The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-03-22

In January, this column re- ported that General Eisenhower had completely reVamped any arlier ideas about de Gaulle, had found that he was overwhelmingly popular inside France and that, when the second front invasion came, the Allied armies would get more tsupport Inside France If If 1t was known lin advance that they were cooperating 100 per- cent with General do Gaulle.
 Accordingly, Q plan was worked out whereby immediate French elections and other political mat ters would be under do Gaulle's Committee of National Liberation when and If France was invaded.
 This political set-up was especially pushed by the Army, which didn't want General Eisen- hover to have to worry about poli- tical problems as he did in North Africa. The British also agreed, and even the State Department, never enthusiastic about de- Gaulle, concurred-thanks large- ly to the go-getting salesman ship of UndersSecretary Ed Stet- tinius. Furthermore, Admiral Leahy, former ambassador to Vichy, who has always been un- enthusiastic about de Gaulle, said that he would interpose TO ob- jection.
 But when the plan got to the White House, 1t stuck. The Presi- dent kept 1t for two months.
 GRUDGE SINCE CAsABLANCA
 The President has given no very clear explanation, but those who were at CasablanCa think they know one Of the answers. Everl since de Gaulle stubbornly refused to get together there with General Giraud, the President has had personal thumbs down on the Free French leader. Roosevelt had proposed to Churchill that de Gaulle be brought to Casablanca, figuring that, in the end. his persuasive charm could bring the two Frenchmen together.
 But de Gaulle remained obdur- ate. Roosevelt even had a hard time getting him to pose for & photo with Giraud. It was one of the few times that the President has not been able to melt a vlsi- tor. Tn addition to which, de- Gaulle, despite his high princ!- pies, is one of the most difficult Frenchmen anyone ever had to deal with. None of this has been forgotten at the White House.
 So when the Army plan to CO., operate with de Gaulle got stymied on the Presidents desk. Secretary of War Stimson and Acting Secre- tary of State Stettinius came up to the White House. Entering the executive office, Stettinius said:
 'Mr. President. the Secretary
 of War Is trem 1ndOusIy interest
 ed in this"
 What's the matter with the
 State Department?" chirped up
 StimsOn. "Isn't the State De-
 partment interested in it, tO0?"
 Stettinius agreed, but aroused no enthusiasm from the President, who suggested that the plan be re- drafted.
 "What you mean" SIlrmiSed
 Secretary of War StimsOn, "is to
 put in a whereas and 8 whereof
 of clause saying, 'NOtwithstand-
 ing the above, General de-
 Gaulle is a sO.and -sO'."
 NOTE: The President has now finally ruled against a firm hand clasp to de Gaulle and decided in effect that General Eisenhower, not de Gaulle, should handle poli- tical questions when and If he invades France.
 RICKENBACKER ON RUSSIA
 Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker did some bare-kunckled sermonizing about the attitude of the average American toward Russia during a confidential talk on Capitol Hill the other night. Addressing a closed-door meeting of the "76th Club" (third-term Republican Con- gressmen) the World War I ace declared that the minds of most Americans were cluttered up with too much propaganda and too little real information" about our