The Washington times., 1932-07-29
NJ ARTHUR SAW
! GRAVE PLIGHT
, FOR HOOVER

Had President Hoover not acted
yesterday in clearing the District
Of "insurrectionists" he would
have been faced with a grave
situation, according to Maj. Gen.
Douglas Macarthur, Chief OF
Staff of the Army.
General Macarthur, who was
In command of the troops which
cleared the Government-owned
areas of veterans, said:
Had he waited "a hours
more, he would have been faced
with a grave situation which
would have caused real battle.
Had he let it go on another
week l believe that the inStitu-
tiOns of our Government would
have been severely threatened.
END OF PATIENCE
81 think that it can safely
be said that he had reached
not only the end of an extra
ordinary patience but that he
had gone to the very limit IN
his desire to avoid friction and
trouble before he used force.
'Tf he had not used it at
that time 1 believe he would
have been very derelict in the
Judgment in which he was
handling the safety of the
country"
President Hoover, in outlining
to the American people his reason
for ordering the Army to act'
stated:
"The veterans have been led
into violence which no govern
ment can tolerate"
His order, he stated, followed
receipt of a letter from the DIS
trict Commissioners that order
could no longer be preserved.
The President said:
"FOr some days police authorl-
ties and Treasury officials have
been endeavOring to persuade
the so-called bonus marcherS to
evacuate certain buildings which
they were occupying without
permission.
"TheSe are on sites where
Government construction is in
nrOgress and their demolition
was necessary in order to ex-
tend employment in the District
and to carry forward the Gov
ernment'S construction pro-
gram"
Referring to refusal of the oc-
eupants to heed the request OF the
to evacuate President
Hoover said:
thereafter, however, several
thousand men from different
camps marched in and attacked
the police with brickbatS and
otherwise injuring several po-
lcemen, one probably fatally"
He said that about 5000 men
had taken advantage of congress
sional action which permitted
them to secure transportation
home and said:
Many Called Reds
"An examination of a large
number of names disclOseS the
fact that a considerable part of
those remaining are not veter-
ans; many are Communists and
persons with criminal records.
"The veterans amongst these
numbers are no doubt unaware
Of the character of their COM
paniOns and are being led into
vi0lance which no government
can tOlerate."
The action by the President
and the Army followed receipt of
a letter signed by DR.. Luther H
Reichelderfer. president of the
District Commissioners, in which
after outlining the clash between
veterans and police earlier in the
day it was stated:
'It will be impossible for the
police department (Outnumbered
by several thOusand) to main
tain law and order except by
the use of firearms, which will
make the situation a danger
Gus one. 1t is believed, how
ever, that the presence of Fed
eral troops in some number will
Obviate the seriousness of the
situation and result in far less
violence and bIOOdShed."
UNIQUE AS MANEUVER
Major General Macarthur said:
II think as a military man.
euver, if you can call a thing
of this kind a military maneuver,
that it was unique.
Il have been in many riots,
but l think this is the first riot
1 ever was in or ever saw in
which there was no real blood
shed.
$50 far as l know there was
no man on either side who was
seriously injured since the Army
took over"
He said that he had never seen
greater relief on the part of a
distressed populace" than he saw
last night.