Evening star., 1952-09-19
Eisenhower Remarks
About Rail Strikers
Politics, Truman Says


President Truman has hung a
politics" tag on the report that
Gen. Eisenhower was ordered to
Washington in May, 1946, to take
charge of railroad strikers who
were threatened with induction
into the Army.
The story came out of the free
air and was a political PROPOSE
tion entirely, Mr.. Truman told his
news conference late yesterday.
Gen. Eisenhower first recalled
the incident in his talk to the
American Federation of Labor
Wednesday. He said he had
spurned the order because II was
a soldier. not a Strike-breaker. u
Gen. Eisenhower did not dis
close the source of the order, butt
friends, according to the New York
Times, said it came from President
Truman. and added the general,
then Chief of Staff, had threat
ened to resign if the White House
insisted on the move.
Sought to Draft Strikers.
The strike was settled while
President Truman was asking
Congress for a draft-striker law
to keep the railroads moving.
President Truman told news
conference questioners that he
had no such conversation with the
general, and that to his knowl-
edge no one else did, either.
Rather tartly, Mr.. Truman said
the Chief of Staff would not re-
fuse to obey an order of the Com
mander in Chief.
At the time of the reputed in
cident. Gen. Eisenhower was on
a vacation in Georgia.
While he refused the strike
breaking" assignment, he said, he
did agree to return to Washington
because IT was told that I was
considered the only soldier with
whom the strikers would even
talk. So I agreed to meet with
them"
Called by Patterson.
Newspaper files show that Gen.
Eisenhower was called to Wash
ington by War Secretary Robert |
p. Patterson on May "a, the day
after the strike started. The strike |
was settled the following day.
Gen. Eisenhower had no i'm
mediate comment on Mr.. Tru-
mans statement, but Gov. Sher-
man Adams, chairman of his ad-
viSory staff, issued a statement in
Omaha saying he regretted that
"the President of the United
States did not check all his facts
before he issued his customary
denial"
Gov. Adams said Kenneth c.
Royal, Undersecretary of War at
the time the incident is said to
have occurred, and Howard c..
Peterson, then Assistant Secretary
of War. "could have refreshed his
memory"
'n any one desired to check
further they could have done so
with the 1916 officials of the
Georgia State Bar Association
whose convention Gen. Eisenhower
was scheduled to address in Sa-
vannah on May "a of that year.
Instead he was summoned back to
Washington for what was called
so great an emergency that he
could not be spared long enough
to permit him to address the con-
vention."
Praises Stevenson Speeches.
On other topics. Mr.. Truman
told his news conference:
l. Republicans must have ten
der hides If they don't like the
sharp-edged quips tossed their way
by Gov. Adlai Stevenson.
2. Gov. Stevenson's campaign
speeches have been excellent and
Mr.. Truman agrees with the Gov
ernor that Gen. Eisenhower has
surrendered to Senator Taft of
Ohio on running the G. o. P.I
campaign.
3. President Truman hopes
Thomas Fairchild, Democrat op-
ponent of Republican Senator Nc
Carthy. will win the Wisconsin
senatorial election.