Evening star., 1949-12-23
Removal OF DenfeId
Called Technique Of
BuII-in-a-China 5hop
Navy Secretary Missed
An Opportunity to Heal
Breach in Unificution
By David Laurence

MatCneWS Is just inexperienced
and unfamiliar with the courtesies
due men who have given their
whole careers to armed services,
or else his every move Is dictated
by some one in the Defense De-
partment or the White House who
wants to keep friction at the
boiling point between the services.
and thus undermine unification
though outwardly processing ad-
herence to that all-important
objective. ,
For there seems no other way
to explain Mr.. Matthews blunt
comment on the letter from Ad-
miral DeHeld. who was removed
as Chief Of Naval Operations be-
cause he responded to the request
of the House Armed Services Com
mittee to tell. the truth In his
testimony on naval affairs.
Mr.. Matthews Is quoted as hav-
Ing said "the letter speaks for
ITSELF" and that he had no in
tention OF making any reply.
Chance To Heal Breach.
Yet q careful rereading of the
Admiral's letter will reveal that
it afforded Secretary Matthews a
constructive opportunity to heal
the breach and undo the wrong
done by the letter Of October ~.
In that communication. addressed
by Mr.. Matthews to President
Truman, 1t was stated in effect
that Admiral Denfeld was disloyal
to his country's best interests and
that he had not been loyal to his
superiors and did not have ".the
respect for authority" that should
exist between various official
ranks"
Admiral Denfeld wisely re-
Trained from accepting the post Of
Commander of United States
Naval Forces in Europe because
he knew to do so would embarrass
his superiors. The Europeans
would not afford him confidence
in their strategy conferences. In
fact, 1t was a mistake for Secre-
tary Matthews ever to have
offered that post to Admiral
Denfeld, considering the serious
accusations made in the October
n letter to the President.
There was an opportunity when
Admiral Denfeld replied on De-
cember IA, to point out the dif-
ference between loyalty to policy
laid down for rival services and
loyalty to the Nation tn defense
Of which officers are expected to
give their best judgment. their
talents and even their lives II
necessary. There was an op-
portunity. moreover, to make the
point that when differences Of
opinion arise between the Chief Of
Naval Operations and the 6ecre-
tary of the Navy. the subordinate
officer must yield his post.
Had this been done in the first
place-had Admiral Denfeld been
called in by President Truman and
given this explanation in a per-
Sonal and courteous manner in
stead Of by q letter Immediately
publicized by the White House
there would have been acqui-
escence by. Admiral Denfeld. There
would have been no such word
as removal" on his record and
no such Implication of 3disloyalty
as was contained In Secretary
Matthews letter. I
As It is, the administration has
. full-f1edged controversy on its
hands, the cause Of uniflcation has
been damaged. and the record OF
q fine naval officer has been i'm
pugned.
Lacking In Manners. =:
It still Is q mystery why the
Truman Administration is so lack
ing in manners as to notify the
Chief of Naval Operations last
April through the press that a
move as important as the cancel
lation of the large aircraft carrier
had been made. Likewise, Admiral
Denfeld, who only last summer
was reappointed for a two-year
term as Chief of Naval Operations,
learned Of his removal through the
press. And this Is the Administra-
tieu whose apologists are attack
ing Admiral Denfeld for having
been "picayunish" in making a
point about the disloyalty accusa-
tion In the October ~ letter when
he wrote his letter last week.
To be called disloyal after
nearly 40 years In the naval serv-
ice may seem "picayunish" to
blind partisans, but it Is never q
trivial matter for the victim Of
the accusation.
Little men never acknowledge
when they have done q wrong to
their fellow men. But big men
do. Surely the Truman Admin
istration is not going to pursue
indefinitely the bull-in-a-china-
shop technique it has revealed in
handling the delicate relations be-
tween the armed services. Surely
there should be a spirit of recon-
ciliation stimulated by somebody.
Maybe II 1t starts, General Brad
ley may publicly withdraw the
"fancy Dan" epithet which he
used to insult the entire Navy
and its fighting men.
Surely Secretary Matthews, who
came here from Omaha with q fine
reputation for Christian upright
ness, Is big enough to sit down
some day soon and write to Ad-
miral Denfeld the kind of letter
that heals wounds and at the
same, time serves the best inter-
ests of our country-n, indeed, he
Is 8 free agent and is permitted
by his superiors to write such q
letter.
Maybe in the spirit of Christmas
the President, too. will see how
unfair it Is to humiliate Capt. Ar
leigh Burke, hero Of the Pacific,