The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1951-05-03
THE GREAT
GAME OF
POLITICS
Copyright by The Baltimore Sun and
reprinted in The Republican by
permission.
Decentralization Fort
BY FRANK II. KENT

and force of General MacAruthurs
remarkable speech to Congress last
week. Just as unquestionably another
effect of that speech has been to
arouse an overwhelming popular
sentiment behind him in all parts of
the country.
1t now remains to be seen whether
these advantages can be held by the
General during the tests to which he
will be subjected next week, when he
appears before the Senate Committees
on Armed Forces and Foreign AT
fairs Also, there are the charges
made by Senator Nixon, of Cali
fornia, that a campaign Of calculated
disparagement already has been
launched against him. For it is abun-
dainty clear that the Truman Ad-
minisration, the Pentagon and the
State Department are not going to
accept this popular approval of
General Macarthur without vigorous
protest and a real fight. To do so
would be to acquiesce in smashing
together too much to eXpect-parti-
cularly when they are equipped with
quite effective weapons for reprisal.
In the first place, these committees
are controlled by stalwart Admins
tration Democrats Well briefed in
advance, it is anticipated that by
adroit questioning these will be able
to dissipate some of the glamor
through which the people now view
the General and reduce his present
heroic stature to that of an ordinary
man. The anti MacArthurites make
no secret that they will be bitterly
disappointed if they do not succeed
in this purpose. They count, of
course, on great aid from the testi-
mony of those high military figures
who already have asserted they
unanimously favored the Truman de-
cision to dismiss. Perhaps their OBJ
iective will be achieved. On the other
hand, members of the Macarthur
staff are confident that he not only
will substantiate every statement he
has made, but will emerge from the
crossexamination with undiminished
prestige.
As to the anti-MacArthur propa-
~anda now breaking out all over the
place, there are several things to con-
slider One is that the generals
speech, free from bitterness and
rancor as he said, nevertheless
generally held challenge to Mr..
Truman who chooses to regard it as
an "attack on the government '-and
one not to be taken lying down. Ger
tanly. public approval of General
Macarthur is public disapproval of
Mr.. Truman 1t would be abnormal,
indeed, if he and his friends, whose
fortunes are linked with his, did not
use everything they have to change
that situation. Even with an incum-
bent as low in public esteem as Mr..
Truman, the prestige of the presi-
dcncy is enormous. 1t controls en-
gincs of publicity and propaganda
more powerful than amy to which an
opposing individual or group can APP
proach. Its influence is sufficient
automatically to discourage some
criticism and to inspire some advo-
cacy. Always, it has a strong journal
istic support.
Altogether this is an exceedingly
formidable combination for any man
o,,o,, ~ frraa+ ,,,iIi+a,.y fUi,rp S11cb
as General MacArthur-to take on,
particularly when augmented by vari-
Gus hostile columnists and radio COM
mcntators with wide audiences Some
of these are of the protest. nal "libcr-
al" type who oppose the General be
cause he is neither a ~ V n'r .
"Fair" Dealer. Also h Is Gcr"u 'cf d
by the CIO publicity agencies an'
spokesman. Others include several
writer's with obvious persona
grudges. From these come the petty
personal disparagement-su
that the General thinks he can
"walk on the waters' that once he
takes his uniform off he will no
longer ne SlluONtU Will ulNlIc dIJll-
butes but will seem very ordinary,
elderly man; that the main trouble
with Macarthur is his ego. Some
have even dug up the old smear
stories about Mr.. Hoover, General
Macarthur and the Bonus Army Of
1892. Others cheaply suggest that his
speech was "John BarrymOriSh,'
sneerngly use the words ham" and
"corn" in this connection.
Against all this, General MacAr-
thur has his own personality and
prestige plus a practically umprecc,
dented public support. How much Of
this he can retain depends good
deal on himself. He may make mis-
takes. He may talk too much. The
Joint Chiefs of Staff may be able
to prove that his views on what
should be done in Asia arc danger,
ously unsound. A tickle public Gal
ways sucker for propaganda may
not stand by him. No one can tell
about that. But these things are GER
toip. ~ tbat tho COD1n1ittpp bpa rim pS