Evening star., 1948-04-12
Political Double Talk

Lie StcpuDllCdu NdtlOlIdA SOAAAAattGC,
whose spokesman has remarkable talent
for putting his foot in his mouth, has
brought forth a chapter -and-verse indict-
ment Of the Truman administration for
double talk"
There is something to it. The most
loyal Truman supporter would be hard put
to deny and diSprove some OF the speci-
fications in the Republican complaint.
1t is true, for example, that the President
did poor job of dealing with the effort
by Henry Wallace, when the latter was
Secretary of Commerce, to put the skids
under the policies then being advocated
by Secretary OF State Byrnes. It is true
that the Presidents handling of the Pauley
affair left much to be desired. The Tru-
man record on Palestine is vulnerable,
and case can be made out against the
Presidents so-called appeasement OF
Stain at Potsdam, although, in that con-
nection, it is not recalled that the Repub-
lican National Committee raised objection
to the effort to insure peace with Russia.
If all these things be granted, however,
the fact remains that the President, when
the chips were down, has been courageous
welfare ahead of partisan considerations.
On the big issues-the issues which bore
on the security of this country-the
President has tried to do the right thing,
rather than do what might be expected
to advance his own political fortunes or
embarrass his political opposition. In
some matters, Palestine, for example, he
has been late in getting around to the
right position, but in the end he has
consistently subordinated partisan con-
siderationS. The record in this respect
is clear
That is more than can be said Of the
Republican National Committee. A year
from now the Republicans may be in
control of our foreign policy. And when
one thinks of that contingency it is de-
pressing to pick up the National Com
mittee's report and read such balderdash
as this: "It is to be hoped that Mr..
Trumans latest (internationaD crisis will
be no worse than those which have gone
before. Let us hope that this crisis has
no more sinister purpose than to offset
the damage of the revolt of the Solid
South and the detection of Henry Wallace;
decked out in the thought that, as former
Governor Ellis Arnan Of Georgia thought,
the rumblings Of war might pull the
President through as they did Mr. Roose-
yelt in 1940.'"
This is more than demagogic; 1t Is
positively stupid. One would think that
the Republican National Committee did
not know that respected Republicans like
Senator Vandenberg and Chairman Eaton
of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
not only see eye-to-eye with the President
on the fact that there is a crisis, but also
stand with him in his efforts to cope
with it.
It is hard to say, in the light OF this
remarkable statement, where the Repub-
lican National Committee stands. But
it is clear that for the committee to take
a position like this, at the gutter level
of partisan politics in such critical
time as the present, is not to stand for
the best interests of the United States.
The country has ccme to expect this sort
of thing from Henry Wallace and his
noisy claque. But 1t has right to expect
something better from the managing
body of the Republican Party