Evening star., 1950-06-28
he Commonder-in-Chief

dGi
s. Once again the President has shown that
CAPACITY for bold action which has characterized
Hfs management ofsforeign policy and which has
done so much to stem the Red aggression.
Americans may-and do-differ with him on
domestic matters. but there will be few to
deny that Mr. Truman, as Chief of State and
as Comma ander Chief, has measured up in
admirable fashion to his enormous responsibilities
Back in early l947, when it looked as though
Greece and perhaps Turkey were marked for
conquest,- the President rose to the occasion.
With the British pulling out of Greece, he laid
before Congress the Greco-Turkish aid program
and secured the funds to see it through. He
accepted the srisKs involved without wavering.
and today both Greece and Turkey still can be
counted among the free nations. Then came the
Marshall Plan for the revival of the economies OF
Western 7Enrope. This was followed by the
Atlantic Pacp and the Military Assistance Pact.
All of these were bold ventures-undertaking
which called. for wisdom and courage on the
part of the President If they had failed he
would have had TO accept the political conse-
elences sand ,since they have not failed, but
instead have been econSpicuously successful, he
Is entitled to- the fullest measure of credit.
This whole STRUCTURE of reviving free world
was Threatened however, when the North Korean
puppets of Moscow sent their tanks and troops
naked aggression, posing for us the greatest risk
Of all. ~
~. The choice was both clear and hard. To have
let South Koreargo would have meant the col
lapse of all that had been done in the past three
years. Other nations, large and small would have
concluded that they could not count on the
United States when the chips were down. And
the structure Of organized resistance to Com
mgnist aggression, which we had built with so
much efforB ard at so much cost, would simply
have come apart.
~ The only alternative was togo to the assist
ance of the South Koreans And that, plainly
enough, involved risk of war with the Soviet
Union. 1t may be said that the odds were against
that. But the fact remains that this Government
had no sure, means of knowing whether the Rus
SLAMS would pull back or whether they had settled
upon Korea sfor a showdown. The President,
faced with this choice, did not hesitate. A timid
man, in AN election year, would have tried to
play it safe. But Mr.. Truman met the issue
head-on. ."s'%>
~ In this newspapers opinion, there is no doubt
that the right decision was made. If the ag
gressors from Northern Korea are driven out as
they probably will be, the world-conquest
schemers in the Kremlin will be set back, perhaps
dcr years TO- come. 1t is they, not us, who will
suffer loss; ;of face throughout the world. And.
most important of ALL the nations which have
been wavering should be infused with en-
thusiasm,, They know now that the United States
isprepared to throw more than words and dollars
into the fight for free and decent world
nf5i 1t is highly gratifying that the President in
taking the bold course obviously has the
Nhelming. Support of the American people. The
dissenting, voices have been few and unim-
pressive. , The great majority of the people in
this country, anxious as they have been for peace
have had enough of the Kremlin's peace wreck
lag tacticsss They are ready to assume the risks
pfistoppfng another world war before it gets
under way, What they need is some one who will
take the lead in meeting force with force, and
hSMr. Truman they have their man.