Evening star., 1951-11-18

Periodically-and usually after the
successful conclusion of q war In
which they have been involved
Americans start asking themselves
the question: Should the country
have military man in the White
House" This issue is in full bloom
today, because of the intense de-
sire of many Republicans to have
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as their
presidential candidate next year.
Opposition to the nomination of
Gen. Eisenhower takes two lines.
The first is that military man as
Chief Executive would constitute a
menace; that he might seek to be
the man on horseback" and that
his election might lead to militarism
In the country and the dominance of
q military clique. The second is
that military man necessarily is un-
familiar with the domestic problems
of the people, and that he is without
the knowledge of politics" which
President should have The military,
1t is argued. must always be Sec
ondary to civilian authority.
The country has survived so far
without becoming militarized-al-
though it has elected a considerable
list of Presidents who saw military
service before entering the White
House. Six of them were in the
Continental Army or the Regular
Army of the United States. Two
Regular Army officers, for reasons
of their own. turned down preSiden-
tial nominations when they might
have had them for the asking.
The two Presidents who served in
the Continental Army were George
Washington-the supreme comman-
der-and James Monroe. who saw
active service, was wounded and rose
to the rank of major. The four who
were officers in the Regular Army
of the United States were Andrew
Jackson, William Henry Harrison,
Zachary Taylor and Ulysses S. Grant.
Militory Heroes
The election of Washington as the
flrst President was, indeed, the cleo
tion of great military leader, fol-
lowing the War of the Revolution.
Andrew Jackson was a hero of the
War of 1912. William Henry Har-
rlson's chief claim to fame was his
military service against the Indians
and in the War of 1912, when he
was in command in the Northwest.
Grant was the military hereof the
Union Armies-in the Civil War.
After Grant, the people picked, as
their Chief Executive. Hayes and
Garfield, both Republicans. who had
served as generals in the Civil War.
Benjamin Harrison, grandson of Will
liam Henry Harrison, another Civil
War general, was elected President
In 1888. The last of the Civil War
veterans to sit in the White House
was Maj William Mckinley.
Col. Theodore Roosevelt, whose
Rough Riders in the Spanish -Ameri-
can War had put him on the map
politically, became successfully Gov
ernor Of New York, Vice President
and President upon the assassination
OF President Mckinley. He was the
last of the Presidents who had
actual military service-until the
advent of, Harry S. Truman. an
artillery captain in the First World
War.
The only Democrats in this list Of
military Presidents were Monroe,
jackson and Truman. William Henry
Harrison and Zachary Taylor were
Wings, and the rest, including Grant.
were Republicans History frequently
repeats itself. Just as, in 1948, both
Republicans and Democrats were
reaching for Eisenhower, a military
hero. both Republicans and Demo-
Gratis were striving in 1866 to interest
Grant in presidential nomination,
Today, Republicans are launching an
all-out drive to draft Gen. Eisen-
hover for the 1852 presidential
nomination-and some of the Demo-
Gratis are standing hopefully by to
grab him in case the G. o. p. fails to
name hlm its standard bearer for one
reason Or another.
There were no organized political