Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-08-07
The Political Mill
Trumon's Cry Of Politics
Comes With Poor Grace
President Should Give All Aid
To Red Spy Ring Inquiry
Ru Ganh IiacaIn

It's Mr.. Truman who's crying politics" now.
Nor does the cry come with good grace. The
President instead Of giving all the aid he can
to the congressional Investigators who are
turning up facts relating to O Communist spy
ring and Communist inflltration into the Gov.
eminent, has declined to permit the congress
sional committees to see confidential reports
in loyalty" tests Of some Of the Government
employees against whom charges have been
made.
Mr.. Truman has insisted that these Red In.
vestigations by the Republican-controlled Sem
ate and House committees are merely an at.
tempt by the Republicans to drag . red
herring" across the trail of the failure Of the
Congress to do the job for which he called
Congress back to Washington.
In Interest Of Security.
Admitting that the Investigations have their
political angle-since they are showing up the
easy manner in which Communists either OBJ
tanned help from Democratic sources or pulled
the wool over the eys Of the Democratic ad-
pinistration-there remains the fact that the
Investigations are in the interest Of the ma
tional security of the American people.
Tie President cannot afford to have him.
self aligned against security measures of such
grave import, not If he is to have any
CIidklCc az WlllIllIlS tllC COLllIlS c1eCtlOu Gu
unless he changes his tune, that is exactly the
position into which he is working himself It
promises to become worse instead of better.
He apparently Is impaled on the horns of a
dilemma. He feels, 1t seems from his actions,
that it is necessary to deny that Communist
or Russian spy ring could operate with any
degree of success in Washington, either during
the administration of Franklin Delano Roose-
welt or his own.
In view of the openly avowed intention OF
former Vice President Henry A. Wallace-now
a candidate for President on the new Progress
sive Party ticket-to accept Communist sup
port, it Is easy to figure where Mr.. Wallaces
sympathies have been for a number of years.
Mr.. Wallace, with such feelings, became an
easy mark for the Communist infiltrations.
Further, he was for eight years Secretary OF
Agriculture, and during those years the fellow
travellers in his department were active Then
he became Vice President, and finally Secre-
tary of Commerce.
Taking Wallace's Side.
Mr. Truman has no liking for Mr.. Wallace
and is doing all he can now to effect the
political ruin Of the former Vice President. Yet
when Mr. Truman undertakes to ridicule the
Investigations of Communist activities within
the Government he seemingly Is taking the
same side as Mr.. Wallace.
When Mr.. Truman called Congress back
into special session-and made the announce
ment in the closing minutes of the Democratic
National Convention-he was playing politics.
It was political gesture of the first water.
indeed, by which he hoped to place the Re-
publicans at disadvantage. Now when the
Republican members of Congress insist on
opening up on the Red inflltration into Mr..
Truman's own administration, Mr. Truman
has suddenly no use for politics. He should
recognize that if he undertakes to play poll
tics his opponents will do no less
The Congress will adjourn without giving
Mr.. Truman the power to ration or to fix
prices of goods. Those are the main proposals
he has been urging against imitation. It's
good guess, however. that If Mr.. Truman
were given those powers and used them, he
would find himself even more unpopular than
he is today.