The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1955-08-04
Echoes from Geneva

ulDu'S " tiiC SUCCESS OF INT
Geneva conference and that o
President Eisenhower i'm the domi
nant role which he played there
came not from his friends at home
but from his enemies. Particularly
was this notable among the edi
torial and columnar critics who
from the start, had disparaged the
notion that any good could come
out of the meeting of the Bis
Four heads of state and discour.
aged the idea that talking with
the Russians was a sound sug.
geStion
For many weeks these critics
for some curious reason. had
joined with the Democratic Ma
tional Committee publicity per
formers, aided and abetted by the
propagandists of the ADA. the
ClO and senators such as Morse.
of Oregon; Humphrey. of Mime
sofa, and kefauVer. of Tennessee.
in campaign of sneering and
jeering at the President They pic
tured him as Weakling who did
not know what it was all about"
They insisted that MIR. Dulles does
all his foreign-pOlicy thinking for
him and that his mind was princi-
pally occupied with his golf game.
OF course. none of this was true.
but it was strictly along the Demo-
cratic committee line the intent of
which was to lay a foundation for
an anti-Administration attack upon
Mr.. Eisenhower as a presidential
failure who should not be renomi-
mated
In the course of six working days
at Geneva. Mr.. Eisenhower
changed all this. He at once be
came the outstanding personality
at the conference and in the world.
He did this not by asserting HIM
self; not by throwing his weight
around; not by ostentation or
shoWmanship; not by propaganda.
He achieved it simply by being
himself Beyond question he is the
most completely honest. complete
ly truthful, completely sincere
man who has spoken for his coun-
try either at home or abroad in
the last tWenty-three years He i'm
pressed these qualities not only
upon his colleagues about the CON
ference table but also upon count
less millions who heard and read
what he said; also upon the several
thousand correspondents, editors
reporters and publicists who were
at the Geneva conference and some
of whom were hostile to Him.
1t is interesting to note that
only one of these thousands
thought it worth while cabling his
paper that the President had sent
for General Gruenther of the
NATO to come to Geneva because
he wanted to play bridge with him
at night Well, what of it? And
why not? The overwhelming point
of view of the journalists on the
JOB at Geneva was that General
Eisenhower had put on a perform
ance of which all Americans had a
right to feel proud; that largely
due to his earnestness and SINGER
lty the conference had had a
measurable degree of success:
that the prospect for a continu-
alton of this period of peace is
brighter than it was
There will, of course, now that
the President is back, be disSenters
both in his own party and in the
opposition in Congress. And there
will be trouble of various sorts in
various fields. That is inevitable
But there will be few to deny that
Mr.. Eisenhower has added to his
personal prestige and popularity
by his conduct at Geneva and by
his speech last Monday in Wash
lngtOn. No one worth needing so
much as suggests that there was
any touch of politics about the
+ e n o Wer performance at
Geneva or since. No one can ac-
cuSe him of lack of leadership.
No one thinks now he should not
have gone or should have taken a
different line. He has not, of course,
settled the most difficult problems
which disturb the world and
threaten peace. But, he has at least
taken steps in that direction which
the great masses of men and women
everywhere approve.
In addition. he has SO firmly and
clearly placed the position of this
nation before the world that no
one either in Russia or anywhere
else can again accuse us of want
ing War-or him of being war
mOnger" The day of that anti
American propaganda has gone
The President shot it to pieces
with his inspection proposal, his
two speeches and his personality