Evening star., 1952-03-20
Re-exanliining
Position After
Primary Votes
General Cites RISING
Number of Buckers
As 6. O. P. Nominee
BY the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press
SUPREME HEADQUARTERS,
ALLIED POWERS IN EUROPE.
Mar. 20. - Gen. Dwight Eisen-
hover said today he is re-examin-
ing his political position-an indi-
cation he may soon go home to
campaign actively for the Repub-
lican nomination for President.
The general took note Of the
mounting numbers of my fellow
citizens who are voting to make me
the Republican nominee" He said.
in effect, the voters of New Hamp-
shire and Minnesota "are forcing
me to re-examine my personal
position and past decision (not to
campaign for the nomination."
Gen. Eisenhower issued his
statement a few hours after two
developments-Senator Robert A.
Taft withdrew from the New Jer-
sey preferential primary and Pres
ident Truman said Gen. Eisen-
hover was at liberty to return
home any time the general deems
lit safe and proper.
AstOnished by Results.
Gen. Eisenhower's statement.
however, took no note of either
of those developments. 1t was
ISSUED in answer to reporters re-
quests for comment on the
minnesota primary, where more
than 1000 voters took the trou-
BILE to write in Gen. Eisenhower's
name as their choice for the Re-
publican nomination.
The statement said:
"You gentlemen probably realize
how astonished I was by the
results of the Minnesota primary.
"The mounting numbers of my
fellow citizens who are voting to
make me the Republican nominee
are forcing me to re-examine my
personal position and past de-
ciSion.
1 II did not imagine that so
many voters in Minnesota would
make me a write-in candidate
land. according to, newspaper ac-
counts. some Of them had trouble
with my name.
Regards "Ike" as Compliment.
II count it an additional COM
Ipliment that some refused to be
dismayed by the long Eisenhower
name and simply wrote in Ike /"
i; Gen. Eisenhower's reference to
his personal position and past
decisions" apparently referred to
Ia statement he issued January Z.
the day after his hackers an
|nounced they would enter him in
the New Hampshire Republican
primary.
Referring to that statement,
made by Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge, head of the Eisenhower
for-President movement, Gen.
Eisenhower said then that Sena-
tor Lodge was correct in terming
him a Republican and added:
"He was also correct in stating
that I would not seek nomination
to political Office"
May Return in May.
He also said in his January Z
statement that ''in the absence Of
a clear-cut call to political duty,
I shall continue to devote my full
attention and energies to the per-
formance of the vital task to
which I am assigned"
His statement today that the
primary votes so far "are forcing
me to re-examine that decision"
led to speculation that he may
return shortly to the United
States.
Most observers expect this re-
turn to be sometime in late May,
after the last of the preferential
primary elections have been held.
The statement today was is
sued through the SHAPE public
information Office and was pref
aced with statemen by informa-
tion officers that it was in re-
sponse to repeated requests for
comment by Gen. Eisenhower on
the result of the Minnesota pri-
mary.