Evening star., 1953-02-24
The Political Mill:

DShbuVSs WIN bhSND0AS
Belle Cooperation
Minority Party Won't Give
Administration q Chance
By Gould Lincoln
The political bricks are flying again
from the hands of the Democrats. It's
entirely human. But the bricks show
up the Democratic announcements
about cooperation with the Eisen-
hover administration-the "give it
a chance" pronouncements-as both
hypocritical and cynical. For example,
the Democrats-some of them in the
Senate-leaped Immediately upon Pres
ident Eisenhower's order to the 7th
Fleet no longer to prevent Chang Kai-
Shek and his Nationalist troops on
Formosa from attacking the Chinese
Reds on the China mainland. Instead
of waiting and letting Reds in China
and in Russia worry over this order
and what it might mean, the Demo-
Gratis set up clamor of their own to
know (a) how much military aid does
the administration propose to give
Chiangs forces, (b) will American air
and naval forces be used to support
Ch1ang'S raid on the mainland and
(c) will the 7th Fleet be used to pro-
tect Formosa from Communist attacks?
It's a fact, too, that some of the
Republicans on Capitol Hill started
talking too much, predicting blockades
OF the China coast as another step by
the President in the Far East situation,
and asserting that this country would
aid and abet the Chinese Nationalists
in strikes, by air, at the Communist
held railroad over which they handled
their supplies for Communist troops
fighting in Korea.
Forced to Answer.
The administration, unless it wished
to reveal all its plans for breaking the
Korean Stalemate, has necessarily been
compelled to answer Democratic ques-
tions in way that might be construed
as backtracking. It has also been
forced to throw cold water on the
suggestions emanating from Republi-
cans
Almost, it seems, the Democrats
would like to see the stalemate in
China continued indefinitely. It should
be remembered, however, they were
greatly incensed over the phrasing of
President Eisenhower's declaration, in
his message to Congress on the state
OF the Union, that he intended to order
the 7th Fleet no longer to hinder at
tacks by Chang on the Chinese Reds
on the mainland. The President said
that the order to the 7th Fleet by
Democratic President Truman to pre-
vent attack upon Formosa and to in
sure that Formosa should not be used
as base of operations against Red
China had turned out, in effect, to be
an order to protect Red China from
attack, after the Chinese Reds had
entered the war in Korea against the
U. N. forces. The Democrats have
boiled over the idea that Mr.. Truman
was defending Chinese Reds. So they
take pot shots at the Eisenhower order.
Two other lines of attack on the
Eisenhower administration have been
opened up by the Democrats-although
the administration has been in being
only month. The first is directed at
Secretary of Agriculture Benson and
farm prices. The second is that Eisen-
hover is turning the Government over
to big business-by his appointments
to high offlce-and that the Democratic
New Deal-Fair Deal is to be superseded
by the Eisenhower big Deal" The
Democrats point to falling farm prices
as though the Republican administra-
ton is to blame. Yet farm prices have
been falling for year and half
under Democratic rule-and farm laws,
upon which the Democrats pride them
selves, remain completely in effect. The
Democrats scared the farmers into be-
lieving in 1948 that Republican VIC
tory in the presidential election would
bring disaster to the farmers. So Mr..
Truman was reelected. Farm prices
declined during the Truman term, how
ever, despite the Korean war.
Why G. o. p. Won.
Democratic National Chairman Mitch
ell rejoices because the country was in
prosperous condition when the voters
turned the Democrats out in the No
vember elections. The Republican vic
tory, which gave President Eisenhower
80 Of the 48 States, is all the more
remarkable - because political parties
are seldom defeated when economic
conditions appear good. The people
must have had good cause, indeed, to
hurdle this barrier and throw the Dem
ocratS out of Office. Their reasons were
manifold. Most important among them
were corruption, communism and Ko-
rea-plus high taxes and high prices.
Corruption in high Offices had been dis
closed. Voters felt the Democrats had
been too soft with Communists. They
were sick of the stalemate in Korea.
The Democrats claim, however, that
their party will be out Of power only
a brief period. Their hopes appear to
lie in a depressed agriculture, in con-
tinued Korean war, and in being able
to paste "big business" label on Eli
senhower. All these. things might be
good for the Democratic Party-but
not for the country.