Evening star., 1952-01-12
Trumon Won't Smooth
Path for Eisenhower
Wanted General us Nominee
Of Democrats, Is Report
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

Whether President Truman wanted
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for the
Democratic presidential NOMINEE this
year or not--and there is much to sub
stantiate the report that he did-it Is
quite clear now that Mr.. Truman Is not
going to make 1t easy for Gen. Esen-
hover to become the Republican nomi-
nee-not at all.
At his recent press conference. Mr..
Truman (al said he would not relieve
Gen. Eisenhower from his present job
as supreme commander of the NATO
forces unless Gen. Eisenhower asked to
be relieved: (b) said he was surprised
to learn Eisenhower was Republican
and revived the old story about Eisen-
hover having made speech at q
Democratic rally when he. Ike. was 18
years old; (c) warned Eisenhower II he
got into the political campaign he would
be subject to rotten-politicS CAM
paign; Cd suggested that Eisenhower. if
nominated by the Republicans, would
face the same kind Of fate as Gen. VIM
field Scott in 1852. who was defeated by
Franklin Pierce, the Democratic candi-
date. All these items seem intended to
make EiSenhower's nomination less
likely
Statement Made in Paris.
Gen. EiSenhowers statement in Paris,
in which he made it clear he was willing
to accept Republican nomination, also
stated he would not ask to be relieved
from his present command to make
political campaign. If the general sticks
to that latter position, and President
Truman sticks to his plan not to relieve
Eisenhower unless the latter requests it,
Gen. Eisenhower will be in Paris at the
time of the Republican National Con-
vention next July. He will have no
opportunity to campaign, or to give his
views on national issues to the people.
To some of Eisenhowers supporters 1t
looks as though the President was
going all-out to block Eisenhower by
keeping him on the job in Europe.
It is apparent that Mr.. Truman and
the Democrats who wish to keep the
present administration, or some other
like it, in power are overly desirous that
the Republican presidential nominee
shall not be Gen. Eisenhower. They
don't want him because they are afraid
of him. On the other hand, they still
prefer that the Republican nominee
should be Senator Taft Of Ohio-whom
they think, however inadvisedly- they
can defeat. So their present campaign
is to make it as difficult for Eisenhower
to win nomination as possible and to
make it easier for Mr.. Taft.
From sources that are wholly reliable
1t is reported that the Democrats earlier
this year were not only anxious to have
dot h,lf
general actually was approached by a
leading Democrat who proposed that
Eisenhower become the party candidate.
At that time Gen. Eisenhower said, Il
couldn't face my Republican friends in
Kansas" if he accepted such proposal,
and turned it down.
- Luncheon Talk Recalled.
Further, it is reported that President
Truman expressed regret, at the time OF
his. luncheon with Eisenhower in the
Blair House some weeks ago. that Ike
could not go along with the plan to make
him a possible nominee Of the Demo-
cratic Party. a- .... -.H-.
Some of Eisenhower's supporters,
among them Senator Lodge of Massa-
chusetts, the Eisenhower campaign man
ager, and Senator Carlson of Kansas,
who is in charge of the Washington
Eisenhower headquarters, have indicated
strongly they believed Gen. Eisenhower
would be able to return to this country by.
March anyway to get out of uniform and
into the campaign. But whether these
plans are blocked by the Truman deter
mination to keep Eisenhower in Europe
or not, they will go right ahead with q
hard hitting campaign to draft the gen.
eral for the presidential nomination..
President Truman, who commented
on the fate of a general, Scott, nomi-
mated by the Wings over Senator and
defeated by a Democratic candidate.
Pierce. might have gone back to 1840.
In that year a generalEWilliam Henry
Harrison-was nominated by the Wings
over a. Senator, Webster, and de-
feated the incumbent Democratic presi-
dent, Van Eursp-
p s~g