davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1953-09-20

nor any one else seemed to be in q
hurry to start the ball rolling. The
earliest the Senator thought the
President might become a target
was in the congressional elections Of
1854 and then, he said. it would be
based more on what he hasn't done
than on what he has"
To certain extent, he is like
President Roosevelt" MIR. Monroney
said, except that Roosevelt came in
on big wave and kept it rolling by
doing new and dramatic things. Gen.
Eisenhower, you might say. came in
with big balance in the bank, but
he isn't doing anything to increase
it, he's just living off his principal.
Sooner or later he is going to cut into
it so deeply that people are going to
become impatient with him."
That the balance in the bank Is
still pretty good. however, the Mid
west conference story clearly shows.
No matter how much -the-record
muttering about the general went
on in Chicago-and there was lot
of it-those who indulged in 1t took
pains to see that their comments re-
manned off the record. Hardly any,
body seemed ready to take Ike on
just yet.
Everybody Likes Ike
Thus the Democrats gave official
proof Of what still seems to be the
paramount fact in American polit-
ical life-the personal popularity OF
the President. Like Mr.. Roosevelt
before him, he seems to possess the
unique ability to disassociate him.
self somehow from his administra-
ton. In the same way in which Mr..
Roosevelt's partiSans were always
able to separate him from those
around him who received the blame
for certain errors of policy, so Gen.
Eisenhower'S partisanS have the
same faculty for keeping him on
pedestal while concentrating their
Scorn upon his subordinates.
In both cases vast numbers Of
voters have found themselves able
to pretend in their own minds that
the President has no connection
with his administration except a
sort of benign. supervisory over
Seer's role. And until this attitude
changes, no politician who has to
run for elective Office is going to
open fire directly on the man in
the White House.
This the Democrats amply proved
in Chicago. A good many of them
felt frustrated, but being practical
politicians, they knew they didn't
have much choice. nor are they sure.
at the moment, just when they will.
Evening star., 1953-09-20
y Democrats Aren't Mad at Eisenhower

Democratic leaders went home
from their Midwest conference in
Chicago last week with one major
political question still unanswered:
When, if ever, is the party going
to decide that the time has come
for an all-out attack on Dwight D.
Eisenhower?
The policies of Gen. Eisenhower,
the programs of Gen. Eisenhower,
the appointees Of Gen. Eisenhower
got their full share of partisan fire at
the two-day huddle. But the Presi-
dent himself, with few exceptions,
was left strictly alone by Demo-
cratic orators.
MitehelI's Tart Retort
Only one statement, in fact, could
be classified as really severe. That
came from Democratic National
Chairman Stephen Mitchell. Asked
whether he thought the Presidents
support would help Republican can
didates for Congress next year, Mr..
Mitchell said bluntly:
II don't know that Eisenhower can
help anybody next year."
This was almost the only open
criticism any one uttered concerning
the incumbent Republican Chief
Executive. Most speakers sounded
as if they were talking about Frank
lin D. Roosevelt or some other party
hero when they discussed the
general. They pictured him as a
good man. a great leader, an hon.
est statesman-slightly misguided,
possibly. but still man to be fol-
lowed and supported.
Most speakers, in fact, took occa-
sion to point out how often they
had supported the President IN the
recent session of Congress. Without
Democratic votes, they said proudly
and truthfully-he might not have
been able to win extension of the
Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act,
approval of the foreign aid program,
or host of other measures officially
backed by the administration but
opposed by many Republicans. Re-
calling the many times Gen. Eisen-
hover was saved by the Democrats
when Sizable portion of his own
party was in open rebellion against
him, the Chicago orators made sure
the public would be in no doubt as
to who was responsible for his
success.
And at the same time, they pulled
no punches and wasted no kindness
in sailing into many of the major
personalities in the Presidents. cab
met, and in attacking some of his
less popular moves in the domestic
Evening star., 1953-09-20

an error that no young author. aspir-
ing to write crime fiction, would put
into a story.
. He might hare had more care for
the tUeltare of triendIy CzechS. The
note mentioned above was welcome
evidence for the security police, not
only against Mr.. Oats, but against
former Czech employe of Mr.. Oats
United Press colleague, Russell
Jones. The Czech had endangered
himself to give the warning.
Mr.. Oats mentions only briefly his
role as witness for the Czech gov
ernment prosecution in another anti
Communist trial i'll March, 1852. He
says he testified according to police
instructions. One of the defendants
was sentenced to death and others
were given severe punishmentS. Mr.
Oats ought to have made clear, if
such was the case, that his testimony
did not contribute unduly to the fate
of some of his unhappy acquaint-
anceS. On the basis of present evi-
dence, it tends to look as if Mr..
Oats bought his way to freedom by
this appearance before the court at
the expense of anti Communist
CZechs.
. He should not hare kept files
about people behind the Iron Curtain
in places accessible to the Comnlu-
mist police. Mr.. Oats kept such files
in his Associated Press Office along
with unofficial" stories about the
Communist regime. These files
brought grief to Mr.. Oats, but they
undoubtedly brought much greater
torture and suffering to his inform
ants and their families.
. He might haze aUoided admitting
he kneW about "a courier" for an
underground. If this was a news
source, he should have protected it.
If the courier" was more than a
news source, Mr.. Oats should not
have allowed his employees to asso-
ciate with him.
. He should not hare had any
truck lUith the "myStery man." as he
calls him. the official of the Czech
secret police who wanted to make
Mr.. Oats Red spy. Such CLOAK
and dagger" carryings-on should
have been obvious to him as
dangerous game for foreign CORE
spondent.
. He should not hare carried SouUe-
Mrs nth him behind the IRON Cur
tain. One such souvenir, card that
showed he had attended an Ameri-
can military intelligence school dur
ing the war, was particularly
damning. This, of course, is eIe-
mentary and now is we'll known TO
Mr.. Oats, too. 1t seems. however. To
show the lack of preparation Mr..
Oats had for his assignment in
Czechoslovakia.
. He should not haze kept those
pictures OF secret prisons and
sketches of planned military install
ldtionS euen for an instant, especial
ly When he kfeW he waS under close
Evening star., 1953-09-20

If Southeast Asia is to be saved
from the Communists, the saving, it
would seem, will be accomplished by
a merger of more American dollars
with more Wet Namese soldiery.
More United States dollars are go
ing to be spent and more native SOL
diery trained and armed in the hope
that the bloody six-year war Of the
French and Associated Indo-China
states against the Wet Mimi Com
.munist rebels, covertly aided by Red
China and the Soviet Union, can be.
brought to a successful conclusion
quickly.
There's little doubt but that the
American taxpayer is going to ante
up more dollars for Indo-China. The
French government has long said
that it can't stand the gaff much
longer. The National Security Coun-
Gil has recommended to President
Eisenhower that substantially more
military aid be given the anti-Com-
munist forces in Indo-China, and
Congress is expected to be asked
to authorize 1885 million more than
the $400 million of mutual security
program funds it authorized for
Indo-China earlier this year. AS
though in preparation for the re-
quest, the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee this week dispatched
Senator Mike Mansfield, Democrat,
of Montana, to Indo-China as its
official observer and information
gatherer.
That the Wet Namese national
army is to be enlarged can be de-
duced from reports from Paris and
Saigon and the cautious comments
of officials here in Washington.
The only alternative to larger ma
tive forces would seem to be direct
participation by American military
Evening star., 1953-09-20

secret police surveillance. A Com
munist, caught in this country with
similar documents, could be i'm
prisoned for as much as 20 years.
. He should not haze retained on
his payroll three men implicated in
the murder of security person.
That openly invited trouble.
Mr.. Ootis' Explanation
Mr.. Oatis does try to address him
self to the question Of why he acted
he way he did. Here is a COM
poSite of his answers:
II realize now something l never
realized then: In all Of East
ern Europe, there was no more GAN
gerouS place for a Western CORE
Spondent to work. If a man gets too
close to fight he gets hurt :.
tBut) this revolution was a quiet
one. People did not get shot down
on the streets. They simply dropped
out OF sight . There was this.
certainly, to put man on his guard.
But there were other things to
throw him off it. There was for
example, the fact that such things
seldom happen to foreigners :.
Other correspondents did (What
Mr.. Oats did d. and got by with
1t II some . story diSpleaSed
somebody that mattered in Czecho-
slovakia, the offending reporter was
simply bounced from the country
until il carno INV t1l,.,,. oot q orrocta1
Because l forgot who were the peo-
pie that really mattered They
were not press officers at the Min
istrieS of Information and Foreign
Affairs. They were not the Czechs
that like Americans They were
Czechs that did not like Americans,
unless the Americans Mapped to be
Communists or Communist sympa-
thizers. They were the secret police
-. Prisoners make fantastic con-
fesSions primarily 1 think, because
they feel that that is their only
chance to save something out Of
the Wreckage. They do so because
they feel that that is what the police
want them to do, and that unless
they do what the police want them
to, they are lost was SO con-
fused 1 did not see it zone of his
confessionS for the BOBBY trap it
was"
Essentially, what Mr. Oats has
done in his account has been to ad-
NIT that the Communist indictment
against him was correct within the
authoritarian and unjust framework
of Communist Jurisprudence. The
fact that it did not reClte of1en5eS
under American law is beside the
point, the trial was not held in an
American court and the law that
governed Mr.. Oatis' movements in
Prague was not American law. 1t
would not have been crime in
America to do most of the things he
did there; the fact is, however, that
it was crime in Czechoslovakia
under the Communists-and there,
Evening star., 1953-09-20

up backing and became a spearhead
of the drive for Indian independence
"a goal achieved in 1947. Then
Indian Premier Jawaharlal Nehru
rewarded Mr.. Menon by appointing
him Indian high commissioner to
London, a post equivalent to am
bassador.
In this job. Mr.. Menon refused to
accept salary. He lived solely on
his government allowances. He
pointed out that he had not mar
ried and so did not need the salary
that the Office carried.
Some of Mr.. Menon's opponents
say he sympathizes with commu-
nlsm. This Mr.. Menon will deny.
But he does sympathiZe with the
British type of socialism.
In his early days in London, he
developed Socialist friends who later
became powers in the Labor govern
ment of Prime Minister Clement
Attlee. Mr.. Menon's contacts with
these Laborites justified his appoint
ment as high commissioner.
When the Labor government fell,
Mr. Menon's usefulness in London
ebbed. So Mr.. Nehru assigned him
to the U. N.
Only One Master
Mr.. Menon is inclined to recog-
niZe only Premier Nehru as his
master. Thus 1t is logical that Mr..
Menon's digestion should become
acutely worse during the current U.
N. session.
Premier Nehru sent his sister.
Nine. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, to
head the Indian delegation during
the General Assembly. She prompts
ly won the presidency of the AS
sembly. That makes Nine. Fam
dit doubly Mr.. Menon's superior.
Nine. Pandit is firm-Tilled
woman; Mr. Menon won't pretend
to like any one that he really
doesn't How he can keep peace
inside the Indian delegation, nobody
knows.
But If Mr.. Menon feels that somes
body at the General Assembly needs
to compromise . conflict between
the United States and Russia, that
viii be his cup Of tea.
Evening star., 1953-09-20

China what decisions the U.N. had
taken. If this resolution had been
offered by almost any one else on
this side of Moscow. probably no.
body would have paid much atten-
ton. But British. American and
French delegates conferred length
lily over Mr.. Menon's resolution,
arguing heatedly over what it meant
and what it was likely to lead to.
The suspicion was born of expe-
rience. Mr.. Menon has tossed U. N.
some mighty vague proposals-pur-
posely vague, because Mr.. Menon
wants to leave room for East West
negotiations. But the West is fear
full of booby-traps in the Menon
maneuvers. which sometimes look as
if they were plotted by a Philadel-
phia lawyer.
Mr. Menon is really an. Indian
lawyer who never has practiced. He
was born Sc years ago in Calicut in
Evening star., 1953-09-20
Wanted: Faster Troop Training in Wet Nam

Army We helped create depends
largely, it would seem. on the cur
rent plans of the French commander
in Indo-C China. Gen. Henri Eugene
Navarro.
French Plan
Earlier this year Gen. Navarro
said that an additional nine bat
talionS of French troops, plus large
augmentation of the Wet Namese
Nationalist Army, would give him
sufficient strength to drive the Wet
Mimi Communist forces out Of
Northern and Central Indo-China
and perhaps force Ho Chi Mimi, the
Communist leader, to sue for peace.
His plan was approved and, with the
fighting season about to open in
1ndo-China, events of the next few
months may show whether his eSti-
mates were right or whether the
Indo-China war will again bog down
into the now familiar stalemate:
The French holding the cities and
important military features in be-
tween, the Communists roaming
more or less freely through the jim
tervening countryside. This is the
kind of warfare that frustrated and
defeated the English during the Boer
War. The Indians used it against
us during the days of our Western
expansion.
We can hope that Gen. Navarro
will be strong enough tn OVercon1A
the "plockhouse" habit and win re-
sounding victory in Indo China this
winter. Whether he succeeds or
fails, there will still be a need for a
strong Wet Nam army which-with
American dollars-will determine
whether Indo-China-"the gateway
to all Southeast Asia" as Adlai Ste
venson characterized it last weeks
to be won or lost by the free world.
Evening star., 1953-09-20
What Can the Free World Learn From Bill Ootis?

as here, ignorance was not an excuse.
To those Injured from bitter ex-
perience to the harsh Justice" of
communism. the Czech government
seems to come off remarkably well
in Mr.. Oats descriptions of prison
conditions. There are a few "vil-
lains" whom he describes, of course,
but the general impression is not as
unfavorable as natives of Iron Cur
tain countries know it to be.
From Mr.. Oats description 1t is
not hard to believe that Pankrac
Prison was "the best prison in Eu-
rope" as his interrogator claimed.
Mr.. Oats dined very sumptuously
indeed-for prisoner, and perhaps
for anybody behind the Iron Cur
tain. He also was obviously shielded
from the usual prison evidence of
violent methods of extracting con-
feSSionS. The apparently robust con-
dition of his fellow prisoners (they
had all their teeth, they bore no
signs Of beating), bears this out.
Mr.. Oats remarks that he never
saw any prisoners who had obviously
been maltreated, although he did
recall overhearing what may have
been torture in a room he passed.
He also discerned evidence of mad
ness about him. But hideous sights
and sounds are standard in most
Communist prisons.
There is a lesson here, too. Mr..
M
handicapped him severely. His
trends in Czechoslovakia paid dearly
for 1t. Business firms which send
men behind the Iron Curtain would
be well advised to send strong ply
sical specimens. Such representa-
tiveS ought to have a combination
of strong physique and strong will.
OF course, Mr.. Oats must be
commended for his frankness in
telling his story. He has wisely
avoided the pitfall of playing the
hero now that the danger has
passed. Undoubtedly he is sincere
in admitting personal failure in
recognizing and rejecting Commu-
mist entreaties, while juStifying them
on the grounds that he was only
doing what he thought a CORE
Spondent should do.
On the other hand, Mr. Oats has
shown how amazingly little he knew
about conditions behind the Iron
Curtain before he entered Czecho-
slovakla. Regardless of how badly
Mr.. Oatis may have Jared through
ignorance, poor judgment Or bad
luck, he has contributed to the
body Of knowledge on the Commu-
mist menace in action. His con-
tribution should be of value to all
who follow him in the onerous but
necessary task of reporting the news
when and where it happens.
Evening star., 1953-09-20

NIalabar, a district on the west
coast of India. AS the son of
lawyer. he received a secondary and
college education in Indian schools,
and served as Boy Scout commits
sioner in Madras and Cochin from
1918 to 1924.
Then he moved to London where
he studied or taught economics.
politics. psychology and law. In 1928
he reactivated the old India League
as a one-man show to agitate for
the independence of India.
On a Sunday morning he would
stride down to Hyde Park, mount
soap box and harangue passersby
on why India should be freed. He
was striking figure. He wore we'll
cut clothes and his face was alert.
Even then he was an excellent
speaker, a voluble user of the
kings English.
His India League gradually picked
Evening star., 1953-09-20
Kno Menon Tends |nds EoWet Bridge Skinny Tea and Juice

Y. K. Krishna Menon's first name
IS Vengalil, which is fearfully close
to Svengali. Some Americans think
the comparison is apt
Mr.. Menon, the permanent Indian
delegate to the United Nations. has
kept the United States delegation
confused, cautious or choleric most
of the time.
Even the SovietS Andrei ViShinSky
has hardly been as big problem to
the United States. Every one knows
where Mr.. ViShinSky stands. But
Mr.. Menon seems to fit between the
East and West. Americans, nervous
and frustrated, fear to cross him be-
cause India is something of leader
among nations vital in the cold war
The lanky Mr.. Menon probably
likes it that way. He and the gov
ernment he represents try to bridge
the political gap between the East
and the West. They try to step in
when the Communist and demo
cratic worlds deadlock: they try, ii
their own way, to assure peace.
Although Mr. Menon has been the
permanent Indian delegate to q. N
little more than a year, he success
fully sponsored the U. N. plan for
repatriation Of Korean war prisoners
and has led India to high influence
in the U. N.
He personally has got the reputa-
ton of being a philosopher; some
acquaintances say he's just well read
in political history. He has the repu-
tation, too, of being a grouchy
ascetic; but some say he's just
poor fellow with a stomach ache.
Teo and Tomato Juice
Whatever the reason, Mr.. Menon
lives mostly on tea and tomato juice
Some of his friends say he also will
eat a poached egg and a bit OF
lettuce. but these stories are not
frequent.
Tea. tea. tea." one fellow-diplo-
mat moaned. us that all he
consumes?"
The diplomat told of having lunch
at Mr.. Menon'S Manhattan apart
ment. The diplomat says there must
have been some solid food there.
But all he could remember was Mr..
Evening star., 1953-09-20

within reach-aS long as India was
in the fight for seat at the planned
political conference on Korea. On
network radio interview, he crudely
lectured a girl reporter who asked
him legitimate questions.
But after India failed to win a
place at the political conference, the
chastised Mr.. Menon asked the girl
reporter for another chance to ap-
pear on her program. When he
got on the air, he was as gracious
as diplomat should be. Mr. Menon
also sought out other persons at
tending the U.N. session, and eX-
planned apologetically that he never
intended to be discourteous to them.
Some Western diplomats think
Mr.. Menon is just as mercurial on
the diplomatic level. If an Amer
lean starts sounding out Mr.. Menon
on some diplomatic idea, Mr.. Menon
is likely to rush right over and tell
Evening star., 1953-09-20

Menon striding up and down a long
room. delivering a political lecture
and pausing to sip from cups of tea
scattered on tables, desks and chairs
and refilled by servant who moved
along behind Mr.. Menon.
This sort of thing has kept Mr..
Menon down to 131 pounds, although
he is 5 feet IL inches tall. He has
high forehead. His once-black
hair is taking on silver frosting.
More than a year ago. he was
Knocked down by an automobile in
London. He still limps slightly and
leans heavily on a cane which he
nas been known to wave menacingly
at a news reporter who asks a
hostile question.
With reporters and fellow diplo-
mats, Mr.. Menon can be icily insult
ing. During the August meeting of
he U. N. General Assembly Mr.
Menon slashed at nearly every one
Evening star., 1953-09-20
BY jones E. Roper

Soviet delegates all about it. Amer
leans say Mr. Menon makes no effort
to conceal this tactic. Mr.. Menon
feels this is his way of being a link
between the United States and
Russia.
But it also explains why Washing
ton approaches Mr.. Menon gingerly.
Even If you engage Mr.. Menon in
conversation over a few cups of tea,
he's likely to reel off so many side
comments. vague remarks and bits
of Oriental philosophy that you
don't really know where he stands.
Hes a whirling dervish," said
one diplomat.
Suspicion Developed
During the August U.N. session,
Mr.. Menon introduced brief reso-
luton proposing that the U.N in
form North Korea and Communist
Evening star., 1953-09-20

forces. a prospect chilling to con-
template in view of our Korean ex-
perience.
The successes the United States
Army achieved in training Republic
of Korea forces are extremely sig
nificant. given the conditions that
exist in Asia today But those sue
cesSes were not easily come by and
the duplication in Indo-China cam
not be assumed to be mere matter
of time.
The language barrier and the diff
ference in cultural and chronological
background between the West and
the East exist in Indo-China just as
in Korea. There is also the added
complication of French involvement.
The French are responsible for the
training of native troops and while
Brig. Gen. T. j. H. Trapnell and the
other members of the United States
Military Assistance Advisory Group
in Indo-China are available to give
technical instruction in the use of
United States equipment, they are
III IIlSlI duNlCS anu
sci. They do not take sides with
either the French or the Wet
Namese in their differences over
training methods.
Differences Noted
1t is known that such differences
exist. Wet Namese officers who
have visited our ROK training in
stallations in Korea have urged the
French to adopt some of our train
ing methods. but so far the French
have been reluctant to do so. The
principal difference seems to be
between the theory of giving each
recruit intense individual training
and that Of training small teams of
Evening star., 1953-09-20

Adlai Stevenson was delicate as
usual.
In fact, the bitterest assault on
the President personally last week
came two days after the Democrats
left town-and from Republican
women, of all people. Hearing that
the Chief Executive might pause
only briefly at a nearby airport
without visiting their meeting place
downtown. the G. o. P. ladies ex-
claimed that this sort of thing would
make them the laughing stock of
the Democrats. He'll lose the next
election for us If he keeps this up"
one woman moaned.
Maybe in '54
There we're some Democrats, of
course. like Oklahoma'S Senator
Monroney. who said they didn't see
how the President could escape at
tack much longer. But neither he