Evening star., 1945-08-30
TrumonWon'tOrder
Pearl Hurbor Trials:
Blame Put on PEOPLE
Denies Whitewush'
In Inquiry Reports;
Defends Hull
Ry ]. A. FOX.

By ]. A. FOX.
President Truman today laid
the blame for the Pearl Harbor
debacle at the door of the Amer
lean people themselves and as
serted at the same time that he
had no intention of ordering
courts-martial which congress
Sional advocates of such pro-
cedure contend are necessary to
get the whole story.
Answering barrage of questions
based on the release yesterday of
the Army and Navy inquiry reports
on Pearl Harbor, the President told
a news conference that the situation
there was an outgrowth of the
American peoples unwillingness to
support a vigorous preparedness
program and then concluded:
u think the country is as much
to blame as any individual in the
final situation that developed at
Pearl Harbor"
Direct Quote Permitted.
Mr.. Truman gave permission for
directly quoting his remarks after
he had emphatically denied that
the dual reports, long withheld for
military security reasons, consti-
tuted a "whitewash."
He also was emphatic in exon
Grating former Secretary of State
Cor6o1l u,,l1 urbo u,o, or;t;o;,al ~
the Army report for breaking off
negotiations with japanese here at
a time when Army and Navy were
stalling for time Prefacing his
statement with the assertion that
he had read the reports very care
fully" the President said:
I came to the conclusion that
the whole thing is the result of the
policy which the country itself pur-
sued.
The country was not ready for
preparedness. Every time the Pres
ident (the late President Roosevelt
made an effort to get a prepared
ness program through the Congress
it was stif1ed.
Whenever the President made a
statement about the necessity of
preparedness he was vilifed for
doing it.
I think the country is as much
to blame as any individual in the
final situation that developed at
Pearl Harbor."
MIR. Truman spoke in defense of
Mr.. Hull at the very outset of his
conference. When he gave out the
reports yesterday he said he had
not had time to read them fully and,
consequently, did not know about
what he said were the aspersions-
cast on Mr.. Hull in the Army re-
port. He said he agreed fully and
completely with the statement of
Secretary of War Stimson who like
wise defended the former cabinet
member in a statement yesterday
and rebuked the Army board for
the criticism.
Muzzle Not Intended.
On the subject OF court-martial,
reporters told the President that
many people think that Rear Ad-
miral Husband E. Kimmel and Maj.
Gen. Walter G. Short, who lost
their Pearl Harbor commands after
the japanese attack, should have a
court-martial in order to present
their side of the matter adequately.
Repeating essentially what he said
yesterday when the issue was raised,
Mr.. Truman said that if the two
officers want a court-martial that
he had no objection He added that
he did not intend to put muzzle
on them.
The President agreed that court
martial might help, but he empha-
sized that he didn't intend to order
one. He said that as q matter of
fact he doubted if he had the au-
thority. He added that anyway the
matter had not been put up to him.
One reporter brought to his atten-
ton a magazine article authored by
the President in which the state
ment was made that Admiral KIM
mel and Gen. Short were not on
speaking terms when the Japanese
attacked. He recalled that Admiral
Kimmel had disputed this and said
that it was further discounted by
the report.
Mr.. Truman responded that ac-
cording to the Pearl Harbor re-
ports, what he had said was not
statement of fact, but he added that
he had acted on the best informa-
ton he had. A reporter also brought
out that the President had said in
the same article that he favored
unity of command and asked what
about that now.
Still Favors Merger.
The President said he still IA
vored the merger of the armed forces
but that he didn't want to COM
ment further on that question today.
When the reporter first raised the
question of the magazine article he
commented that the President had
either written it or somebody had
written it for him, and Mr.. Truman
Jokingly commented that his handi-
work was coming back to haunt him.
Another reporter recalled that
Chairman May of the House Mill
tary Affairs Committee, who is de-
manding courtmartial procedure,
had termed the Pearl Harbor re-
ports whitewash. Asked If he had
any comment, the President said
that he didn't think Mr.. May had
read the report and asserted that
he himself had read it very care
fully and that it was not white-
wash.
Mr.. Truman was asked about the
prospects for releasing the complete
report submitted by the Roberts
Commission shortly after the Pearl
Harbor disaster and certain ma
terial eliminated from the Army
and Navy findings. He replied that
in neither instance could this ma
terial be given out. It was still
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