The Wilmington morning star., 1944-08-25
BY wEsTBROOK PEGLER


bis readers. Ri. articles the good purpose
making people think.
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER
NEW YORK, If have any ear for the
language of the U. S. A., Rear Adm. Husband
E. Kimmel is calling Mr.. Roosevelt's running
mate liar when he writes letter to Sena-
tor Harry Truman saying: your innuendo
that General Short and were not on speaking
terms is not true. Your statements alleging
failure to cooperate and coordinate our efforts
are equally false"
Any way you read that Kimmel is accusing
Truman of intentional falsehood He doesn't
say Truman is mistaken or misinformed And
when a man trained in the code of either of
our service academies as Kimmel was, tells
another man that he lies that means that he
is willing to 60 to the floor with him. In this
case of course, Kimmel is not expecting a
fist fight with Truman but he certainly does
put it up to him to submit to public exami-
nation of his statements and the facts
This is very bold conduct for an admiral. He
knows he is addressing a man who hopes to
become vice president of the country and who
is now a member of the Senate. If there is
any precedent for such impious language to
senator from an officer of our army or Navy,
l have never heard of it and you have Kimmel
daring not merely Truman but President
Roosevelt to open the recrod and let the pub
lie Judge who was most at fault in the greatest
naval disaster in all history. He is willing to
take his chances in court-nartial knowing
that if he were found guilty he might be dis
gracd forever and deprived of his pension.
The Roberts committee which Mr. Roose-
welt, himself appointed, to make quick sur
vey of the case, did not exonerate the Presi-
dent, and although it was shrewdly restricted
in it's mission so that it could not accuse any
of the high civilians, its report leaves both the
late Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy,
and Mr. Stimson, as Secretary of War, in a
doubtful position. Certainly, in the findings OF
his own commission, the President, as Com
mander in Chief, as he is so fond of calling
himself, must have some responsibility for the
kind of orders that were sent to Kimmel and
1t. Gen. Walter c. Short. Their orders were
to take precautionary action and to avoid
alarm and publicity and the program which
they did adopt was the only one that could
meet that restriction.
VI
neglect or incompetence Kinnel asks only
trial in which he can present all the evil
dence and cross-examine witnesses.
In the meanwhile, although this is very
dangerous political issue, Mr.. Roosevelt has
had all the best Of the propagands. believe
this is one of the very few discussions of the
Pearl Harbor disaster which has recognized
the possibility that fair inquiry might blame
the President, himself.
Nevertheless, his partner on the democratic
ticket comes out with a magazine story again
blaming Kimmel and Short although both men
have asked to be tried and no fair judgment
can be had without such trials.
OF course, the President can't be tried, what
ever his error may have been unless you are
thinking of Impeachment which, of course,
is out of the question The Senate could make
an investigation but there politics would inter-
fear and the verdict could not be clear and
conclusive. But court-martial which Kim
mel continues to demand, could reveal the
degree of the failure and the error in the Navy
department, the War department., and the
White House.
To anyone Who studies the Roberts report,
it becomes apparent that the committee per-
mitted itself to be used for tawdry political
business. 1t had no moral right to say as it
did, in the end that these officers were guilty
of dereliction when it had refused them facil-
tiles for the defense of their regulations and
had legal authority to try them, anyway.
Although it couldn't avoid revealing some OBJ
vious failures in Washington contributing 10
the disaster the only men it actually con-
demned were the two commanders. In this
war, it became political document and now
Admiral Kimmel is actually defying the Pres
ident himself to let the people know the en-
tire truth so that they may consider whether
he did his own job well or made horrible
mess of it, in making up their minds whether
they want four years more of him as Com
mander in Chief