Evening star., 1943-11-01
BY ERIC KENNEDY,

BY ERIC KENNEDY,
Chief Executive Oficer of the Associated
Newspapers of Australia, Publishers
of the Sydney Sun.
SYDNEY, Australia Nov. ! (By
wireless to N.ANA).-The strong
bond Of friendship and cooperation
that has developed between Gen.
Douglas Macarthur communicating
chief in the Southwest Pacific, and
Prime Minister John Curtin of Aus
tralla is felt perhaps as fully by
every individual on this island con-
tinent. The place the United States,
general has won in the hearts of
the Australians is, indeed, not an
insignificant one, and few here be-
lieve he will give up his command
even to run for President of the
United States.
Only a comparatively few Aus
tralians really know Gen. Mac
Arthur, except as a single dimen-
sional figure. To most he is a
photograph. an intelligent, stern in
profile surmounted by a peaked cap.
They remember his pledge to keep
the soldier faith" when he arrived
in Australia, and they believe he has
honored that pledge
From his frequent acknowledge
of HiUinp I,o1r, il,
mentS of successes against the en-
envy, Australians surmise that Gen.
Macarthur is a deeply religious and
spiritual man. His religion, it is
thought, is personal and of the
New Testament, unlike Gen. Sir
Bernard L. Montgomery's whose Old
Testament God of Battles" is in
voked before the fray and whose
fiery sword has inspired the British
9th Army.
Declines Invitations.
In the Australian city in which
the mainland headquarters are To-
Gated, Gen. Macarthur is little
known. From his home to his Of
flee is a short automobile ride and
people halt, turn and stare at the
four-starred vehicle in an endeavor
to catch a profile glimpse of the
Informally dressed figure which
strides from the car through the
headquarters doorway and is sa-
luted by the sharp heel clicks of
American and Australian sentries
who guard the portal,
When at his field Headquarters
Gen. Macarthur is more visible to
officers and troops, but to most men
Of the Allied forces he commands
he is, as to the citizens, only a pro-
file.
When he arrived from the Philip
pines, filling the Australians with
hope by his very presence. many
citizens, eager to extend their hos
pitality and show their admiration
for the Bataan epic. sought to en-
tertaln him at dinners. parties and
intimate club functions Politely
and determnedlv he refused them
all, secluding himself with his fam
lily and his immediate staff.
Gradually the story spread that
Gen. Macarthur had come to Aus
tralia with single purpose. which
was TO win back the Philippines at
the earliest possible time. and that
all other activities were subjugated
to that mission. Respecting his de-
sire for privacy and seclusion. know
Ing he is a day and night worker
Australians were not resentful of
his aloof detachment from his i'm
mediate surroundings, though they
were puzzled to find that reserve in
an American character when most
of Gen. MacArthur's fellow country
men are, by Australian standards,
definitely eXtrovert.
Australians Puzzled.
The puzZlement grew when Gen
Macarthur recently shattered the
silence usually surrounding him bv
publicly discussing Pacific strategy
obviously as debater but against
an apparently noneXistent opponent.
Australian newspaper readers were
unaware of speculative stories then
being published in the pro Ameri-
can press because most Australian
edltorS threw such cabled excerpts
INTO the WaStepaper basket. re-
gardlng them as miSchievouS barbs
designed to create irritationS. Such
lrrltatlOnS would provoke peeved re-
IolnderS and lead to frictions which
would be incompatible with the
unity required to win this war and
maintain the peace.
Normally, Gen. Macarthur never
issued pronouncements on strategy
or tactics. The BACKGROUND and off,
the-record information is given to
correspondents by Col. LIE Grande
A. CPlckD Diller who came from
Bataan with Gen. Macarthur and
is the efficient chief of public rela-
tons and contact man with the
press
Some newspapers label as Mac
ArthurS S COmmuniuue" the daily
communicates covering operations
under his command Due probably
to the generals strong personality
and influence on his associates. it
Is observable that the vocabulary
OF these very detailed announce
ments has much of the quality of
Gen MacArthur's infrequent per-
sonal utterances.
Occasionally, when on the Aus
trallan mainland, Gen Macarthur
receives civilian visitors. Always
they are impressed by the vigorous
strength Of his personality, the
breadth of his interests and the
evidences of long study and thought
expressed in his steadily flowing dis
courses.
He uses a rich vocabulary studded
with phrases and rejecting deep
phllosophies as we'll as the passion
ate. driving thoughts of soldier.
Strong feelings impel him to strong
gestures and restless movements to
emphasize his strong words Very
evident then is his pride. wounded
by the inability of his forces to hold
the Philippines, spurring him to re-
pay the great personal insult.
(Reeased by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc)
ul f>II FIJI