The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-02-20
The World Today
By JAMES MARROW

| uS icSpOuSlUuitltS. II LOT no Otner
reason than that, they have viewed
with patience, sympathy, under
standing and good viii the efforts
of the Eisenhower administration
to take over and settle down.
The administration has run into
some bumps, plainly through in
experience. For example, when
President Eisenhower was quoted
as saying it would be all right for
Congress to pass a measure which
would make it harder for him to
reorganize the government. This
was caught in time and a friendly
Congress let him have the power
he really wanted.
And for a while there may be
other bumps, due to inexperience.
since it will still take time for
the administration to hit its stride
and know its way around the gov
eminent labyrinth. The President,
for one, is probably having inn
pressed on him every day the
great importance attached to any.
thing a President says.
While he was a general anything
he said had to follow the policy
laid down by someone else. While
he was a presidential candidate
he had to express views which
were in general conformity with
the policies of the Republican par
ty although he was pretty much
on his own.
Nevertheless, his words then
did not carry the same importance
in every sentence that they have
now that he is uttering them from
the White house.
While he is a firm believer in
psychological warfare, and much
that he says can be expected to
have that purpose, he now bears
likewise as President responsibility
for the psychological effect of
everything he says on this coun-
try's friends abroad and his own
people at home.
He has seen within two weeks
that vagueness can have an effect
of a kind which he probably did
not intend, requiring later explana-
ton which might have been avoid
ed if he had been more explicit
in the first place.
For example, in his State of the
Union message he spoke of re-
pudiating secret agreements. This
caused wide speculation here and
abroad. What secret agreements
did he have in mind? Yalta? Pots
DIN? We're there some not yet
known?
1t turns out now that he is not
talking of any agreements still Sc
cret and that he is not really talk
ing of tearing up whole agree
ments but, apparently, perhaps
only part of the Yalta agreement.
He brought this out yesterday at
his news conference.
And in his same State of the
Union message he puzzled people
at home and allies abroad by the
brevity with which he mentioned
deneutralizing Formosa. How far
was he going? Blockade the China
Coast? He's not personally think
ing Of blockade at this time, he
said in answer to a question yes
terday.
All this emphasizes the tremen-
dous attention any statement by
Eisenhower win get while he's in
the White House.
And perhaps because his admin
istration is still feeling its way
around, a buttoned-lip policy has
to some degree been adopted by
the government departments. For
example, when it became known
this week he intended to ask Con-
gress to make the Federal Security
Agency government department,
three separate agencies were asked
this simple question: What is the
advantage of making FSA de-
partment? The reply in all three
cases was: That question should
be asked at the White House.
There was mixed reaction yes
terday among newsmen who al
tended Eisenhower's first news con-
ference, at which he took up more
than half the 80 minutes he granted
newsmen with making his own
statements and then spent what
was left answering questions. Al
the end of 30 minutes, he shut
off the conference politely and
strobe out.
Some newsmen thought he hand
led himself with great self-assur-
ance. Others complained they'd
like more time for asking ques-
tons since they said they could
cover far more ground that way
than listening to Eisenhower make
a statement Of his own choosing.
James Hagerty, Eisenhower's
press secretary. has been told Of
stumbling blocks to information
being encountered among govern
ment agencies which seem to be
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