Evening star., 1947-05-02

as Henry wal ~
lace and his Frank &. Kent.
communistically inclined friends OF
the left. They make rather clear
cut issue. They can be discounted
and, more or less, easily dealt with.
In a free country with 140,0Q0, 900
people of so many diverse kinds, 1t
Is unreasonable to expect complete
solidarity on any great question.
There is always another side and a
defendable, even If unbalanced,
point Of view. Certainly it is better
to have these presented than sup
pressed. II your sides position Is
sound, it will be strengthened, not
weakened, by the debate.
In the case of Mr.. Wallace, consid-
cradle embarrassment was caused.
but In the end probably the result
will be healthful in that it gives the
people, as a whole, better under
standing Of the facts and makes
clear the feebleness and futility of
the opposition.
Others More Confusing.
Actually, the Wallaces and the
Peppers, in their frontal attacks,
are not nearly as confusing to the
public as the numerous individuals
with continuous access to the popu-
Lar eye, ear and mind through the
radio, the press and other channels
Of communication, who regularly
heap advice" upon Our top officials
(such as the President and the
Secretary Of State) charged with
the heavy responsibility for decision
and the difficult duty of execution.
Most of these are supposedly sup
porters in principle of our policy but
violently disagree with the manner
in which it is presented and the
details by which it is proposed to
carry 1t out. Responsible and fully
informed officials are told constant
ly by men without responsibility,
and not all the facts. exactly what
they should and should not do.
One group insists that our whole
basic economic plans in Europe are
foolish; another, that the personal
manners and conduct of our rep
resentatives ought to be improved.
For example, since his return, 1t
has been publicly asserted that
Gen. Marshall might have been
more effective at Moscow If he had
emulated his able and amiable
predecessor, James Byrnes, by hold
ing regular "bullbat" sessions and
regaling the delegates with amusing |
anecdotes while the Old Fashioneds |
passed, instead of holding aloof"
from that enjoyable type of social
contact.
Perhaps so. Who can tell about
that? 1t is only one small sample
Of the advice now being offered
the President and the Secretary of
State. This is not to suggest that
those who give advice are not en-
tirely within their rights. Nor is 1t
to say that occasionally they are
not sound. There is so much advice
that some Of 1t has to be good.
Also, there is no reason either the
President or the Secretary of State,
Notwithstanding the gravity of the
international situation, should be
immune from criticism or free from
counsel. That is not the point. The
point Is that to confuse and be-
wilder the people until they lose
interest through inability to COM
prehend is national disservice at
this time when clarity and con-
Germ are as important as they ever
have been in our history,
Therefore, as one deeply expert
enced official points out, there
seems: more Of an obligation than
usual upon critics and counselors-
first, to be sure of their facts; Sec
ond, to be sure they have all the
facts; third, not to be too sure they
are always right (some have been
known to reverse themselves within
a week.; fourth, to be sure they
are not unnecessarily confusing the
public thought at the precise mo-
ment when clear thinking is most
important.
Leaks" Troublesome.
It also is pointed out that there
is another difficulty under which
the top men in Government have
always labored but which is es-
pecially hard to bear in these crit
1cal days-to wit. the leak" There
have been few Presidents and few
Secretaries of State who have not
been handicapped by some member
OF his Cabinet or a close aide who
steadily leaked" secret or embar-
RAISING information to the press, It
Is well-known that this President
and this Secretary of State are af-
f1icted in this way 1t is really hard
to bear because it creates a miser-
able feeling of personal insecurity.
A man so afflicted does not know
whom to trust, or rather he knows
there is some one close to him whom
he cannot trust. Naturally, this di-
lutes his confidence. Of course. to
newspaper man such a leak"
seems wonderful thing. He culti- |
Yates and encourages his "leak"I
though certainly it is a mistake to
Identify him to the discerning by
too frequent references to him as
able. brilliant and unselfish.
There is, of course, nothing the
Top official can do about a leak" he
cannot discover. But it might occur