Evening star., 1945-09-22
Dewey's Patriotism
On War Secrets Hailed
Refused to Put Politics Above
Nations Interest, Says Writer
By David Laurence

By David Laurence
The big secret OF the last presidential
campaign-the fact that Gov. Dewey
knew the truth about Pearl Harbor
and refused to use it for political ad-
vantage in his campaign for the presi-
dency-has been known to few per-
not until the Pearl Harbor report was
disclosed officially did the potential
value of the revelations for political
purposes come into full view.
Gov. Dewey has made a splendid rec
cord in public life and accepted his
defeat gracefully. but it is a safe as
sumption that no candidate for the
presidency ever maintained any higher
standard of patriotism than did Mr..
Dewey in declining to place his personal
gain above the Nations interest.
knowing now what Mr. Dewey could
have said about his opponent who was
Commander in Chief at the time Of
the Pearl Harbor attack, it is not diff
cult to imagine the dangerous result
that might have flowed from political
outburst in October, 1914. 1t could have
undermined public confidence in our
high commanders, and the Nazis might
have derived considerable encourage
ment out of the impairment of the mo-
rale of our own forces. The effect on
the whole Allied world of controversy
which would have involved the late
President Roosevelt rather concretely
can readily be conjectured.
Some Significance Lost
John Chamberlain, who tells in Life
the inside story of the Republican
strategy Of silence, makes the fat
statement that Mr. Roosevelt knew
from decoded messages ahead Of time
that Japan would attack us but did
not know the precise military target.
This is hitherto unpublished piece
of information. While the Pearl Har-
Dor report said rather broadly that the
authorities in Washington knew Japan
would attack and didn't know where,
it did not disclose how the information
was obtained by us.
The incident, however, loses some OF
its significance in a realistic sense when
it is noted that naval experts testified
in effect that ever if the japanese had
sent us message in plain English "a
hours before the attack and told us
they were coming in to Pearl Harbor
it is doubtful whether the military
results would have been very much
different.
For If our battleships had gone to
sea they would have been no match for
the several hundred Japanese bombers
flying from the decks of three major
aircraft carriers, and if they had stayed
in the harbor they would have been
damaged by the superior air power of
the Japanese feet. For the scandal of
Pearl Harbor is that we did not have
enough based or carrier-based avi-
alton in and around Hawaii to protect
ourselves against a smash by a carrier
task force as powerful as the enemy
brought to Pearl Harbor on December
7, 1941.
What of Budget Bureau?
Why didn't we have better defense?
This is a subject which concerns the
American people, who are often indif-
ferent to how their representatives in
Congress vote on naval and military
appropriations. A real investigation Of
the whole Pearl Harbor episode should
properly go into what the Bureau of
the Budget did annually with the War
and Navy Department requests between
1888 and 1899 and why civilians in such
an agency Of the Government under
took and still undertake to act as ex-
perts on national defense, overriding the
generals and the admirals who have
given their whole careers to a study
of national safety.
When that phase of the inquiry !s
completed, then it becomes germane to
examine what the Congress did to the
requests for airplanes and ships and
how the safety of the United States
was placed in jeopardy by such votes.
Most of the facts were told in routine
fashion in the press from day to day.
but the people were quick to shout
down the building of armament-so
much so that the Army and Navy Of
ficers were often told by their superiors
to ask not for what they needed but
for the least they could get along with
and of course If an officer ventured,
as did Admiral Taussig in 1910, to tell
the truth to Senate committee the
charge of "warmongering' was made
and the State Department cried out that
/ this was an encroachment on their
right to determine policy with foreign
powers.
Gov. Deweys patriotic silence is a
good example to Republicans in Con-
gress to join with Democrats in non
partisan hearing, make full exposure
of all phases of our weakness in De-
cember, 194l, and recommend courses
of action which will insure the future
safety of the United States.
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