Evening star., 1952-12-07
Tuft's Durkin Outburst
Called 'Unjustified'
Writer Says Senator's BIust
At Nominee Was ''Mistuke'


Writer Says Senator's BIust
At Nominee Wos'' 'Mistuke'
By Fronk R. Kent
With the blast of Senator Taft against
Gen. Eisenhower because Of his selec-
tion of Martin P. Durkin of Chicago
as Secretary Of Labor, there came from
various quarters the somewhat joyous
cry of "Oh, a rift. rift!" Clearly,
these cries emanated from wishful
thinkers who do not-and never did
wish Ike well.
There are several reasons for be-
lieving there will be no rift" of i'm
portance on this issue. One Is because
the implication Of Mr.. Taft's denuncia-
tion Of the appointment as "incred-
ible" is that. having been bitterly OPP
posed by all the labor bosses, Gen. Ike
has now surrendered" to them and
appointed Truman Democrat" who
will use his influence to repeal the
Taft-Hartley Act. Except the Truman
Stevenson notion after the prediction
New York conference between the gen.
eral and Senator Taft that the former
had surrendered" to the latter, there
is no parallel to that.
The Truman-Stevenson outfit played
on this theme right UP to election day,
but they haven't been singing it since.
On the other hand, it seemed plain that
the President-elect was not the cap
tive" Of any one. Though, obviously,
Mr.. Taft had not indicated the cabinet
selections, several Of them, including
nf fhA
Treasury and Mr.. Benson for Secre-
tary Of Agriculture. had supported Mr..
Taft and opposed Ike for the nomina-
ton, and were avowed friends OF the
former. Mr.. Taft seemed quite happy
about the general setup. He would.
he said, have no difficulty in working
with the men Ike had named.
This was the situation up to last
Tuesday when Mr.. Taft let go with his
description of the Durkin selection as
Incredible" This seems to convey the
idea that the general has double
crossed" Mr.. Taft and now -supinely
seeks to placate the arrogant labor
bosses who fought him. Neither OF
these things is true. and Mr.. Taft ought
to know they are not true. Also, he
ought to know that the Secretary OF
Labor Is the least important OF all
cabinet posts; that the Secretary Of
Labor never has made labor policy for
the President; that the Secretary OF
Labor designate already has made 1t
plain that he does not want to repeal
the Taft Hartley law, but intends to
adapt himself to Gen. Eisenhower's
view on this issue which Is exactly Sena-
tor Taft's view-to wit, that the Taft
Hartley law should be amended, but
not repealed.
The truth seems to be that Mr.. Taft.
q ick-tempered. oversensitive man,
despite his high character and great
ability, in q moment Of pique because
his recommendation for this post was
not accepted, few off the handle when
he heard about it and made an ILL
considered attack. Close friends Of Gen.
Eisenhower say that when Senator Taft
knows all the facts and the background
of the appointment he will realize he
has made an unjustified attack and will
make amends. He is that sort Of man.
One thing is certain. MIR. Taft's oppo-
sition to Mr.. Durkin has not started
any revolt among Senate Republicans
who do not believe his attitude Is either
important or justified. His friends
regret to see him join Henry Morgen-
thau, jr., and Senator Wayne Morse.
who, UP to the time of his outburst.
were the only vocally violent critics Of
the Eisenhower appointments. Mr..
Morgenthau. generally regarded as one
of the least wise and worst equipped
of all the men who have been Secretary
Of the Treasury, complained that the
Eisenhower appointments were not rep
resentative Of the working people" Of
the country-a typically silly remark.
The garrulous Senator Morse. in
breast-beating speech. bolted the Re-
Heights Surrender" and announced after
the election, in which Gen. Eisenhower
carried his State of Oregon by great
majority. that he would not send any
congratulatory message to the general.
Courageously bearing up under this
awful blow, Gen. Ike went ahead, pick
ing his cabinet in less than three weeks
"a job which usually takes an incoming
President that many months. AS was
expected, the personnel did not please
Mr.. Morse, who denounced it as "reac-
tionary" But it certainly seemed to
please the country as a whole.
It Is too bad Senator Taft has seen
At to join the Messrs Morgenthau and
Morse for so inadequate a reason. The
belief is that the even-tempered Eisen-
hover. who sincerely respects Senator
Taft. wants to be friends and needs his
support, will be able to explain to him
that he is neither double -crosser"
nor "two-timer." Mr.. Durkin, though
he may have been, as Mr.. Taft says, a
Truman Democrat" certainly compares
favorably with the present incumbent,
Maurice Tobin Of Boston. whose violent.
demagogic speeches and complete SER
Witty to the CIO bosses could hardly
be exceeded. Also. when Mr.. Durkin is
compared to other of his predecessors
as Labor Secretary, there seems no
reason to complain. They are not an
impressive lot-and, perhaps. the general
knows what he is doing.