Evening star., 1952-07-09
The Foreign-PoIicy Plank

Not surprisingly, both Senator Taft and Gen.
eral Eisenhower have Endorsed the foreign-policy
plank of the Republican platform Although they
very definitely do not see eye to eye on the
emphasis to be accorded various aspects Of
Americas role in international affairs, the plank
has been made broad enough to permit them to
stand on it together thus insuring its acceptance
by the convention without even the suggestion
of fight.
Drafted largely by John Foster Dulles, chief
architect of the Japanese peace treaty and for
mer Republican adviser to Secretary AcheSon,
the foreign policy text, in substance, makes the
following main points: Q) That the principle OF
reciprocal trade should be maintained; % that
some features Of the Yalta, Teheran and Pots
dam agreements should be repudiated; (3) that
the Truman administration should be held
accountable for such acts as pulling troops out
of Korea prior to the Communist aggression;
"a that Asia should receive more attention than
it has had up to now; (5l that iSolationiSm
should be regarded as completely dead; and (6)
that our friends in Europe and the Far East
should receive as much economic and military
aid as necessary to promote a system of collec-
tive security that will bulwark the safety of the
United States and the rest of the free world.
All these and similar points are sufficiently
generalized to be acceptable to virtually every
Republican. But it would be naive to suppose
that they do not lend themselves, depending on
individual viewpoints, to varying interpretations.
some much more emphatic than others. There
may be universal agreement, for example, on the
principle of reciprocal trade but that does not
mean that there Is unaninity as regards the
methods to be used in putting that principle to
work. Similarly, as far as Asia is concerned,
there can be meeting of minds on the idea that
Asia should get more attention, but the mind
can still be very far apart in their judgments as
to the degree of additional attention that may
be needed or as to the priority that should be
given that part OF the world in relation to
Western Europe.
good Illustration of this can be found in
the recent legislative history of foreign economic
and military aid. Senator Taft, although stand
ing by the principle Of the project, has made
clear that he does not agree with General Eisen-
howers views on how large that aid should be.
In fact, it is chiefly because of him that the
Mutual Security Program for fiscal 1858 has been
cut about 81 billion below the figure urgently
recommended by the general. Quite clearly,
these two rivals for the Republican presidential
nomination differ very much in degree-n not
in kind-when it comes to questions OF how best
to promote the security of the United States.
Accordingly, there can be little doubt that the
generalities of the Republican platform would be
put to work in one way by the Ohioan and in
another way by the former NATO commander
in the event of either's election to the White
House.
With that said, however, our allies abroad
especially those among them who are jittery
about the possibility that victorious Republicans
might restore isolationism-ought not to under
estimate the significance of the partys plank
on foreign policy Although the principles Of
that plank can be applied with varying degrees
of vigor, they are nonetheless principles that
mean the United States regardless of who may
be the next President, is firmly committed on a
bipartisan or nonpartisan basis to leading role
in world affairs. The ostrich people have really
lost their power in America.