Evening star., 1947-12-11
The Political Mil
Gen. Eisenhower's Views
Little Known to Public
Rumored Story on Imitation Ideas
Could Lose Him G. o. P. Support
By Gould Lincoln

DV oOHN LtUCOtW
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower is to take oysr
the presidency Of Columbia University June z,
On June 81 the Republican National Conven.
tion will convene to nominate a candidate for
President Of the United States The juxtaposi.
ton OF these dates leads to two lines Of thought.
One Is that Gen. Eisenhower Is to become q
university president, abandoning political am.
bitlons for the present. Another that Gen.
Eisenhower is to have full opportunity to dis.
play such political strength as he may have
before he settles into the university presidency.
1t does not appear credible that Gen. Eisen.
hover would assume the presidency Of . great
university, merely to be eatapulted into Q
campaign for President Of the United States
a little more than two weeks later. provided
he could win the Republican nomination.
There is. nothing in law, to bs sure, which
would prevent his making the race for Presi.
dent Of the United States while he remained
president Of Columbia. But It might leave the
university wondering, until the presidential
election Is over in November whether 1t was
to have president or not The situation is
becoming increasingly embarrassing both to
Gen. Eisenhower and to Columbia
Last Soldier In Office.
The last professional soldier to hold the
presidency was Gen. q. 8. Grant, hero of the
Civil War; Although Gen. Pershing was men.
toned as q possible presidential candidate,
the only Army man to get into the race for .
presidential nomination after World War I
was Gen. Leonard Wood. Gen. Wood, Gov.
Lowden Of Illinois and Senator Hiram john
son Of California-the three leading candi-
dates-tied up the convention tighter than .
drum, and the nomination went to Senator
Warren G. Harding Of Ohio.
The friends Of two Army men, Gen. Eisen-
hover and Gen. Douglas Macarthur, are now
proposing to enter them in the race for the
Republican presidential nomination-after the
Second World War. If both should become
candidates-or receptive to draft" proposals
they might easily kill each other of. Or
should Gen. Macarthur issue statement even
more strongly worded than that Of Gen. Sher-
man Of Civil War fame (who said he would
not accept nomination and would not serve
II elected Presiden), carrying also the infer
ence that no Regular Army man should aspire
to the Presidents office, 1t might gravely injurs
the drive for an Eisenhower nomination. Gen.
Macarthur, far away in Japan, has given no
encouragement whatever to those who would
make him President. Much significance has
been given to the announcement of Col Robert
Mccormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune,
after several visits with Gen. Macarthur, that
he favored the nomination of Senator Taft.
COL Mccormick has been ardently in favor Of
q Macarthur nomination in the past.
Little Known Of Views.
Friends of Gen. Eisenhower have adopted
the Eisenhower is the strongest candidate tbs
Republicans could nominate" argument. That,
Of course, is an opinion-although 1t Ii stated
frequently as fact. The truth ID, however,
b,,or
hover outside Of his Army record and that he
has q winning personality. A recent incident
shows how much at sea people are over Gen.
Eisenhower's views. 1t was reported that at
a dinner in Washington, attended by Repub-
lican leaders from Pennsylvania, by Senators
Taft Of Ohio and Vandenberg OF Michigan.
Gen. Eisenhower said he would deal with high
prices and imitation by calling in all big indus
trialists, urging them to abandon all profits
for year in order to bring down prices. II
the businessmen declined to cooperate, then,
according to the report Gen. Eisenhower would
have Congress levy tax Of 100 per cent on
profits Of corporations.
This story has been denied by some Of those
attending the dinner, and affirmed by others.
nl-considered as the proposal was-if really
made-it is clear that had Eisenhower's views
on domestic problems Of the day been known,
the whole thing would have been blown out
Of the window. If Gen. Eisenhower is to be-
come candidate-the sooner the people know
where he stands the better. Then there would
be no possibility of imputing to him ideas
which he may never have had. Obviously.
such breakdown methods as those contained
in the alleged Eisenhower proposal would lose
him more convention votes than they would
gain for him.