Evening star. [volume], May 17, 1951, Page A-19, Image 19

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

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David Lawrence:
Gen. Bradley Consistently Wrong
Told House Group Two Years Ago He Never Expected
To See Another Big Amphibious Landing
Gen. Omar Bradley has been
consistently wrong about the
strategy of the United States
In his testimony heretofore be
fore congressional committees,
and hence there is a tendency
to question whether he is right
now.
The general told the House
Armed Services Committee in
October, 1949, that, because of
the use of the atom bomb, he
never expected to see another
large-scale amphibious landing.
But in less than two years he
was proved wrong—the United
States was compelled to use
large and powerful units of its
Navy to protect a large-scale
landing in Korea involving at
that time at least 100,000 troops.
Gen. Bradley was one of the
members of the Joint Chiefs
who, because of their confi
dence in a one-weapon strategy
—the atom bomb—voted against
the building of a large-sized
naval carrier on the ground
that the United States Air Force
would be adequate to take care
of strategic air warfare. Since
♦ limn linn TTn iln/1 Clnlnp
Navy has had to take out of
, mothballs many aircraft car
riers and Congress has author
ized the construction of a large
sized carrier on the direct
recommendation of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. The Navy's air
craft carriers have participated
regularly in both strategic and
tactical warfare for 10 months
in Korea.
Two years ago, when Gen.
Bradley and some of his asso
ciates were testifying before the
House Armed Services Commit
tee, the doctrine was being
espoused that Intercontinental
bombers — needing no overseas
bases — would take care of an
enemy forthwith by bombing 70
of its cities. Today the military
men at the Pentagon, including
Gen. Bradley, are telling the
congressional committees who
are investigating the MacArthur
episode that the United States
must not offend its European
Allies because overseas bases are
absolutely essential to Ameri
can defense of Europe.
Gen. Bradley also has testified
this week that to adopt the
MacArthur strategy “would in
volve us in the wrong war, at
the wrong place, at the wrong
time and with the wrong en
emy.”
This alliterative remark con
tradicts the testimony of Secre
tary Marshall. Presumably Gen.
Bradley was referring to a
war against Red China as the
“wrong enemy.” Mr. Marshall
testified that, if the MacArthur
proposals were adopted, Ameri
ca might become involved in a
war with Russia—presumably
the “right enemy.” He said that
Russia might feel obligated to
join Red China because of a
mutual assistance pact. He also
said, in effect, that Russia was
really the No. 1 enemy of the
United States.
Gen. Bradley’s testimony in
the famous B-36 hearings in
1949 indicated a belief that the
next war would be fought in
Europe and that, for all prac
ucai pm puaeu, me r'aeuic wasn i
going to be an area of war. Since
that time the Pacific has come
into the picture very definitely
as a war area, and the U. S.
Navy has used lots of warships
and personnel to protect the
transportation of troops and
supplies to the Far East.
The obsession of many mili
tary men here is that the enemy
will obligingly pick out as the
place for the start of a war the
exact spot that the defending
country expects him to attack.
This was the state of mind,
too, of our military men at the
time of Pearl Harbor. All the
top commanders here, both in
the Army and the Navy, pre
dicted that if Japan struck it
would be in the Far East or in
Southeast Asia. Japan refused
to oblige our strategists and
chose Pearl Harbor instead, in
flicting severe losses on our
ships and men and on our shore
installations.
Our intelligence system at
that time was working effec
tively and messages were being
decoded showing Japanese in
tentions, but in Washington the
complacency of the high com
mand was such that proper
messages of warning never were
sent out to Admiral Kimmel and
Gen. Short at Pearl Harbor.
These two commanders were
never court-martialed, because
too much of the blame would
have had to be shared by the
high commanders in Washing
ton.
It is, of course, irritating to
the one-weapon school of
thought to have the Kremlin
pick out the Far East as a place
to present its challenge. Logi
cally, the Kremlin should have
started long before this a war
against Yugoslavia. This would
have fitted in with the one-area
war concept held here. Unfortu
nateiy, ivioscow lias cnusen uie
Far East and Southeast Asia as
the places to start her conquest.
While every one here concedes
that Russia is behind Red China,
it still is assumed that a "local”
war can be fought in Korea.
Moscow may have its own ideas
on how to prolong that war in
definitely.
To understand the fallacy of
Gen. Bradley’s quip, it is only
necessary to search for a single
case in the history of military
operations wherein the defend
ing country was fully prepared
to fight the right war, in the
right place, at the right time.
Enemies do not operate so
obligingly. And that’s why
global defense is necessary—
and global defense nowadays
means effective resistance in
both Asia and Europe.
(Reproduction Rights Reserved.)
Doris Fleeson:
Constitutional Issue at Stake
Senate Inquiry Into U. S. War Policy Raises Question
Whether Congress Is Seeking to Upset Balances
The Senate inquiry into war
policy stands at a crossroads in
United States Constitutional
history.
At issue in Gen. Bradley’s re
fusal to disclose his conversa
tions with President Truman
about the MacArthur dismissal
is the Constitutional doctrine of
checks and balances with a
separation of powers among the
executive, the legislative and
the judicial branches.
It sounds technical; further
more with four terms for
Franklin Roosevelt recently in
mind the public is currently
more apt to fear dictation by
the White House. But this time
the question is whether Con
gress is seeking to upset the
precious Constitutional balance.
The situation, though serious,
has at least one guffaw in it.
Bumbling Senator Wiley of
Wisconsin upset the Republi
can applecart by posing the is
sue against Gen. Bradley. They
had figured on springing it on
Secretary of State Acheson who
ion thinks can do nothing right
since he said: “I will not turn
my back on Alger Hiss.’’
It is a foregone conclusion
that the Secretary of State is
going to maintain that the Con
stitution protects his intimate
relationship with the President
who appoints him. He would
be bound to disclose mucH; in
the temper of the Republican
opposition it is impossible to
doubt that they would press him
on matters he would refuse to
disclose. They would figure that
anything done to Mr. Acheson
would be accepted by the pub
lic as legal. The tragedy is
they are probably right.
Gen. Bradley is another cup
of tea. It can be argued even
against the majestic George
Marshall that he has a vested
interest in policy mistakes made
while he was Chief of Staff.
Ambassador to China and Sec
retary of State. Gen. Eisen
hower, through no fault of his
own, is enmeshed in political
vendettas. But the GI general
is uniquely and splendidly a
military figure.
Even as tempers flared and
tongues bit, some Senators were
grinning wryly over the conster
nation caused by the Wiley move
and the attempts of his Reputi
lican colleagues to pull back
from it. They might have suc
ceeded, saving the issue for the
vulnerable Acheson. had not
Senator Morse, a former law
teacher, pounced on it and de
manded a vote.
The darker side of partisan
politics was aired by various
taut exchanges.
Senator Knowland called the
situation “distinctly legalistic”
and said, “I am fearful that at
this time if an iron curtain is
lowered . . . that it may be low
ered on other matters and we
may find our committee really
stymied in the work we are try
ing to do.”
To Senator Fulbright this
represented an effort to lay the
groundwork for the same white
wash cry raised against the
Tydings committee. He charged
that it was because Gen. Brad
ley had made a sieve of Gen.
MacArthur’s case and used the
strong word “sabotage.” Sen
ator Knowland protested the
aspersion bitterly and said he
wanted only the facts and the
truth.
Other Senators at the hearing
assert that Senator Welker, the
Idaho freshman who is a law
yer and an intimate of Sena
tor McCarthy, Was present and
advised his colleagues: “If they
make this stick our side ought
to pick up our papers and walk
out and call it a whitewash.”
The Republican headache is
that if they cannot enforce their
demands against Gen. Bradley
they have set a useful precedent
for Mr. Acheson’s benefit.
It appears their chances are
slim since the respected Sena
tor George of Georgia, one of
the few Senators of this day who
has influence with his col
leagues, is against them and so
is Chairman Russell, who had
instantly ruled in Gen. Bradley’s
favor.
Senator Russell was saying
later that he was a better curb
stone lawyer than he thought;
all his study had convinced him
of the rightness of his position.
The truth is that Senator Morse
sprang into the breach because
he feared that Senator Russell
was relying too much on the
doctrine of privilege without
realizing the grave Constitu
tional question at stake.
Ammunition for the Russell
side is contained in a study
made last year by the Justice
Department for the President.
it carries me question irom
George Washington’s experience
with the problem, through the
famous Marbury vs. Madison to
Roosevelt. In virtually every
item it supports Gen. Bradley’s
position.
What the Republicans could
try against Mr. Acheson is a
Senate resolution instructing
the Russell committee—which
includes Armed Services and
Foralgn Relations—to take their
viewpoint. This would be re
garded by Democrats as a step
toward attempted Impeachment
of the President and would be
fiercely resisted.
It may surprise the public but
the word impeachment is not a
stranger these days to many lips
in Washington.
Dorothy Thompson:
Every Victory Brings New Burden
Realities'of Asia Not Understood in Washington;
More War Leads to More Communism
This column, having read the
testimony, sticks to its thesis
that nothing of a fundamental
nature is being debated in
Washington.
The fundamental issue, it
seems to us, is American com
mitments under the U. N.
The prevailing bi-partisan
view is that peace is indivisible,
and that it is the American duty
to police the globe against ag
gression.
We, however, maintain that
a universal system of collective
security is impossible without
agreement between the United
States and the U. S. S. R„ that
an American attempt unilater
ally to enforce peace—with
whatever states can be per
suaded to go along in secondary
roles—has already involved us
in war; that permanent politi
___i.: ____ _u _ r ..
^uviiiuativu ao a itoujt ui 1 u
is quite unimaginable; and that
the pursuit of this concept will
bankrupt the United States and
lead not to the strengthening of
liberty and law, but straight
into socialism.
„ We wish everybody in any po
sition of authority would read
George Orwell's "1984.” That is
where we are heading, by -the
process of calling war peace.
(Congress suddenly had to
push through a special resolu
tion to give the veterans of the
Korean war many of the bene
fits, including medical care, al
ready available to veterans of
other wars. They were not avail
able to veteran* of Korea be
cause the U. N. government had
not declared the conflict in
Koraa to be a war!)
w .
The popular acclaim of Gen.
MacArthur, apart from the re
sponse to an extraordinary per
sonality, is due to the belief
that he knows how to end this
peace - enforcement expedition
quickly—and, if our allies won’t
help us, we’ll go it alone.
The Truman-Marshall alter
native is to maintain an indefi
nite holding operation until
enough Chinese are killed to
make them want to quit.
We, however, think the Chi
nise can afford lives better than
we, and that the intervention
in Korea, like the intervention
against Bolshevist Russia fol
lowing World War I, will only
serve to unify the Chinese
around the Red leaders, accel
erate the Asian revolution, and
end Western influence in Asia
for decades to come. We are,
therefore npit.hpr fnr ftp n
Mac Arthur nor President Tru
man. Our position is nearest
that of Herbert Hoover.
No one yet has projected a
comprehensible program for re
storing and maintaining order
in South Korea if, or when, the
Chinese and North Koreans ever
agree to cease fire and return
to the status quo ante bellum.
which has become our limited
aim.
Every'expert we had in Ko
rea before the peace-enforce
ment project began testified
that South Korea was not eco
nomically viable. Its agriculture
depends on North Korean in
dustry, which, in turn, depends
on South Korean food. Whole
sale destruction has certainly
<L
not made South Korea more
viable! So, assuming that we
could restore the South Korean
republic, it would have to come
to terms with North Korea, or
be a permanent American relief
burden.
But North Korea is meshed
in with Manchuria, whose in
dustries are heavily dependent
on North Korean electric power,
water reserves and minerals.
Thus, in geo-political terms.
Korea and Manchuria are a
single area.
During World War II, no one
in the West paid the slightest
attention to geo-political fac
tors. This column managed to
revive Sir Halford Mackinder’s
“Democratic Ideals and Reali
ties,” but, as in 1917, when it
first appeared, no leaders in
vuc hwv paxu 11/ iiccu—ou nc
got Yalta, an arrangement
against which Sir Halford had
specifically warned a genera
tion earlier.
Geo-political factors are re
alities, far transcending ideolo
gies. South Korea cannot be
supported by Pittsburgh or the
Ruhr or sell its agricultural
products to the United States.
It can be supported only—
against another Iron Curtain—
by the American taxpayer.
Thus, every victory we win
against geo-political realities,
presents us with a new burden
ad infinitum, drives us further
into State Socialism, and fur
ther into war.
And the more war the more
communism, as everyone must
have observed by now.
(ReleMed br the Bell BrodlciU, tec.)
1
LOUIE —By Harry Hanan
The Pentagon medical staff
is not particularly worried over
the amnesia cases which devel
oped recently when top-ranking
generals like Defense Secretary
Marshall and the chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff—Gen.
Bradley—appeared before the
Senate committee investigating
the dismissal of Gen. MacArthur
and our strategy in Korea.
The medicos are convinced
that all who are afflicted with
partial loss of memory will re
cover after they leave the wit
ness stand.
Meanwhile, about 150,000
American soldiers are bracing
themselves to meet a new Com
munist attack. Many know that
they will be casualties. And they
ask: “What next? What will
happen after the Chinese Reds
have been stopped once more
ana their second offensive has
been repelled?” Very few Ameri
can fighting men in Korea have
sufficient political education to
believe that the Chinese now are
being taught a lesson and will
beg for mercy.
But even if the Chinese Com
munists suffer heavy casualties,
the question in the minds of
those who have followed Gen.
Marshall’s testimony carefully
is whether the Russians will
not intervene if the Chinese are
losing their wind.
The Defense Secretary, who
is in fact, although not officially,
also our chief military planner,
stated before the Investigating
committee, in trying to refute
Gen. Mac Arthur’s arguments,
that Russia would intervene in
the Korean war if we attacked
Chinese territory with our Air
Force.
He based his evaluation on
the fact that the U. S. S. R. can
not afford to lose the Eurasian
1 r
■ ■■ ■■■■* E— . ■■■■—■ ■ ■ mS
Henry McLemore:
'Bookie' Was but Baby Talk
To Small-Town Police Chief
Those of us born and raised
in small towns are bound to be
more deeply shocked by the dis
mal corruption uncovered in
the New York Police Depart
ment than those whose child
hoods were spent in big cities.
To small-town youngsters of
my day the chief of police ran
behind only mama and papa in
the matter of respect. The
school superintendent had to be
content with fourth place. (I
say “school superintendent” and
not “superintendent of schools,”
because the kind of small town
I am talking about had but
one school, housing all classes
from the first to the graduating
twelfth.!
The chief of police nearly al
ways was a fat man who wore
his trousers below his paunch,
and a .38 revolver which no one
in the history of the town could
remember his ever having fired
save on the Fourth of July, and
then straight up in the air.
The chief, and his one or
two deputies, if it was a big
ouiau wnu, ivucw tiiC luob CUIU
middle names of every kid in
town, and where to lay hands
on him at any and all times.
In his head, the chief carried
the criminal record of every kid
in town. He knew which boys
couldn’t stay out of water
melon patches, which boys loved
to throw rocks at windows,
which boys would accept a quar
ter for distributing handbills
and then throw them back of
the nearest hedge, and which
boys to apprehend the day after
Halloween.
When he would grab a hand
ful of us for a boyish misde
meanor and say. “I’ll hav« to
tell your daddies about this,” it
didn’t cross our minds to try tb
bribe him with the best agate in
our pockets, or a promise to mow
his lawn for free instead of the
customary 15 cents.
We knew he meant it. He was ;
I
the majesty of the law and his
word was law. When we got
home we knew a switching, or a
real good dressing down, awaited
us.
He played no favorites. His
kids got the same treatment
from him that we did. So did
the Mayor’s children.
Everybody in town knew his
first and middle names, where
he lived, where he could be
found day or night, and within
10 cents of what he was worth.
He had the respect of every
citizen, and if he hadn’t he
wouldn’t have been the chief.
The chief’s wife usually took
in sewing to stretch her hus
band’s small salary, and sang in
the choir.
Of course, all of this was in a
small town, and temptations
were few. If you had asked the
chief, or anybody else in town
for that matter, what a bookie
was, he would have answered,
“Baby talk for book.” The only
fur coats in town were owned
by the animals, and television
still was around IS nr 2d rnr.
ners.
Can you imagine any one of
fering a small-town chief a
mule for free in exchange for
nmning a crocked turkey shoot?
(Distributed by McNaught Syndicate, Inc.)
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Constantine Brown:
Strategy of Wishful Thinking
Top Pentagon Chiefs Hide Heads Like Ostriches
As U. S. Troops in Korea Brace for New Attack
land mass. If Moscow’s hold on
China appears to be threatened,
because of more aggressive ac
tion by the United States, she
will not hestitate, according to
the Defense Secretary, to un
leash the third world war by
throwing her considerable mili
tary forces in that part of the
world against us.
If Gen. Marshall’s views are
correct the only way to avoid
this catastrophe would be to
stay on the defensive, try as
well as we can to prevent the
Reds from breaking our lines
and wait for some miracle. The
Chinese are not likely to give
up so long as the Russians want
them to keep fighting.
It is interesting to note that
in listing the enemy’s casualties,
which we have estimated at
some 800,000 including at least
550,000 Chinese, only 3,400 are
prisoners and about 150,000 are
North Koreans. No army which
loses such a small percentage
ui jji isuueis tan oe aescnoea
as beaten.
On the basis of these figures
alone, it seems highly probable
that the strategy of Washing
ton in resisting the enemy until
he tires oyt is based on wishful
thinking. Of course, there may
be some very secret plans, not
yet divulged, which may lead to
a successful end of the war.
But so far there is no Indi
cation that we can do more
than sit and wait until the
diplomats perform their magic.
Gen. Bradley’s testimony did
not carry much conviction for
those who listened to him last
Tuesday. When President Tru
man ordered American troops
into Korea to stop the Com
munist aggression, the chiefs of
staff, who were consulted before
the decision was made, are said
to have warned the Command
er-in-Chief of the calculated
risk that either Communist
China or Russia or both might
intervene in the conflict.
We knew then that we had
embarked on war, but there was
no opposition, so far as is
known, from the military. Polit
ically the President’s decision
was excellent. The time had
come when we could no longer
retreat before continued Rus
sian aggressions. But Mr. Tru
man is neither a military man
nor a student of strategy and his
final decision must have been
based on the best military ad
vice.
‘Equally there were many
raised eyebrows when Gen.
Bradley stated that we must
stand ready to fight Russia and
not China. According to what
Gen. Marshall said the previous
week, Russia cannot permit
China to lose the war.
He warned that if the Mac
Arthur strategy were adopted,
we would run a serious risk of
having the whole might of the
v. o. o. n. in Asia—which he
described as considerable — on
our necks and even our hold
on Japan would be threatened.
Russia, according to Pentagon
strategists, has the capability of
expanding the present Korean .
conflict into a third world war
and it would not matter whether
she uses Asia or other parts of
the world for that purpose.
Thus, when we discuss war with
China we cannot escape the in
clusion of Russia, which engi
neered and ordered the aggres
sion of last June against South
Korea.
To say, under these circum
stances, that we must avoid
Soviet intervention is following
the legendary ostrich, who hides
his head in the sand.
Lowell Mellett:
Where Upward Spiral Starts
Stabilizers Solve Ancient Chicken-and-Egg Question,
Placing Primary Blame on Prices, Not Wages
no answer to the problem. They
say it’s like the question of
which comes first, the chicken
or the egg?
Now three men to whom the
question is not one of academic
hair-splitting, but of very vital
concern, have offered their an
swer. The men are Eric John
ston. Economic Stabilizer; Mi
chael DiSalle. Price Stabilizer;
and Dr. George W. Taylor, chair
man of the Wage Stabilization
Board. They seem to agree that
the villians in the piece are the
price-makers; that the spiral
starts with prices, not with
wages.
Talking to a group of 90 in
dustrialists, the Business Ad
visory Council of the Commerce
Department, Mr. Johnston said:
“In a democracy you can
never prevent wage increases if
living costs increase. Wage in
creases always follow.”
Tft t.hp Sflmo ffrnim TM
Salle said: <
"Businessmen cannot expect
to control their own costs if
prices of food, rent and cloth
ing continue to rise. They will
have to pay more wages.”
Dr. Taylor, testifying before
the House Banking Committee,
referred to the 10 per cent wage
increase made allowable under
the wage freeze in January as
part of a "catch up” formula,
meaning a formula under which
wages might catch up with
prices.
Now the word is seeping
through Washington that a
number of large labor organiza
tions are preparing to put on
pressure for further wage In
creases. In the case of some of
them this would be the sixth
increase, if they get it. since the
end of World War II. The justi
fication, of course, is the con
tinuing rise in the cost of liv
ing—the same justification as
that given by the members of
the faculty of Rutgers College
this week in asking for $1,000
individual bonuses for the cur
rent year.
Justified or not, the prospect
of a "sixth round" of wage in
creases has given the Presi
dent’s emergency men a serious
scare and they hope it may
have the same effect on Con
gress. Although the Defense
Emergency Act, providing the
limited controls now in opera
tion. is due to expire at the
end of June, Congress has
appeared to be in no hurry to
extend the act and to strengthen
it at the points where it appears
to be weak. This could be due
to the fascination of the Mac
Arthur melodrama, perhaps.
ana tne tun or prying military
secrets out of the Defense De
partment. Or it could be due to
the unceasing clamor of im
portant constituents against
such limited restrictions as have
thus far been imposed. In any
case the deadline is drawing
near and not a lot is being done
toward building a real barrier
against disastrous inflation.
Eric Johnston testified before
the House Banking Committee
this week, asking for action.
Significantly, he put his strong
est emphasis on the need to curb
prices and profits. He made it
clear that there is no doubt in
his mind as to which is the
chicken and which the egg—and
which comes first.
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its body even when the curl is
almost gone. f
This marvelous Shampoo is a
blend of soap and soapless sham
poos—with the advantages of
both. Rich, creamy lather, to make
you feel shining clean. But this
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ADMIRACION °0f. SHAMPOO
Admiration Laboratorki, Nawark, New Jeney