The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1951-04-18

This Rock
Of Our"
BY BILL GLIB

How many of you realize the
generosity and decency shown by
President Truman to General
Macarthur? sssst
He has alloweds hiP4s ID return
home with full 29ilitary ! honors.
A more experienced and selfish
commander-in-chfef could, prob
ably would. haNesnailed hi sub
ordinate I'd the Stake. Something
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done.
A few months ago, Macarthur
made ignorant statements tate
ments that the war in Korea was
practically over, the boys would
be home for Christmas, etc. Re
member them? He continued to
hold his job because President
Truman was loyal to him, not be-
cause of public acclaim. The
soldiers and folks at home wanted
HI; scalp.
AS far as can see, Truman is
still loyal to the man. He re-
moved him because he had
stepped out of his role as a mill
! tary commander and assumed
the role of a political advisor. A
role for which he is totally un-
i fit. .......
Macarthur has been out of the
United States fourteen year,. His
overall picture Of world condi-
tionS is affected by his concen-
tration on Oriental matters. Yet
today we are fighting a global
war of nerves.
l wonder if Macarthur has
even considered the dangerous
European situation that would be
created if we committed our
selves to total war in the Far
East?
During the last war, we furn-
| iShed our resources to Europe
and let the Japs chase us all
over the Pacific. We did this
because we couldn't maintain
two major fronts simultaneously
If we have war with China to-
day, the situation will be re-
versed. Western Europe will
fall to the Russians and it won't
be as easy to regain as the
islands of the Pacific.
did l say as easy? Ask
some of the veterans of Two lima
and Tarrawa how easy. il. was
| during the last warD o.. a,>s9:
Let's take another example: a
! Suppose Eisenhower is allowed
to dictate the policy Qf, the Unitr
ed States. Dc, you think his. plans
for Europe would coincide. with
MacArthur's for the Far East?
And if they did not, to which Of
the two men should we listen?
think the Republican party
stands guilty of treason during
these trying times. They have
taken a military situation and
attempted to make political
hay out of if. They have
shown a willingness to, tear 8
the country apart. expose our
domestic troubles 10 the enc
my. and weaken the position of
the United States before the
eyes of the world. All of this
for selfish political reasons
during a time of national
emergency.
PROGRESSIVE GROWTH
| Everything isn't as bad as it
| sometimes seems here on this
l9ql 10 uondeoxs aql ql!M) 4oo4
airport anG certain political mat
tiers, of course). .se.
Our streets are being inn
| proved, thanks to the city COM
mission, and the cigarette tax.
The ecavenger system is 1000
more efficient than it was a few
| years ago. The fire department
can hold it's own with the best
in the country in so far as its
IperSonnel are concerned It's
| equipment is a matter that needs
improving. Our city recreation
| department is doing a swell job
and Bayview Park looks beauti-
full.
! The new homes and motels that
one uMol I9Ao lie lUnq 5u!oq aIe
another encouraging sign that
hundreds of folks have confidence
in the future of Key West. If
we all stay ION the ball." we're
going to have the kind of town
we've always dreamed about.
The fresh blood of new settlers
is God-send for the commun-
ity. They will furnish us with
new ideas, new perspectives, new
ways of living. Something we
corely need.
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