Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-12-01
Constantine Brown,
Senate I AIKEN to | ask
Censure Move Called Ugly Spectacle
Mccarthy Seen Victim of Persecution

strong vote-getter and it was
desirable to ashow him up"
It was the executive branch
in the previous administration
which made" Senator Nc
Carthy the figure he is. Had
President Truman paid polite
attention to the telegram
Senator Mccarthy sent him
late in 1949 from Wheeling,
w. Va. announcing his dis
covery Of termites in the Gov
eminent; had MIR. Truman
invited him to call at the
White House and talk things
over. it is doubtful that any
Investigations would have en-
sued. Then the word INC
Carthyism" would never have
been coined and the Senator
never would have emerged as
controversial. powerful figure
and a historical figure in a
; sense nobody can determine
now.
But 1t is the present admin
iStration which is responsible
for the situation during the
last 10 months which is said
to have lost the Republicans
a number of seats in Congress
and has made Senator Nc
Carthy more Of a national than
a controversial figure.
There is no doubt that the
security'situation at Fort Mon
mouth was not what it should
be. The promotion and hon.
orable discharge of Capt. Irv-
ing Peress who hid behind the
Fifth Amendment was, to say
the least. a blunder which
added insult to injury. Senator
Mccarthy jumped into the
breach and a row with the top
Army civilians followed.
Secretary of the Army Ste
vens cut a poor figure in this
dispute and his civilian adj
viSers gave him poor advice.
But 1t was the Republican
White House which could have
put. an end to the quarrel
by preventing the. Army-Mc-,
Carthy hearings.
When the news leaked out
that there might be an in
veStigation of the dispute,
which the Army ascribed to
pressure for a commission for
one of Senator McCarthy's
staff members, Pvt. G.. David
Schine, and Senator Mccarthy
said was intended to cover up
coddling of Communists, the
Senator asked through one Of
his colleagues to see President
Eisenhower himself and place
all the facts" before him.
Senator Dirksen called UP one
of Gen. Eisenhower's aides.
Gen. Walton Persons, and sug-
gested such a meeting. There
was no answer to the request.
There Is no doubt that such
a personal contact would have
: eliminated the investigation
and Senator Mccarthy would
have remained in the Presi-
dents corner. Instead, there
was a gathering Of top White
House advisers who induced
the Still-reluctant Secretary Of
the Army to prefer charges
against Senator Mccarthy, his
chief counsel, Roy Cohn, and
his. chief of staff, Francis Carr.
An ugly show developed be-
tween representatives of the
Republican Executive and a
Republican Senator backed by
others of the same party.
Dirty linen was washed be-
fore the eyes of the public,
which witnessed the daily per-
Torrance on television.
While these scenes were
being played by more or less
skillful actors, another in
vestigation of Senator Nc
Cartl1y was requested by q
liberal" Republican, Senator
Flanders Of Vermont, whose
voice had been rarely heard
on the floor of the Senate. The
Democrats Joined Justify in
this new affray which they
believed might tear the Re-
publican Party asunder. So
did the "neo-liberals" outside
the Senate who provided the
Vermonter with his speech for
a censure and with a bill Of
particulars.
Some of the effects Of these
investigations. such ais some
10 million signatures to pc
titions against censure, are be-
ginning to be felt in the cour-
try. But the full effects are at
this time unpredictable.