Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-05-17
Johnson Bradley Trip
Seen as New Effort for
Jap Peace Treaty
By John M. Hiehtower
Assoeioted Pres. S,otf Writer

by John NJ. 7i9htoWef
As.oeioted Pres. S,eH Writer
A new effort. to break the
American deadlock over a Jap.
anese peace treaty will be made
when Defense Secretary johnson
visits the Pacific cold war front
next month.
Responsible officials said today
the treaty problem unouestion-
ably is one that will be discussed
at length by Secretary johnson
Gen. Macarthur. commander ir
Japan. and Gen. Bradley. chair
man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Mr. johnson and Gen. Bradley
will leave June II for a 13-day
aerial tour of the Far Eastern
command. En- route to Tokyo
they will inspect the Pacific de-
tense and communications bas-
lions in Hawaii, Kwajalein, Guam
and Okinawa. Returning, they
are expected to travel by way OF
the Aleutians.
defense Department officials
say the trip is one of inspection
and take q view minimizing the
treaty discussions. At the Pen
tagon this morning 1t was said
Mr.. johnson has a long range
plan to visit all American bases
overseas.)
First Visit for johnson.
Gen. Bradley made the Pacific
tour and visited Japan last Febru.
airy along with other members oil
the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This
will be Mr.. Johnson's first visit
to the Pacific, however.
Insofar as it concerns inspection
OF military installations, it will be
an important but routine affair.
The chief political interest in
the trip is the fresh significance
1t gives to possible new American
policy developments. And it is
here that attention focuses on
Japanese treaty problems.
Gen. Macarthur, who is known
to feel that any occupation begins
to lose effectiveness after five
years. believes the time has come
to buckle down to hard work on
some sort of a Japanese
peace settlement. His view is sup
ported in the State Department.
Last Fall Secretary of State Ache
son agreed with British Foreign
Minister Bevin that a japanese
peace treaty was an urgent matter
The defense establishment, on
the other hand. has consistently
and vigorously opposed any Amer
lean policy of driving toward a
peace treaty at this time. De-
tense officials take the position
that it would possibly weaken
American security interests in
Japan.
The spearhead of the defense
sad been Undersecre-
tary OF Army Tracy Voorhees,,
who has resigned.
The basic opposition, however.
is understood to have come from
the Joint Chiefs of Staff who de-
cided months ago that from a
military point of view they did
not think the japanese peace
treaty at present would be a good
thing. Mr.. johnson is understood
to have sided with MIR! voorhees,
and the joint chiefs.
The Tokyo meeting Of Gen
Macarthur and Mr.. johnson thus
will bring together two of the
most powerful men reported or
opposite sides of the controversy
Secretary Acheson apparently na.
never tried to force his own way
on this issue. but has left it ur
to subordinates to work out ar
arrangement with defense officials
This was the task assigned earl,
this year to Assistant Secretary Of
State w. Walton Butterworth. Il
Mr.. Butterworth made any
progress there has been no evi.
dence of it.
Project Stalled 6 Months.
In fact, the whole peace treaty
project has been completely stalled
for about six months. After the
Bevin-A cheson meeting last fall
State Department officials quickly
put together a first rough draft
OF what this Government would
like to see in a Japanese pact
There the matter has stood while
military and diplomatic officials
wrangle over whether there should
be any pact at all.
The military position mainly is
that Russia would never 60 along
with treaty acceptable to the
United States and that a treaty
without Russia would weaken
Japan's political position in the
Far East an dalso weaken the
basis of maintaining American
troops in the islands.
On the other side. State Depart
ment officials and. evidently, Gen.
Macarthur feel that a settlement
the occupation and restor-
ing japanese independence could
be made without weakening the
American position and in fact
might strengthen it, since they
feel occupation will become in
creasingly unpopular. Their So
luton for the security problem is
to make a separate Advancement
with the japanese government for
basing American troops in the is
lands as defense rather than &C.
cupation forces.