Evening star., 1950-08-15
People Being Blamed
In Newest AIibi for
Failure in Korea
Wave of Criticism Rises
AS Truman Refuses to
Shake Up Top Command
By David Laurence

By David Laurence
There's new alibi around
here-it seems that now the
American people are to blame for
the failures in Korea. Nobody in
Washington presumably had any
responSibility-it was just the
failure of the people to let Wash
ington spend more money.
This type of argument assumes
that the military men in our top
command must forget their duty
as military advisers and be
swerved by political considerations
and public opinions desires about
spending. Evidently they must
not speak up and tell the country
what is really needed for military
defense and safety.
But the people will not be fooled
by these alibis. They are insist
ent that something be done about
the blunders-no tanks, no air
craft carriers, no marines, no tao
tical aviation in the Far East
when trouble came. The bitter
ness of feeling against the PreSi-
dent is growing. Letters from diff
ferent parts of the country show
~ a
up the top command and the
civilians who bungled the job is
turning a wave of new criticism
against him.
Order Issued in 1916.
The Presidents responsibility
will be a subject of wide discus
sion. For it was his executive order
issued in 1876 and reiterated
regularly since - which has
squelched the military men below
the top group of political gen.
erals and prevented them from
speaking their minds.
The executive memorandum
was referred to in a speech in the
House of Representatives on April
S. 1850, by Representative Van
Zandt. Republican. of Pennsyl-
vania. whose courageous demand
for an investigation last year
brought out a record of facts that
tells the story of why there has
been failure in Korea. The Presi-
dents order, dated November Is,
1946, was addressed to the Direc-
tor of the Budget. 1t has been the
basic policy of his administration
ever since. 1t reads in part:
"I cannot condone the practice
Of seizing upon any opportunity
which presents itself to indicate
an opinion, either directly or indi-
rectly, that my estimates are in
sufficient.
when you notify the heads OF
the various departments and
agencies of the amounts to be in
cluded in the 1948 budget for their
activities, I wish you would in
clude a reminder that I shall ex-
pect them and their subordinates
to support only the Presidents
estimates in hearings and discus
sions with members of Congress"
This created a "yes man" psy-
chology. Any military man who
differed conscientiously and tried
to offer an expert opinion was
called an "insurrectionist." Ad=j
miral Denfeld was removed as an
example. A rereading Of the tes-
timony in those House hearings
last year tells what is wrong to-
day. The President picked the
wrong advisers - and still keeps
them.
When the Navy's battleship Mis-
souri, ran aground, fine naval
officer was court-martialed and
his career ruined-but that's the
inexorable rule of the Navy.
Noboy Court -Martialed.
Today. when the United States
Army is without proper air support
for ground troops in Korea or any,
where else, nobody is court-mar-
tailed.
Today, when the United States
Navy has most Of its aircraft car
riers in mothballs and the Marine
Corps has been cut to pieces by the
combined votes of Gen. Bradley
and Gen. Vandenberg in the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, neither the Presi-
dent nor Congress has taken the
generals to task.
Only last fall the Marine Corps
was fighting for its life-againSt
dismemberment by Generals Brad
ley and Vandenberg. But the Ma
rine Corps managed somehow,
with the help of Congress, to keep
some of its integrated combat
teams, with their own airplanes.
And here is the payoff as told in
a dispatch this week from a United
Press correspondent at the Korean
battlefront:
"The smash down the coast was
the acid test for close air support.
Two units-one Army, one Ma
rines-of the same comparative
size jumped off at the same point
at the same time against similar
enemy concentrations in identical
terrain.
THE Marines, with close air
support, moved 81 miles in four
days with light casualties. The
Army, which had just the usual
air coverage, begged down after
suffering heavy casualties"
That's the tragic story of the
colossal blunder made by a ma
jority of the U. S. Joint Chiefs of
Staff is depriving the United States
Army of its own air-support units.
There is too much politics in
Washington or else there would be
some heads removed, both civilian
and military. SoftneSS and politi-
cal thinking have no place in a
wartime SetllD as lives are heino