Evening star., 1950-08-29
The Political Mil

Repercussions Waited /
Prompt Action of President
Nay Shut OFF New Outburst
By Gould Lincoln
In the midst of war we are in politics.
President Truman's request to Gen. Dou-
glas Macarthur to withdraw his mes
sage. dealing with Formosa, to the Vet
Grams of Foreign Wars convention in
Chicago Immediately raised an uproar
among Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Senator Knowland of California and
others charged the President with at
tempting to gag" Gen. Macarthur, and
with an effort to keep the truth from
the American people. -
The White House has very wisely de-
clared the incident closed" But tbs
President has clearly indicated to Gen.
Macarthur that statements on foreign
policy of this country are to come from
him, Mr.. Truman. The withdrawn"
statement, however, has been widely
published. 1t will have its repercussions
both here and abroad
What Gen. Macarthur said was that
the loss Of Formosa to the Chinese Reds
which is tantamount to saying to
Soviet RuSSia-would not only bring war,
but would so weaken our Pacific defense
line that any future battle would be
shifted to the coasts Of the American
continent. Since President Truman on
June ~ ordered the 7th Fleet Of the
United States to prevent any aggression
on Formosa, he must have had good rea-
son for doing so.
Same Reasoning Presumed.
The presumption is that Mr.. Trumanx
reason was much the same, if not exactly
the same, as Gen. MacArthurs argument
for keeping FormoSa out of the hands of
potential enemies of the United States
There is, therefore, no present conflict
between Mr.. Truman's action and the
ideas which Gen. Macarthur was con-
veying to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Nor is there any underlying conflict
between the Macarthur message and the
letter which President Truman sent to
Warren Austin, United States permanent
Ambassador to the United Nations set
ting forth the position of the United
States with respect to Formosa, although
tins Presidents letter wraps up the For
mosa problem in a lot of words and
clauses Fundamentally, the letter means
that the United States is not going to
sit by and see the Chinese Reds take
over the island-as they have said they
intended doing. The Presidents Letter
is couched in diplomatic terms, however.
and Gen. MacArthur's statement disre-
CARDS everything but the military point
of view.
The blunt military statement. left
standing alone would undoubtedly have
n in try
and abroad that the United States was
on its way to a quick war with the
Chinese Communists. Indeed, it has al
ready done so, and there have been loud
criticisms to the effect that the whole
thing may ALLEVIATE our friends in West
ern Europe and our friends in Asia. Ths
strange part of it all, however, is that
MI. Truman has told the Chinese Reds
that if they attack Formosa the Amer
lean fleet will fight them; that they
can have war if they want it. In addi-
ton he has told the Chinese NationalistS
and Chang Kai-Shek, now holding For
nosa. that they must not launch any
attacks on the Chinese mainland. The
President, by this move. diSassociated
himself from any suggestion that he is
joining Chang Kai-shek to overthrow
the Chinese Reds on the mainland.
May Stop New Outburst.
President Truman's prompt action in
restating the Governments position with
regard to FormoSa and his declaration
that the incident of the Macarthur mes
sage is closed should have the effect of
shutting off new outburst, both in this
country and elsewhere, which might
plunge the world into total war again.
Whether it will or not is another Ques-
ton.
There are those who will say that Mr.,
Truman should ouSt Gen. Macarthur for
sending this statement to the Veterans
of Foreign Wars without first consult
ing the White House. But to take any
such action would deprive the United
Nations and this country of great mill
tary leader at time when he is needed
in the Korean war. And to take any
such action would rouse tremendous re-
sentiment on the part Of millions Of
Americans who have the highest regard
for Douglas Macarthur, for what he has
done in two world wars. and for what he
has done in Japan since the close of the
last war.
There are those who will say that Gen.
Macarthur spoke out of turn in his
message because he is looking only to
the problems of the Pacific and has
knowledge only of those problems, and
because he is a military man and there
are problems of international politics
and economics involved in a solution Of
the Formosa question. In answer to this,
however it may be said that Gen. Mac
Arthur has spoken out of a sincere be-
lief that the safety of the American
people-and the continuance of this
Government-restso on not giving to our
enemies the advantage of Formosa as
springboard for attack.