Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-04-18

tueIlC truman OF making wrong,
inaccurate or untrue statements.
!, All reflect on Mr.. Byrnes as Sec
rotary of State.
= Asked about the article yester-
day, Mr.. Truman declined COM
!, ment. He said he knew nothing
about the article.
=, Mr.. Byrnes says he got along
we'll with the President until
1949, more than two years
+ after he left the State Depart
ment. In 1949, Mr.. Byrnes criti-
D., clzed some of the administration S
domestic policies-and President
: Truman exploded.
Political Purposes Cited.
Since then, Mr.. Byrnes says, the
President. for political purposes,
> has made Measurements about his
work as Secretary. Mr.. Byrnes,
now Governor of South Carolina,
writes:
Twice within 18 months, in two
separate books, he has authorized
direct quotations or made state
ments in his own writing that are
not true about my services as
Secretary of State. He did this
first in the Jonathan Daniels
book, The Man of independence
and now in the William Hillman
book, Mr.. President"
Mr.. Byrnes complains that the
Hillman book contains a memo
randum dated January S. 1916,
that President Truman says he
read to Mr.. Byrnes. The memo
randum leveled accusations and
innuendoes at Mr.. Byrnes. then
still Secretary of State. The
memorandum. taken from the
White House files, tells Mr.. Byrnes
TO tougher the American stand
against Russia.
1.-THE statement made by the
President that he read the memo
randum-letter to me is absolutely
untrue" MI. Byrnes writes. II
never even heard of the document
until it was reproduced in the
Hillman book. -.
Opposed Domestic Program.
"The evidence is impressive
that the document was written by
the President, and formally
signed by him, to record himself
favorably.
1.-THE evidence seems plain that
he became offended with me, not
because of anything I did OF did
mot do while Secretary of State,
but because at Washington and
Lee University, I opposed some
of his domestic program. Since
that time, in the Jonathan
Daniels book and now in the
Hillman book, he appears deter
mined to construct a record
against me, without regard to the
facts.
Americans should place loyalty
to country above loyalty to any
political candidate. Mr.. Truman
can not understand that"
Mr.. Byrnes made public photo
static copies of letters he ex-
changed with President Truman
after he left the Government.
They indicated that President
Truman consulted Mr.. Byrnes on
foreign policy and was friendly to
him until the Byrnes speech
which attacked Washington for
assuming too much political and
economic power.
On June 81, 1949, President
Truman wrote Mr.. Byrnes about
an item appearing in a political
gossip column, and then penned
in this postscript: "Since your
Washington and Lee speech. I'm
sure I know how Caesar felt when
he said. EFT tn Brute" Caesar
is supposed to have uttered that
cry when he saw his old friend,
Brutus. among his assassins.)
Mr.. Byrnes wrote back: Il hope
you are not going to think of
me as Brutus. because I am no
Brutus. hope you are not 60
ing to think of yourself as a
Caesar, because you are no Gaze
sar."
Mr.. Byrnes says that, since
then, he has heard nothing di-
rectly from the President.
Mi. Byrnes says he wants to
keep his record clean and can not
REMAIN forever silent when the
President of the United States
repeatedly makes inaccurate and
untrue remarks about my serv-
ices and gives them such perma-
hence as printed words can
bestow." He points out that a
memorandum signed by the Pres
ident and taken from White
House files would impress his
torianS as accurate.
Mr.. Byrnes adds that President
Truman. in the Hillman book. is
quoted as saying: II am going
to spend the rest Of my life in
an endeavor to cause a return to
truthful writing and reporting"
i regret" comments Mr.. Byrnes,
"he did not reach that deter
mination before he decided to
write this memorandum letter and
place it in the files"
Riot Act" Denied.
The Daniels book says Presi-
dent Truman read Mr.. Byrnes the
riot act after he returned from
the Moscow Big Four conference