The Daily Alaska empire., 1944-06-26
What Price Confidence?
Washington Post)

(WaShlngton POSt)
 Secretary Stimson is alarmed about the increasing rift between soldiers and civans-meaning, we sus- pect not much between ordinary soldiers and their families between high military officials and the civilians who frequently into contact with them Undersecretary Patterson asks for faith in our mi tary leadership and silence on the part of carping critics who do damage though they don't know what they talking about An interesting light is thrown on these matters in restrained and care fully written statement by the editors of Harpers Magazine which appears in the current number o that publication. It may help to explain the rift alleged by Secretary Stmson and the deteriorating confluence implied by MT. Patterson.
 Harper's, it seems, had accepted for publication article written by correspondent who had spent year and half accredited to MacArthurs head quarters The article, according to the editors, con tained some praise" and considerable criticism of Macarthur The War Department it is stated, re- fused to sanction publication of the article, not on the ground that it contained any information of inn mediate and tangible military value to the enemy, but because it tended to undermine the confidence this country Australia, and particularly the troops in that theatre, in their commander and in his strategic and tactical plans and this being SO would of course "be of great value to the Axis
 Now the obvious question that will arise is where and why the correspondents own confidence had been undermined that he should venture to write so critically Was it because of something by of the carpng critics that he may have read in one of the American newspapers that happened to reach him in Australia? We are inclined to think not And what could he possibly have said about MacArthur that made the War Department anxious to have 1t hushed? You may be pretty sure that when good imagination gets to work these questions the prod will be something good deal worse than anything the original article might have said. Anyone with the slightest understanding of how runor gathers momen- tum would have known this in advance but obviously the Army has yet to learn the lesson offered them in the Patton episode sts M
 However, the editor of Harper's see another and more damaging moral. They point out that Mac Arthur is tac candidate for public office and go on to observe that
 One may write what one pleases about the
 other candidates about General Macarthur
 no opinions based on recent, direct observa
 tion may apparently be given publicity unless
 they are fattering This situation is intoer-
 able in free country Let the public be
 warned The accounts of this candidate which
 have been appearing incomplete, biased
 by, censorship, and therefore politically un-
 reliable.
 We'll the War Department censor, 1t seems to us, walked right into this one-the veriest hack press agent could have warned them what to expect. or course it may be that the Army is now so well fixed for manpower that it's censors have to suppress something just to keep from dying of ennui. If that is so we suggest they suppress some of the Army photographs of General Patton in his new uniform which have lately been circulated in the United States Even without monoce, this uniform gives the general curious likeness to adjutant of the Luftwaffe; and this, should think is scarcely conducive to that faith in military leadership earnestly demanded by Undersecretary Patterson