Evening star., 1951-11-09
The Political Mill ...
Who Told Arthur Krock
Eisenhower Story?
Capitol Wonders About Source
Of New York Times Article
The Political Mil
By Gould Lincoln

BY 6ould Lincoln
The $64 question In political
circles today is: who gave Arthur
Krock, chief of the Washington Bureau
of the New York Times, the story that
President Truman offered to back Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower for the Demo-
cratic presidential nomination Of 1882"
The story itself, If true, gives the lie
to both President Truman and Gen.
Eisenhower. Mr.. Truman, before he left
Washington for Florida. said: There's
not word Of truth in II" (the Krock
story. Gen. Eisenhower, before leaving
Washington to fly back to France after
his recent conference with the Presi-
dent. told newspapermen he and PreSi-
dent Truman had not talked politics.
Mr.. Krock wrote that "the qualifica-
tions Of the source" of his information
were such that "the report merits re-
sponsible publication" It appears that
either the source" Of Mr.. Krock's in
formation Is correct in this report OF
an offer to the general or President
Truman and Gen. Eisenhower are cor
rect. It is incredible that the President
and Gen. Eisenhower would deliberately
be untruthful.
Who Would Benefit?
There is another angle to the contro-
versy. Who would benefit from the pub
lication of this report? Mr.. Krock's
story said that the offer had been made
by the President to support Eisenhower
for presidential nomination next year
presumably the Democratic nomina-
tion-and that Gen. Eisenhower had
neither accepted nor specifically rejected
it, although Gen. Eisenhower pointed
out there were great difficulties arising
out of his opposition to Truman do
mestic policies. including labor and re-
peal of the Taft-Hartley Act.
Obviously, to spread the idea that
Gen. Eisenhower is considering. or would
consider, a Democratic, nomination for
President Is calculated to undermine
Gen. Eisenhower as potential nominee
Of the Republicans and to discourage the
effort of those Republicans who are busily
engaged in promoting a draft" OF the
general as the COP. candidate next
year. Just as obviously, the story would
hurt Gen. Eisenhower with labor.
So the publication of the Krock story
goes beyond the mere question whether
such a conversation took place between
Mr.. Truman and Gen. Eisenhower.
Here is no implication that Mr.. Krock
had any interest except in reporting the
exact facts as he believed he received
them He is far too responsible re-
porter working for far too responsible
a newspaper. to believe anything else.
However, the idea that Gen. Eisenhower
would take Democratic presidential
nomination has been spread in the past
by Democrats who do not wish to see
him nominated on the Republican ticket
and by some Republicans who prefer
to have Senator Taft Of Ohio as the
party standard bearer.
FEASIBILITY Added to Story.
Feasibility Is added to the Krock story
because of the known friendship and adj
miration the President bears for Gen.
Eisenhower, and by the added fact
that in 1945 the President offered to
support Gen. Eisenhower for the presi-
dency in 1948. Take. also, the suspicion.
strong in some quarters, that President
Truman does not wish nor intend to
become a candidate to succeed himself.
What more natural, 1t may be argued.
l
pick Democratic nominee for President
whom he might believe sure winner,
and at the same time remove the possi-
bility of having Gen. Eisenhower as
threat to continued Democratic control
of the Government, which he would be
if he were nominated by the Repub-
licans?
If the Krock story is true, then either
the President or Gen. Eisenhower must
have told it to some close personal
friend, by whom it was relayed to the
correspondent of the New York Times.
This raises still another question-Was
the relay Of the story with the con-
sent of the principal or without his
knowledge? Decidedly, there remains a
lot to be cleared up in this maze Of
reports and denials.
A vindication of the Krock story
would be the eventual nomination Of
Eisenhower on the Democratic ticket.
with Truman support. A Republican
nomination for the general would leave
the matter of a Truman offer still q
mystery.
Meanwhile, it may be said that II
President Truman told Gen. Eisenhower
he would support him for presidential
nomination. it seems conclusive that the
President believes it would be proper
for Eisenhower to leave Europe some
time next spring at the latest. This
does away with the repeated argument
that Gen. Eisenhower is indispensable
where he Is.