zinc & Titanium • gallon
I MUTH
Save at 3313 11th St. H.W. ST. 6323
Quality Since 1865.
C. G. 8LOAN CO.. INC.
Auctioneer*—Appraisers
fitly and Cunningham Baby Grand Piano*, Empire Curio Cabinet, Or
iental and Domestic Rugs, Mahogany, Walnut and Maple Bedroom
groups. Upholstered Davenports and Chairs, Coffee Tables, End Tables,
Radios, Gliders, Office Chairs, Bookcases, Rexaire Vacuum Cleaner,
Frigidaire Washing Machine, Floor Lamps, Knee Hole Desks, Chests
' of Drawers, China, Glassware, Bric-a-Brac, Occasional Chairs and
Tables, Dining Room groups, Beds, Box Springs, Mattresses, Paintings,
Prints, Mirrors, etc.
at Public Auction
at SLOAN S
715 13th Street
WEDNESDAY
May 16th
At 10 A.M.
By order of the Ceienlel Storage Co. tor etorage chargee and many nrlyata
owner*.
Term*: Ca*h. C. G. SLOAN CO.. INC. Aact*. Eatabliihed 1891
High Cott of Bating?
Get faep to Instant Chase & San
born! Save8 up to SOt over a
pound of ground coffee—and it’s
so flavorful!
Latm-Staying Visitors?
Turn his morning-after growls
to grins with rich, invigorating
Instant Chase ft Sanborn. Made
by real coffee roasters!
Doing KP?
Spurn his help! There’s less
kitchen work with Instant Chase
& Sanborn. Makes 1 cup—or a
potful—without fuss or messy
grounds! •
Racing hr tho 7:15?
Get him oft to work minutes
sooner with Instant Chase ft
Sanborn! No perking, dripping
or delay—just grand coffee
instantly!
- —■—:-r-J
Safety—Strength
Stability
. v~
I
OCR NEW HOME
NOW UNDER
CONSTRUCTION a
We are proud of our many years of service to an
ever-increasing clientele . . . and express our ap
preciation to those who have made this consistent
year by year growth possible.
PERPETUAL
BUILDING ASSOCIATION
tltVlNTH t f STtltTS NOVHWtSt STfMWG 7700
(AWARD C. RAITZ,
Resources Over $115,000,000
1 *