Evening star., 1953-08-25
The Political Mill
Red Issue Expected
To Be Played in 1854
Democrats Are Advised
To Change Their Tactics
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

BY Gould Lincoln
The Red" issue promises to be i'm
portant in the congressional elections
next year for two reasons. First, be-
cause the now Republican-domina
congressional committees continue to
dig up new cases of Communist infil-
tration into our Government during the
Roosevelt and Truman administrations.
Second, because the last war in which
the United States has engaged was
against the Reds, and the Communists,
represented by the men of the Kremlin,
continue to remain the greatest menace
to peace for the American people and
for the world.
If the New Deal-Fair Deal Demo-
Gratis hope to get anywhere in the COM
ing elections they had better change
their tactics on this particular issue.
In the past their play has been to at
tack the Un-American Activities Com
mittee of the House for its searching
Investigations into Communist activi-
ties in this country and particularly in
the Government; to attack Senator Nc
Carthy of Wisconsin because of his
the State and other departments They
succeeded in giving an impression that
it was more important to discredit
Representative Martin Dies of Texas.
when he was chairman of the House
committee investigating un-Amerlcan
activities, and to discredit Senator Nc
Carthy than it was to discover Com
munists and fellow travellers in the
Government departments and agencies
and to eliminate them.
TARGET Is Mccarthy.
These New Deal-Fair Dealers do not
appear to have learned much from their
past experiences. Their principal tar
get today is Joe Mccarthy. They are
setting out to make "McCarthyism" a
prime issue in the 1854 campaign.
Their attack is levelled against the
methods adopted by the Wisconsin Sen
ator. What they forget, however, and
what the voters remember, is that Nc
Carthy'S drive is against the Reds. The
New Dealers and the Fair Dealers as
sert that Senator Mccarthy is more OK
a menace to the American people than
are the Reds in Moscow and their
agents in this country. They are going
to have tough time making that one
stick. Also, their attacks incline many
voters to suspect that they want to de-
stroy Mccarthy and those other con-
gressional investigators so that no new
cases of Communist infiltration during
their control of the Government will be
blasted into the view of the American
people. The just-returned Adlai Ste
venson titular head of the New Deal
Fair Deal Democratic Party, clearly in
dicated this in his very first statement
when he landed here from his global
trip Indeed, this seemed to be his
principal theme. 1t will be interesting
to learn whether this angle of political
attack is to be renewed when The Dem
ocratic National Committee, Democratic
Governors, etc, gather in Chicago to
welcome back Mr.. Stevenson officially
and sound off for the start of the cam
paign.
This Red issue very definitely played
it's part in the elections of 1850 and
1852. In 1850, the voters turned out
Senator Millard Tydings of Maryland,
Democrat. who headed the committee
set up to investigate McCarthy's charges
of Communists in the State Depart
ment. The Red issue was used also to
defeat other senatorial candidates that
year, both for denomination and for re-
election. In 1852, principal attacker
of Mccarthy former Senator Benton.
Democrat of Connecticut, also was
thrown out by the voters. Further, in
the Eisenhower campaign for election
as President, the Red issue had its part
not that Adlai Stevenson, his Demo-
cratic opponent, was held to be friendly
to the Reds, but because Stevenson was
the candidate nominated and supported
by the New Deal-Fair Deal group which
had been charged with leniency toward
Reds and their fellow travellers.
Mrs. RooseveIt's Group.
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt is now
engaged in setting up a new national
committee or group, dedicated to fight
the conservative trend of the Eisen-
hover administration and the Repub-
lican Congress. It is Shrewdly SuS-
pected, however, that this will be a new
attack on Senator Mccarthy and the
investigators of the House Un-American
Activities Committee, and on Senator
Jenner of Indiana and his Senate COM
mittee which has continued searching
investigations of Communist infiltra-
ton into all kinds of activities in this
country. as we'll as in the Government.
The mistake the New Dealers and
Fair Dealers made was they backed
the wrong horse-a Red" horse-from
the time of the first Roosevelt admin
istration. beginning in 1888. right up :
to the close of the Second World War
and for a time thereafter. They would
be far better off if they admitted their
mistake. instead of trying always to
deny it or to explain it away. It's un-
likely they will be able to get out Of
that spot by merely attacking Mccarthy
and his methods. Alger Hiss and the
Truman "red herring" comment will
not be quickly forgotten. Nor will the
fact that Red agents were able to steal
the secret information and documents
relating to the production of atomic
and hydrogen bombs from this country.