Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-07-28
The Political Mil
Lodge Gets in EARLY Lick
In Drive for Eisenhower
Expects General to Return
Before Spring Next Yeur
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln


The Republican Party in Congress
will soon be confronted by the problem
of appropriations for military aid to the
North Atlantic Security Treaty nations.
The proposed appropriations are Jumped
this year with those for economic aid
to these nations. in what is known as
the Mutual Security bill-an authorize
ton for the appropriations which will
follow.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, jr.. of
Massachusetts, Republican member
of the Senate Foreign Relations Com
mittee which is now considering the
Mutual Security bill, which contem-
plates total authorization of $780,
0o0,000 of which $500 100000 is for
the development of military strength in
Europe, has declared himself strongly
IN favor OF granting the complete
amount for military aid. To do any
thing less, he contends, would be to
peril the national defense.
The Massachusetts, Senator is obvi-
ously getting in an early lick in the
fight which may develop among the
Republicans, with Senators Taft of Ohio
and Wherry of Nebraska inclined to
IL
Senator Lodge told the Senate, in his
opening statement, that Gen. Gruen-
ther, who is Gen. Dwight D. Essen
hoWer's chief of staff in the NATO
setup III Europe, had said that reduc-
ticns in the amount for military aid for
these European nations would prove a
severe handicap, IF not an actual under
cutting of Gen. Eisenhower, in the &C
complishment of his mission"
Emphatic in His Praise.
Senator Lodge was much more en-
phatlc in his praise of what Gen. Eisen-
hover has so far accomplished than
some of his senatorial colleagues who.
like Senator Lodge, have recently been
in Europe. He said that under the
leadership of Gen. Eisenhower IAN
amazing amount of progress has been
made" And he added, 1T would not
surprise me at all if by next year all
the thorniest problems had been solved
so that all that would be necessary
thereafter would be steady build-up Of
strength"
BY next year." Senator Lodge meant
as early as February or March, 1852.
His clear intimation was that, under
such circumstances, Gen. Eisenhower
would be then in position to hand over
his present Office to a successor, return
to this country, and run for President.
There is world of politics woven into
the recent comments of Republican Sen
ators-and Democratic Senators-who
have returned from Europe and dis
cussed Gen. Eisenhower and the work
he is doing for the NATO. Senators
who want Senator Taft for the Republic
can presidential nominee have declared
that Gen. Eisenhower is the 'indispen-
sable man" in European rearmament,
and that they see no chance of devel-
opment of the NATO forces to resist
Communist aggression in Europe for
another year or longer. Democratic
Senators, who have no desire to have
Gen. Eisenhower as the G. o. P. stand
ard bearer next year, have expressed
similar views
Has Confidence of Europe.
- The plain fact of the matter, however,
as seen by Senator Lodge and others. is
that Gen. Eisenhower would be even
= more valuable as President of the United
g State and Commander in Chief in tile
upbuilding of the NATO- forces than as
the commander in Europe. If he is the
man in whom the Europeans have ire
mendous confidence. and both sides agree
to that, then that confidence would be
increased rather than diminished-so
far as the United States is concerned
in the minds of the Europeans.
Senator Taft. the chairman of the Re-
publican Policy Committee of the Senate,
has taken the position that some mill
tary aid should be given-in the way of
appropriations and arms-to the Euro
pean nations. If he attacks strongly
the $5.3 billion fund, which Gen. Eisen-
hover considers of paramount i'm
portance at this stage, he will run the
risk of being charged with attempting
to undercut the man who has been re-
garded as his chief potential opponent
for Republican presidential nominal
ton.