Evening star., 1954-11-30
The Political Mill
Mccorthy on Offensive
With Anti Communism
Shrewd Muneuver Could
Affect Outcome of censure
By Gould Lincoln


By Gould Lincoln
As an open field runner Senator Joe
Mccarthy of Wisconsin has no equal
in the Senate today. He's master Of
change of pace and direction. With
the Senate apparently closing In on
him with vote of censure because Of
his rough language toward other Sena.
tors, rough handling of Senate com.
mittee and his failure to appear before
that committee, and his treatment of
witnesses before his own investigating
committee, the controversial Wisconsin
Senator told the Senate yesterday he
had no intention of hurting the feel
ings" of any one, that it was time the
Senate stopped debating one Joe Nc
Carthy, and that he, for one, was going
to dedicate himself to getting Ameri-
cans now jailed in Communist China
out Of Jail.
He said that in comparison, ''the
merits or demerits of language Of the
junior Senator from Wisconsin are in
consequential in the extreme" He
added he thought his distinguished
colleagues on both sides of the aisle"
would join with him in this view Of
the situation without reserve.
Knowland's Plea.
On Saturday morning, November 81,
the majority leader of the Senate, Sem
ator Knowland Of California, made q
dramatic assertion that the time had
come for the Senate to pay attention
to the honor of the country-and to
get through with its wrangling over the
pending business, the Mccarthy CEN
sure. Senator Knowland was not in
terested. apparently, in what happened
to Senator Mccarthy but tremen-
dously interested in what happened to
the 13 Americans jailed in China
as spies.
Senator McCarthy's statement to the
Senate yesterday paralleled almost ex-
actly the words of the California Sena-
tor. For Senator Mccarthy said, after
commenting that for 10 months the
attention OF the Senate has been too
greatly monopolized by the controversy
ever himself and the honor of the
Senate: "Of even greater Importance
iB the honor, the safety and the welfare
Ct the Nation, and the security of its
citizens wherever they may be. And
while the attention of the Senate has
been largely concentrated on Mccarthy.
the world Communist conspiracy has
made dangerous and costly gains. Thir-
teen American airmen are in Commu.
mist Chinese prisons, for terms up to
LIE imprisonment. Our planes are shot
down by Communist violators. Hun
dreds of GIs as Of the moment, are
being brainwashed in blood stained
Communist dungeons. American citi.
zens are being held in the Iron Curtain
prisons OF Europe and Asia"
Prisoners Listed.
A few minutes before Senator Nc.
Carthy's statement to the Senate urg.
ing prompt vote on his censure, Sem
ator knowland briefly told the Senate
that rs American citizens were being
, held IN Communist jails. and he placed
their names and the names of the 13
American flyers also Jailed in China in
the Congressional Record. He reiter-
ated his belief that State Department
notes would not get any of them out
OF prison. His own proposal is the
tight blockade of all China by the
United States Navy. with or without
the cooperation of our allies. s5jnsu,.
While Senator Mccarthy did mot
beat Senator Knowland to the pitch.
the Wisconsin Senator grabbed the
anti-C Communist ball once again and
started running with 1t. His demand
that the Senate get through talking
about Mccarthy and get down to the
more serious business Of defending
Americans and winning their release
from Chinese Communist hands was
shrewd. And his lining I'D with the
Republican leader of the Senate, no
less shrewd.
Further, Senator Mccarthy became
once again challenging and dominate
ing figure in the Senate-even with
the censure ak hanging directly over
his head. Whether his halfway apology
for the words he had used about other
Senators will be effective remains to be
seen. Nor will it be known until the
vote on the censure resolution Is taken.
1t leaves way open to those Senators
who hesitate to vote censtre, and II
opens way to some who had decided
to vote for censtire. Once again, an.
parently, Senator Mccarthy Is placing
his faith In the anti Communist issue
which has served him well Ia the past.