Evening star., 1948-01-20
Threut to the Nation

Another protest against the employment
of military men in civilian posts has just
been put forward.
This time the protest has come from
group Of twenty-one educators, scientists,
clergymen and authors, speaking through
an organization which calls itself the
National Council Against Conscription.
Among the signers of this protest are some
whose presence there causes no sur
prise. But that cannot be said OF others
of men like Albert Einstein, Ray Lyman
Wilbur, former Republican Secretary OF
the Interior, or Arthur Morgan, onetime
chairman of the Tennessee Valley Author
ity. The sincerity of these men cannot
be challenged, and 1t is the more disturb
ing, therefore, to find them in the ranks of
those who are preaching doctrine which
seems utterly blind to the realities of the
grim choice which has been forced upon
this country.
The main thesis of this protest Is that
the influence of the so-caled military
mind is threat to the country. American
democracy they say, cannot survive If
"the present trend toward military control
of our institutions continues" And these
men go on to rebuke the President for
failing to interfere with the aggressive
and warlike policies of military leaders,"
this reference being directed to General
Marshall and other military men asso-
ciated with him in shaping our foreign
policies.
If this were truly peaceful world there
might be some basis for these apprehen-
sions. But there Is great fallacy-and
great danger-in the position taken by
these men. Evidently they fail to realize
that this is not peaceful world. In the
face of Russian aggression, they will not
look at facts. They will not open their
minds to the virtual certainty that, within
few more years at best, the Russians will
have the means of attacking us in dev-
astating force. And when they belabor
General Marshall for his aggressive and
warlike" policies, they ignore the simple
truth that these policies were not adopted
by us as matter of preference, but rather
were forced upon us as matter of survival
after Russia had turned away from peace
and had taken a deliberate and considered
stand in opposition to our efforts to achieve
peace.
AS result, we stand today much as
France and Britain stood in 1938 Then it
was Hitler who was preaching peace and
getting ready for war, planning to strike
before his victims could be ready. Today
it is the Russians who are expanding
wherever they can and preparing, for all
we know, to strike at us.
This fS tho oraof fhrno% fo a,,r reo,,~i%xv
as nation, threat which is ignored by
the wel-meaning but sadly misguided men
and women who can see no evil except in
our own house. But there is another
threat to the Nation, and it lies in the
doctrine which these people are putting
forward.
They are trying to persuade the Amer
lean people that we have no one to fear
except our own leaders. They would have
us evict the military men from posts. of
civilian responsibility simply because they
are military men. They will not face up
to the fact that the times are grave, and
that we must have in posts of responsibility
the best men available, whether their back
grounds are in military or civilian lines.
This is doctrine which plays directly
into the hands of our enemies And If the
American people could be persuaded to
believe what these men are preaching,
then we would be faced with dual threat
to the country-frst the threat of Russian
aggression and, second, sort of national
paralysis Of will which would render us
incapable of coping with the threat from
abroad. There is nothing the Russians
would rather see happen to us, and moth
ing that sensible Americans will resist with
greater vigor.