.\.'#_WA~~ s~R.· -~J>~e~~: Invitation to Disaste-t:. ~;:; 1

1 ;,;;{("'- ;:~~:.,.·~-";« 

~ '· ~'I)ie ·f~c~ t!W.t, s~cfetacy Aches~,n; .h~s ;~~¥)~ ('. · tO ii'all ·upon.,.-the N'atiorial ·security ,Couric11·'1l.S ·-a ·1 

rebuttal witness is~ ii' m~asure pf,:~~e ~~'):~~~s~::.1 with whlch tlie administration ··vtews ·Herbert ;, 

Hoover's call for a"tetreat from "Western' Eut'ope. ' 

~ CThe Security councu says such:atretreat ~oUld : • lead only to surrender or defeat.) >,:,-.;;:;;;;,, _;..,: / 

Mr. Acheson· and the others have 'goo if lf'eason "' 

<to be_~eeply conceri;ed with the):Iooy~r-~~~~ch.)j For .it was an appealing ,statement;.:;..a ~peech' fl 

.which. --was· -bo'unil '.)to ·.evoke ;"'-\wanii".an<f"'.eri•'J~ 

'thusiastic reSpons6 'from ~mililoiis 'of American.$:~· -

But it"was" lilso a ;$peech .which may .well 'b.ave . .'! 

contafued' within it: the seeds of outbwn' destruc~:. 

'ticin, a!id)t )s ':Pro:P¥ theEef9!e, to -~.it~~7/~!i~~ ~ re-examine,Jt., ,; ! · ' ' _ -~:._., . · / ·, ~ l·,~ 

·When Mr. Hoover said that he spoke "with,,_ a· 1 ·sense of ·deep responsibility:· he :was' wholry :?, 

sincere. He has passed that point 1n life wlien'1 

P:ien may ,tt,e".tempt~d by some nop~_ of .Personal ' 

-advantage,-when partisanship seems-worthwhlie _ 

merely for th~ sake of _partisanshiif~ln The siar:s : opinion, Mr. Hoover spoke as an American citizen 

whose sole concern.in these dark times Is to serve 

the best interests :ot bis country. Never~~~ess, 

this newspaper believes that 'the course which' the 

former President ·has advocated is a "course-. 

which, If follo~ed at this tune, can lead 'iis only 

to disaster.. .. . J. .. -' • -~ ,_ :· : 

When the speech is boiled down to its essence, . Mr. Hoover is saying that we should pull· back 

from Europe 'unless the Western Europeans build 

for themselves ·a defe'nse capable of turning back a Russian attack. If anytfiirrg is certain, it is 

that Europe, without our vigorous assistanceand support, will never erect such a defense. 

And the alternative, 'in Mr. Hoover's opin!Dn, is 

to arm ourselves to the teeth and maintain our own defense, with the Atlantic and the Paclflc as our outward bastions-. 

The first trouble with the advocacy of such a point of view Is that it tends to frighten the 

Europeans into doing nothing. , Without our help, they cannot' and will not fight in any 

effective manner. ~If they do· not. fight, if they 

do not erect what Mr. Hoover calls a "sure dam" 

against Communist aggression, the overwhelming 

probability is that Russia will take over Western 

Europe. What then? -. · - · -

· Mr. Hoover does not advocate that we fight in 

such an eve~tuality, but rather that, while 

pursuing our own rearmament, we adopt a waitand-see policy. ' · • .. , - : · · ·: 

What we should expect to see is a Russian 

exploitation and development of, the skilled manpower and the 1nd,tlitri9:1 r~{p~~~e~ 'of w:estern 

Europe. Instead .of havlng·.;t§O ·frlillion people 

aligned with us, 'ihey would 'ile'.' wor!dnli ,for '_the 

RusslanJl. ·:*:.'Hoover 11ays\~,ere·,1s"•no more danger that ·the Russians oeould invade Washington .thin that we;~wlth ',}il.:iid armies, -could 

reach Moscow: 1 That ts"""-qUite'~true.' ·'But \vhat 

.about the ability of Rdssia;j@ji.1f e' resources I 

of Westerrt 'Eufope ·are"afhe:i:~aJ;'k,~;aunch-:'l 

·-~an all-out, :devastatln1{atom1c'· attack .:On this I 

"'country?~~tthat MI:· 1Jo~ve~'says on-this pofot : is that the a~omlc bomb is a far less- dominant ! 

weapon than'!~as once ~thought to be'. 'Maybe I · so. But the pro~ect ·Of Jiving for an indefinite 

future under· the 'Wonstant dread ~of an· over- ; 

powering atomic l!~f is ncit an attractiV~"one. ! i 

·At best, it leaves '.with''. the enemy the 1nl:tiative, 

1 

the choice of the time and means of attack:· And . at worst, It trlvit,es the prospect thafihls country ·, 

·might·be ~$!St'r';lyed witho.u~~ny i>Jrll..ctlv~ ~han~e , ·~to fight-i;>back. ,r-·. ··; .• ·.• "'!{·'.'.'.~~ 

REF ID:A42847 

.:. Mr;-~~by~;: seems to thlnk. lliat hfs, prbpos~f · j.: ~ffers :\lope, after the initial preparation of re-: 

1 d uced expenditures, a balanced budget, a~d free.:.~ 

J d~m from the dang,ers, of inflation' and"economic 

! gradation. The .§tat fears that_ this ·Ji the' i sheerest Wishful thiiiking;· We would. ..~ f . d. 

I for one th' ""' ace , mg, with a loss of our foreign trade I That might not be too important. What is im~ ' portant is that, as t!te Russians increased their 

mllltary strength after the conquest of Western 

Europe, we would have to increase ours W 

:ou~d n~ver reach the point where we ·co~ld si~ ac an say that we a.r~ strong enough that· ' 

I do_ not need more and newer weapons 'Ins 'J we would have to live Indefinitely in ·~--d 

camp, and that, even without actual w and: s~p our re~ources, cancel out our fr~radatiOn 

fm~!ly, brmg on the economic.;."; • · agamst which Mr. Ho.over waqr ;i. rtns against 

Mr Hoover cautlcms in_ el~-j".e ses actuappeasement. But. that whi pro~~ement of 

ally would be the greatest ~ of appe does not 

all. It is true that if w&tem Europe its own defense take every possible step"° Insure to the line we probably will ha"' to fall back t. it 

~hich Mr Hoover wants us to occ.upY· - B~ t - would be~ ghastIY mistake to be~t such_ re rea unless and until It becomes clearly necessary· 

The ~mi_b1e th!Ilg for us to do 12 to try by evel'J'::'_feaslbl~ means- t.o encourag;~ _ J!:nd .1lelp th'e - Eii.r0peans to stand up to the common. enemY,. 

It they refuse to do that, thel!__ vre . m~st fall 

back. But let tis not abandon this battJ..e until we have really tried to fight It. __ - .;. 

Many of the people who respond favorably ta 

Mr. Hoover's counsel are also ad:11irers oJ General 

MacArthur. Perhaps_this.is a good time .to recall . some advice' that he has given._ ' - ,,_: - More than•a decade ago, wben another ruthless 

eneipy threatened the civlllzed ·,:World, . General 

MacArthur wrote to a friend: 1 The history of 

failure in wai can almost be summed up in two · words: ' Too Late. Too lat_e In comprehending\., 

_t,he deadly purpose of a potential enemy; too late 

in realizing the mortal danger; too late ,in preparedness; too late in uniting all possible force~ 

for res!Stance; too' late in standing with one's 

friends." ", : .. "" : - ' • .· ... - · That iS the advice of one of_ our ablest military I commanders. , So lell US nat..J)e,. too quick to 

~ abandon' our friends and prospective allies m favor of standing alone.·- - " :.,~;,,;, ~ ' ~ ~~:~--t~