Evening star., 1941-12-21
By Marquis ". Chids

failed to lure prosperity around that
corner. was plagued by the bonus march
ers. They camped in Washington, con-
slant reminder of his troubles and more
over, Mr. Hoover was told by his advisers
that they were inspired by Communists
and similar troublemakers On the other
hand, the pitiful plight Of these men and
their families had stirred wide sympathy
on Capitol Hill
Into this highly charged situation the
snowy Macarthur was precipitated Or
ders came from Mr.. Hoover to drive out
the bonus army. Gen. Macarthur, as
Chief of Staff, carried out those orders
with tanks, tear gas, bayonetS. A ragged
rabble fed before .dapper general who,
according to current legend, had put on
an immaculate new uniform with medals
for the occasion.
The Battle of the Bonus Marchers
served to obscure Gen. MacArthur's
achievements during his tour Of duty as
Chief Of staff. He worked day and night
for modernization and mechaniZation of
the Army, preaching everywhere the
when normally peace-loving Nation
was bent on ignoring the very word war.
Nevertheless, Gen. Macarthur estab-
lished the General Headquarters Air
Force and developed the four Army Or
ganization of our land forces, thereby
taking long step out Of the traditional
past. Almost as great an achievement
was the fact that he stood as high with
the buoyant Mr.. Roosevelt as he had
with the dour Mr.. Hoover.
1t was Mr.. Roosevelt who took the
unprecedented step of extending Gen.
MacArthur's tour of duty as chief Of
staff. And it was Mr.. Roosevelt who
approved the loan of the retired chief of
staff to the Philippines. 1t is possible
that the President foresaw exactly the
crisis that now exists in the Pacific. And
he knew that Gen. Macarthur would do
all that could be done to make the is
lands defensible.
Planned Island Defenses.
The prevailing view when the general
went out to Manila in 1885 was that
little or no consideration should be given
to defense of the Philippines in event
of e. war with Japan. Time and energy
should not be wasted in that effort, it
was argued. With the background of
his long knowledge, Gen. Macarthur be-
gan an intensive study of the military
problem.
In a short time he presented <PreSi-
dent Quezon with plan for making the
independent Commonwealth of the
Philippine Islands invasion proof. y
This plan called for compulsory military
training for all youths, the formation
of an efficient air force and the organi-
zation Of an offshore patrol of small
swift motor torpedo boats. Within 10
years approximately 100000 partially
trained men would be available for serv-
Ice on short notice. The program was
to cost 100000 year. At the out
break of the war there were approx
mately 10000 Filipino reserves.
Shortly after Gen. Macarthur got the
program started, President Quezon made
him field marshal of the Philippine
Army. A golden baton weighing II
ounces was conferred on him at just such
q dramatic ceremony in Malacanar
Palace as the general deeply loves. In
response to a speech from President
Quezon, Field Marshal Macarthur de-
livered himself of some lush passages o1
the rhetoric purple that he cultivates
But even such dynamic figure as
Field Marshal Macarthur found it diff
ficult to sustain interest Factions grew
up, with opposition from left wingers
A greater handicap was American in
difference. The Philippines had beer
granted independence to become effective
In 1916. With that . great many Amer
| icans, including some in high places, dis