Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-07
Attacks on Eisenhower
Held Futile Endeuvors
Writer Says Democratic Hope
Of 6. O. P. Split Is Useless
By Fronk R. KEN

by tronk K. Kent
The first thing to remember when
you read one of those hair raising
political columns depicting the Eisen-
hover administration as a captain
less ship" and Gen. Ike as below
decks playing bridge while the
storm RACES is that that is not an
accurate picture at all but distorted
and one-sided view.
Another thing to remember is that
the radio news commentators who call
for the President to have a SHOW
down" with the villainous Mccarthy.
to speak up like a man, cast him out
Of the Republican Party, abolish his
committee and tell the Senator in un-
mistakable terms exactly what he
thinks of him-those gentlemen do not
care anything at all about the country.
They represent Democratic elements
which would rejoice to see General Ike
and Senator Mccarthy rolling on the
floor in fierce personal conflict, not
caring who got the better of it just
SO the Republican Party was well
smeared and widely split,
1t may be painful but they are going
to be disappointed. The StevenS-Mc
Carthy episode is not going to destroy
the Eisenhower administration any
more than the Brownell-T ruman-Dex-
ter White episode destroyed it. There
was an immense display of fireworks
and much drum beating in both, but
Ike took no visible part in either ex-
cept to express 100 per cent confidence
in his two subordinates while they were
under fire and again to rebuke Nc
earthly in fiat. frank statement which
no one who did not want to disbe-
lieve could disbelieve-or sheer at. 1t
is reported that the British press is in
Juror over the feud between Eisen-
hover and Mccarthy. But their memo
ries must be as short as ours if they
do not recall more bitter feuds between
Presidents and Senators of the past
which did not split the parties nor sink
the ship but seemed pretty awful at
the time.
For example. one recalls that Mr..
Truman and the late Mr.. Roosevelt had
the bittereSt kind of feud with Senator
Byrd. Mr.. Byrd strongly opposed all
their pet policies and would not be
moved by White House patronage,
White House social invitations or per-
Mr.. Roosevelt also was bitter against
ex-senator Tydings because of the in
dependence of his voting and unsuccess-
fully tried to purge" him when he ran
for reelection. 1t was generally agreed
he greatly enhanced Senator TydingS'
majority. Woodrow Wilson also entered
Missouri during senatorial election to
oppose the late James A. Reed, who had
most bitterly fought him on the League
Of Nations. but nevertheless was re-
elected Also there was the violent
feud between President Theodore Roose-
welt and the late Senator Joseph B. For
aker. of Ohio, known as Fire Alarm
Foraker" On one occasion that feud
almost reached the point of blows.
Foraker, Republican. was reelected
while Roosevelt was still President Also
there was memorable feud between
President Grover Cleveland and Senator
Arthur P. German of Maryland, but
it cannot be recalled that in any of
these feudS there was any popular de-
mand for the President to destroy the
Senator OF for a Showdown" These
Senators made a lot of trouble for their
Presidents, but it cannot be recalled
that every time Mr.. Cleveland went
fishing or Mr.. Roosevelt went to Warm
Springs his opponents yelled that the
ship was sinking because there was no
captain.
These incidents are recited not only
to make the point that there is no way
to have an effective showdown but fur
Their to point out that under our system
there is no way of dealing with a dema-
gogue save at the polls-and then he
most often wins The British, with their
experience, should know this, but then
the British very often are quite dumb,
indeed. Senator Mccarthy is not an
admirable fellow. Perhaps it is not nice
to speak of him in the same breath as
Senator Byrd, or, for that matter, with
Tydings or Reed. Foraker is the only
one of the lot with whom he should be
compared. The real similarity lies in
the fact that they all fought the Presi-
dent of their party and were detested by
him. If ever at any time Ike had toward
Senator Mccarthy any trace of friendly
feelings it disappeared when he made
his attack upon Gen. Marshall.
Now he sees him as little as possible,
gives him no patronage which he is
justified in withholding and joins with
his Secretary of the Army in a strong
statement insisting upon decent treat
ment of men in uniform before con-
greSSional committees. And still the
Washington columnists shout The
ship is without a captain! We are lost!
We are LOST" In the undying words Of
Gen. McAuliffe, the answer to that
is Nuts" Probably this claptrap about
the captainless ship and the leaderless
Nation will keep on straight through to-
night when the holy and jocular Adlai
Stevenson climaXes week of Demo-
cratic propaganda designed to show how
Gen. Ike has made mess of clean
ing up the mess. And, as always. the
noblt Adlai will make a neat but inef-
fective Job of it. But as always, when
somebody pulls the string the whole
package comes apart and there is moth
ing in it but lot of used words fitted i'll
the new egghead way
and Rena Shipley, Chester Hutchinson,
Arthur Demaray, Charles Sniffin, Rus
sell Thompson. Louis Isaac, Sylvan