Evening star., 1950-07-18
U. 5. Suffering Defeat
Throughout World on
Psychological Front
Bold Action Held Needed
By Truman to Organize
Peace information Office
By David Laurence

By DaOid Laurence
Much worse than the setback.
on the Korean front are the de.
feats being suffered throughout
the world on the psychological
front both by the United States
and the United Nations.
Never, it might be said, in 80
grave an international situation
has there been such o conspicu-
Gus lack of imagination and such
timidity as Is being exhibited by
the United States Government in
fighting the psychological war.
The Soviet Union has graSped
the initiative and has made flank
attacks around the United States
in the propaganda battles In Asia
as well as in Europe.
The lazy answer to this is that
the United States hasn't provided
the funds-the Marshall plan OF
IDEAS" as Senator Benton of Con-
necticut calls it, But the truth
is that even il 500 million is ap-
propriated. it would be ineffective
II our Government fails to express
itself forthrightly in the propa-
ganda field.
Three Weeks Of Inactivity.
More than three weeks have
passed since the Kremlin put the
North Korean government up to
an aggression that has startled
the world. The United States and
the United Nations responded
with military effort, as yet un-
successful, but at the same time
the Soviet triumphantly grasped
the initiative on the propaganda
side. The Russians accuse the
United Nations along with the
United States of sanctioning ag-
gression. Peace petitions are be-
ing circulated with tens of thou
sands Of signatures by the Com
munists in a publicity stunt which
Is not being comhatted effectively
by the Western democracies.
In the face Of the plain aggres-
sion in Korea, nobody in our Gov
ernment or in the UN has off,
cially, formally and loudly called
Moscow the aggressor. The United
Nations, moreover, has invited
American boys to be killed but
politely heSitates to warn the ma
tons helping to kill American
boys that those nations are ag-
gressors, too. While it is obvious
that no nation can be asked to
supply military help against its
will, 1t Is traitorous for any men,
ber Of the United Nations at the
same time to be supplying arms
and military power to the coun-
try which is fighting the United
Nations forces.
Senator Homer Ferguson oi
Michigan has pointed this up ir
. speech in the Senate In which he
demands that the Washington
Government request the U. N. tc
adopt a resolution warning any
nation helping the North Koreans
that it will be regarded as a part
ner in the aggression.
The U. N. got considerable pres
tige by adopting @ resolution call
ing for military forces to resist
aggression In Korea, but it viii
rapidly lose that prestige II it
stands idly by and lets the Krem-
lin supply munitions to the North
Koreans in an obvious attempt to
defeat the United Nations forces,
including the United States.
Policy Makers Founder.
The propaganda war is being
poorly handled not because there
are not enough technicians to do
the job or because there are in
adequate transmission facilities. It
Is falling down because nobody in
the Truman administration with
authority to act has vision enough
to realize what a propaganda war
means. It doesn't mean just a
battery Of mimeograph machines
and a 81 million building in New
York. 1t means that the men who
make policy-men with the cour-
age Of their convictions-must
call q spade a spade In public.
The policy makers are founder
ing. Three weeks Of valuable time
have been lost while the Ameri-
can Government cravenly refrains
from denouncing the Kremlin
leaders as the true aggressors
The answer usually heard is that
this might offend the Kremlin-
as II "appeasement" is the way out
Of Korea.
What is needed is q new execu-
tive board or commission Of three
eminent men to give full time tt
the work and be responsible di.
rectly to the President and moi
to any cabinet officer. The heac
Of the Office Of War Information
was responsible in World War Z
directly to the President. He must
be free again to tell the Presi-
dent what. any member Of the
cabinet is doing or failing to dc
that is hurting on the psychologi-
cal side Of warfare. He must be
free to speak out in the meetings
Of the National Security Council
Of which he should be q member
The task cannot be performed BY
. subordinate unit In the State
Department. The top level officers
Of that institution are too busy
writing legal notes in the field ot
diplomacy and too much steepeC
In traditions and forms to use
the vocabulary Of propaganda war
America is losing on the mill.
tary side in Korea but not fol
long. America is losing, however
on the psychological front ans
there Is no sign Of any turn II
the tide. It will take bold actor
by the President to organize al
Oflce of Peace Information anr