Evening star., 1953-07-20
Six Months in Office

Six months ago today Dwight D. Eisenhower
stood in front of the Capitol to take the oath
of office as President of the United States. 1t
was the first time in 20 years that the presi
dency had moved from one party to another,
and not only our own country but the entire
world waited expectantly to see what the
course of the Nation would be under the new
administration.
President EiSenhoWer'S inaugural address
on that day was relatively brief, essentially a
simple message of faith spoken in the tones of
earnest sincerity which had become so familiar
to those who had listened to him as candi-
date during the preceding months. It was
message lacking in invective and appealing
for unity among Americans and all other peo-
Piles who share in the basic devotions to free
dom and to the dignity of mankind. Looking
back at that message, one finds certain clues
as to the Eisenhower philosophy of leadership
q philosophy of teamwork, of leading rather
than driving.
The President inherited many towering
problems on that day in January-a shooting
war in Korea that has been costly in lives,
money and emotions, global cold war in which
the United States has been cast in one Of the
two leading roles, diSmaying state OF Govern
ment finances with tremendous commitments
and obligations for the future. To cope with
these and other problems, he had to recruit
and to indoctrinate an entirely new team in
Government. At the opposite end of Pennsyl-
vania avenue he had to establish working
partnership with Congress in which his own
often-divided party held only narrow margin
over the opposition party. While there are ele-
mentS of the spectacular in all or most of these
problems spectacular action is not necessarily
the formula for solving them and the Eisen-
hover method has not been to resort to the
spectacular.
Neither the Korean war nor the cold war
could be resolved by unilateral action On the
WHOLE the administrations manner of dealing
with them has been to follow middle course
"between an assertion of strength that is true
ulent and confession of helplesSness that is
cowardly"
On the domestic 'front.' the legislative ac-
eomplishmentS have not yet been overly i'm
presSive but there has been new sort Of rela-
tionship developed between the White House
and the Capitol which is closer to partnership
of equality than was the case through most of
the Democratic years. Several long-range
studies have been initiated-most Importantly
in the fields of taxation and foreign economic
policy-in which both the executive and legis-
lative branches are Joined on a bipartisan
basis. This cooperative and deliberate approach
may pay off in the form of genuinely conStruc-
tive legislation in the next session OF the
Congress.
There have been evidences in recent weeks
that the President is fully ready to exercise
firm leadership toward Congress when faced
with the necessity of doing so to accomplish
important ends. He did this in the case of the
fight over extending the excess profits tax. but
still managed it in way which seems to have
left no broad or deep resentment. He employed
such leadership again in gaining Senate rati-
fcation of revisions to the North Atlantic treaty
and there may be other such demonstrations
before the present session adjourns.
In summary the administration record thus
far has been marked more by caution and
cooperation than by swinging heavy club at
existing laws or at opposition opinion. The first
real testing of popular reaction to the Eisen-
hover record does not come until the congress
sional elections in the fall of 1854, sixteen
months away. The next session Of Congress
will give a much better measure of administra-
ton competence, and def1nitive Judgment will
be much better grounded then than now.