The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, February 09, 1951, Image 2
Although Truman remained hes
itant, he never gave MacArthur
direct orders not to march to the
border.
A stronger president, such
as Franklin Roosevelt, probably
would have argued MacArthur
down. A stronger military adviser
to the President might have done
likewise. Time and again Churchill
and Roosevelt, conferring with the
generals, dominated military de
cisions in the last war. And although
never published, it was astute A dm.
Chester Nimitz, commander of the
fleet in the Pacific, who managed
to reverse MacArthur’s plan to
stage the first Philippine landing
not Mindanao—where the japs were
prepared—but in the Gulf of Leyte.
WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
DREW
Mistakes Not Rehashed
'TT HAS BEEN the poMcy of the
brass hats that military mis
takes, no matter how glaring, are
not to be rehashed after they are
k made. That perhaps is why even
the files on northern military blun
ders in the Civil War still are secret.
That is also why our intelligence
error in the Battle of the Bulge,
which cost the lives of thousands
of young men, still remains un
investigated; with the general then
in charge of U.S. intelligence being
promoted to be No. 2 man in the
central intelligence agency. •
And that is also why the naval
commanders responsible for shoot
ing down and killing 400 U.S. and
British paratroopers in the invasion
of Sicily never were investigated.
American newspapermen, includ
ing this columnist, have written
about these tragic errors. But no
official investigation ever was made
public.
Likewise suppressed may be
the tragic Korean errors which
cost us the greatest proportion
ate casualties in history and the
greatest land-army defeat in
history. Certainly they will not
be published if Senator McCar
thy has his way.
It was to shed light on some of
these errors that this columnist
published paraphrased excerpts
from General MacArthur’s cabled
estimates of actual Chinese
strength. These showed that while
MacArthur was announcing more
than 1,000,000 Chinese in Korea or
on the border, and that “a bottom
less well of Chinese manpower con
tinues to flow into Korea,” actually
only about 96,000 Chinese/Sent the
8th army on its headlong 120-mile
retreat. •
Errors of Command
There was a good reason why I
used paraphrased official cables
from MacArthur. If I had not, Sen
ator McCarthy would have accused
me of lying, or manufacturing the
Chinese figures out of whole cloth.
Faced with the official texts, he
could not very well accuse me of
lying, so he accused me of permit
ting the deciphering of coded mes
sages. This the Secretary of the
Army denied.
McCarthy also implied that I h$d
given secrets to the enemy, tfhis
was absurd on the face of it. The
column in question dealt with Chi
nese military strength, and the
Chinese obviously knew their own
strength. Furthermore it was pub
lished on Dec. 30, one month after
the 8th army’s tragic retreat, and
facts published after battle don’t
give much help to the enemy.
However, after a battle, the
people whose sons are lost and
whose country is injured are
entitled to know the reasons for
defeat. The reasons in this case
were errors in command. They
were not the fault of the troops
on the field of battle.
The reasons for this particular
defeat began at Wake Island, and
go back in part to two factors—a
brilliant, strong-minded • general
who knew exactly what he wanted,
and a president not versed in mili
tary strategy who'; as a former
National Guard artillery captain,
was dazzled by braid and brass.
• The Big Risk
At Wake Island, General Mac
Arthur proposed exactly what he
later executed—a lightning dash by
American troops up to the Man
churian border, a pause on the
, border only long enough to sym
bolize victory, then a march home
by Christmas.
In talking to Truman, MacArthur
even used the words “home by
Christmas.” He admitted that the
Chinese might be provoked into
attack. But he predicted they would
not cross the Yalu river in force
and confidently added that, if they
did, he could take care of them.
MacArthur also argued that
North Korean guerrilla^ would
destroyed by the severe Korean
winter, and that the South Korean
army would be strong enough to
protect its homeland without a
large U.N. army.
President Truman was hesitant.
He questioned the necessity of
marching all the way to the Chinese
border, also the wisdom of pulling
American troops out too quickly.
MacArthur replied that “occu
pations are failures,” that the
execution of war prisoners is
“foolish,” and it would be beet
to leave Korea in the hands of
Communists Offer Vague Proposal
For Negotiations in Korean War;
Army Plans 24 Divisions by July
(EDITOR’S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eolnmns, they are those of
Western Newspaper Union’s news analysts and not necessarily of this newspapor.)
PEACE:
Price Is Too High
I Communist China’s
ambiguous
proposal for a truce in Korea fan
ned the hopes for peace among the
American people and created a dan
gerous division among the free na
tions.
The Chinese proposal said, in
part, if the withdrawal of foreign
troops from Korea was being put
into effect, Peiping would advise
the Chinese volunteers to return to
China. The statement did not guar
antee that Chinese troops would be
withdrawn, nor did it say anything
about North Korean forces. The
statement was too ambiguous in the
opinion of most American observ
ers.
Withdrawal of the U.S. fleet from
Formosa and a seat in the United
Nations for Communist China also
appeared in vague terms in the
proposal for a truce.
The kindest thing that could be
said about the Chinese statement
was that perhaps there was a de
sire for peace in China. But from
the American view that price was
too high.
From the more practical view
point, however, the note put the
United States in a bad situation
politically. If it agrees to consider
Peiping’s renewed overtures for a
negotiated peace, it is bound to in
cur wide criticism at home. If it
shuns these overtures, the accusa
tions of the Soviet Union may fall
on more fertile ground.
The Chinese move was seen by
some observers as an attempt to
block the American proposal in the
U.N. of branding China the aggres
sor in Korea. If that was its pur
pose, it succeeded, at least tempo
rarily.
Other observers questioned the
status of the statement. It was not
addressed to the United Nations. It
was little more than a postal card
to India in reply to questions of
policy.
ARMY:
24 Divisions
Army strength by July will be
equivalent to 24 corrfbat divisions,
Gen. J. Lawton Collins, army chief
of staff, reported recently.
The build-up of combat strength
by July will include 18 divisions and
18 regimental combat teams with
supporting units, together with
numerous independent tank bat
talions, field-artillery battalions and
similar combat units. •
Collins indicated, however, he did
not believe the nation’s current goal
of 3,463,205 men in the armed forces
will be enough and the total
boosted.
And while army officer and gov
ernment officials talked of man
power problems on the home-front,
a new Korean’s casualty list was
announced by the department of de
fense.
An additional 2,424 casualties
reported by the department,
bring the Korean war total to 45,-
137.
The department said 6,509 were
killed outright, 772 hati died of
wounds, and 22 men originally listed
as missing in action have been de
termined to be dead. Thus the death
toll stood at 7,303.
Wounded totaled 29,951, including
the 772 who later died. The missing
total of 8,677 included 822 men who
since have returned to American
control and 108 known prisoners of
war.
New Contract
Housing
John L. Lewis, (right), presi
dent of the UMW, puts on the
nearest thing to a smile he can
manage after he and Harry M.
Moses (left), president of the
northern coal operators group,
signed a new wage eontract un
der which the miners received
a $1.60-a-day pay boost. The in
crease became effective Feb
ruary l.
Housing Administrator f Ray-
mond M. Foley told the senate
banking committee that the fed
eral government may soon have
to help communities build wa
terlines, roads, schools and oth
er facilities to meet the needs of
defense workers.
PRICE FREEZE:
Needed for Long Time
By the time this appears in print,
the administration should have
acted on the price-wage controls so
long needed to stabilize the nation's
economy in its all-out mobilization
effort.
During the early weeks of 1951
the need of price controls became
a pressing Snatter as wholesale
prices hit an all-time high. The cost
of the average family’s fbod was
the highest in the nation’s history.
Critics of the administration had
demanded a price-wage freeze for
some time. Government officials,
however, protested any freeze
would be meaningless unless ade
quate machinery to enforce price
controls was available.
It was also apparent that there
was considerable difference of opin
ion between Charles E. Wilson, de
fense - mobilization chief, Allen
Valentine, economic - stabilization
chief, and others in charge of the
administration’s efforts to set up a
wage-price control organization.
President Truman entered the
fray by firing Valentine and ap
pointing Eric Johnston, head of the
Motion Picture Association of
America, to take his place. John
ston will settle any disputes between
the OPS and WSB.
Administration critics demands
for price-wage controls included a
roll-back of price to January 1. As
for wages, a temporary freeze was
the most popular demand—but only
temporary until some kind of wage
control formula could be worked
out. ' .
LIVING COST:
Hits an All-Time High
The cost of living in the United
States hit an all-time high early in
1951, with th<» dollar worth less
than 60 cents of its 1939 buying
power.
The latest estimates placed the
cost of living at 68.1 per cent higher
than in January, 1939, although
food alone went up almost 118 per
cent in the last 11 years. The jump
was even greater ip some individual
foods. For example, the bread and
butter the average factory worker
could buy in 1939 for 39 cents now
cost him approximately $1.15.
An analysis of the figures re
vealed that a man who made $3,000
ten years ago now needs $5,440 to
match his buying power. The equiv
alent of a $5,000-a-year income
then is now $9,356.
Hie average factory worker
earned approximately $1,390 a year
in 1939 and about $3,000 last year,
an increase of 115 per cent.
BONDS:
Treasury Plans Extension
The treasury plans to offer hold
ers of Series E savings bonds an
opportunity to keep their bonds
another 10 years at 2.9 per cent in
terest and to retain the government
interest rate on long-term treasury
bonds at 2.5 per cdht, it was re
ported recently.
Secretary of the Treasury Snyder
said holders may cast their bonds,
continue to hold the present bonds
with an automatic interest-bearing
extension which would amount to 2.9
per cent compounded at the end of
10 years, or exchange the bonds for
current-income savings bonds of
series G, which bear interest every
six months.
Congress must pass the 10-year
extension, however, before it will
become effective.
Of the $58,000,000,000 of total out
standing savings bonds, nearly $35,-
000,000,000 is in the series E.
A NEW TREND
Iowa Factories Outproduce Farms in '50
The trend toward expansion of
manufacturing in the midwest
gained national attention with a re
port that for the first time in 11
years Iowa factories outproduced
farms.
The report is remarkable because
the average acre in Iowa returns a
greater farm income than in Any
ether section of the natioxu»It gives
also a general picture of the in
crease and importance of manu
facturing in the Midwest.
The report estimated that Iowa
factories turned out 2Vt billion dol
lars’ worth of food products, ma
chinery, chemicals, drugs, printed
matter and other goods in 1950. Sale
of farm products for the year was
not expected to add up to more
than 2 billion doUars according to
most predictions.
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THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY. S. C.
TAFT:
A Shift in Policy
Observers of American political
activity always keep an eye on the
party not in power as an indication
of the trend of thought in the na
tion. For this reason. Sen. Robert
Taft was back in the limelight,
causing considerable speculation on
his sudden shift in policy toward
sending U.S. troops to Europe.
Only a week before, Taft, who is
undoubtedly the most influential
Republican in congress, blasted
away at the administration and
President Truman, in particular, for
promising to send troops to Europe.
Then, one week later, he shifted
his position and said he would favor
sending a limited number to the
continent. What does it mean, the
average American wanted to know?
It would seem that Senator Taft
had suddenly become impressed
with the fact that our safety is tied
with that of western Europe.. It
would also indicate .that he has re
moved the steam from the all-out
opposition in congress to send troops
to Europe.
When Taft first announced his
opposition to participation of U.S.
troops in the defense of Europe, he
found himself confronted by a dif
ference of opinion from other in
fluential members of his party. A
number pf them expressed the
opinion that a decision against
sending additional troops to Europe,
would be fatal to any program of
mutual defense.
Taft’s shift caused considerable
comment on the American scene for
two reasons. He has often been
called an isolationist. And he is a
man who seldom changes his policy
once he has stated it publicly.
It is generally concluded that the
majority of the American people
do not sanction isolationism. Taft’s
shift could have been made because
he recognized that fact. This does
not mean, however, that the shift
is so extreme that they senator from
Ohio can be called aln internation
alist.
Appointment
. XvfrN-'Sv.M -
i i a.
-
FOREIGN AID HEAD . . . Bos
ton Republican Thomas D. Cabot
was nominated by President Tru
man recently to be director of in
ternal security affairs, generally
In charge ot foreign aid for the
state department. He is director
of the United Fruit Co. .
V« -djjSi
YOUNG “VOICES OF AMERICA” . . . Two of the “Voices of Ameri
ca” selected to be heard over the weekly radio program of the state
/department are those of Russell Jones (left), 12, Brandy, Va., and Miss
Mary MUler, 17, of Culpepper, Va. The youngsters are shown after
they were presented with commemorative pins by Virginia Sen. Willis
Robertson in recognition of their personal efforts.
Ain't It So
Tbe simple *a*t is tha4 •
moral Bio is tbe easy, pleasant,
and profitable ene. The way of
le transgressor fc hard and
profitable, and the wages of
are strictly substandard,
lere is more money in honest
than in ill-gotten gains,
literature as in love, we
at what is cbos-
others.
Eat Diflcinson PCI
JV/
VCLLOW
nt
[GROCER
Always Pops ■
WHITS
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SUSPECTED KILLER . . Bill
Cook sits in his jail cell in San
Diego, Calif., after it was learned
he will be taken to Oklahoma City
to face federal charges that he
kidnaped Carl Mosser, his wife
and three children and murdered
them, v »’'•
s 'w -Vi"
L
V
Eric Johnston, head of the
Motion Picture Association of
America, (center), was ap
pointed economic stabiliser to .
replace Alan Valentine. At left
is John Steelman, assistant to
the president, and Charles E.
Wilson (right) defense mobilisa
tion director.
HOUSE:
Brands China Aggressor
The house of representatives, in
the opinion of many, blundered into
the field of foreign affairs with a
heavy step by demanding that the
United Nations should immediately
act and declare the Chinese Com
munists an aggressor in Korea.
The United States had been fork
ing for this in behind the scene
maneuvers at the United Nations
tor time. For a while there were
reports that the majority of west
ern nations was in favor of the ac
tion.
Shortly after the house resolution
was passed, however, opposition to
the move appeared, especially
among the nations in the middle
east. Some nations adopted the at
titude that branding China the ag
gressor would completely cut off
any chances for a negotiated peace
and agitate the international crisis.
The house action can be said to
reflect the growing determination of
the American people against the
wave of appeasement that was evi
dent in many quarters of the na
tions not so many weeks ago.
Draft Director
LUNCHEON “MEET” A LA MISSOURI . . . President Harry S. Tru
man recently attended a luncheon on Capitol Hill for the delegation to
congress from tbe state of Missonrl. Here, the President is keeping
part of the party entertained. Left to right are Speaker of the House
Sam Rayburn (D., Texas), President Truman, Representative John
W. McCormack (D., Maas.), and Representative Phil J. Welsh
(D.. Mo.). How did Texas and Massachusetts get In the picture?
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ASKS MORE WORKERS . . .Sec
retary of Labor Mauriee jl-obin
testifies before »e n a t e armed
forces committee that defense
plans call for an additional four
minion workers In the next year.
He fears military calls will pro
duce a serious labor shortage.
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8
REMOVES V
NOT GOOD
- {Ml
SUL
s ••VX
awful because you^neod a
Doctors say /many other
VJ
energy! You ( foel y weak. a ujr” ^
But gentle mt-A-icnrr
Taken aa recommended, it
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f
BLAIR HOUSE VICTIM BACK ON DUTY . Corporal Joesph H.
Downs (right), Is checked in at the White House by P.F.C. Glenard
Lanier as the former returns to dnty for the first time after he was
shot defending President Truman’s life at Blair House on November 1. \
Downs feU In the exchange of gunfire ’with GriseUo Torresola and
Oscar Collaszo, Puerto Rican terrorists.
NEW COMMANDER . . . The air
forces have annonneed that Brig.
Gen. James E. Briggs (above)
will replace Maj. Gen. Emmett
O’Donnell, as commander of tbe
Far East bomber command.
O’Donnell will take command of
March air force base In California-
not only
—- — •—at pain-relk
breaks up congestion —
ehial tubes. Musterole off
benefits of n mustard p
tbs bother of making one.
lion cheat, throat and 1
In the hot debate in congress
over the drafting of 18-year-
olds, Lewis B. Hershey, draft
director, testified before the
senate armed services subcom
mittee urging extention of the
i selective service law indefinite
ly and the drafting of younger
men.
> • « • . A » ;
RUSSIA:
Delighted With Debate
The Soviet Union expressed its
delight over the current foreign af
fairs debate in congress by releas
ing every criticism ot President
Truman and Secretary of State.
Dean Acheson.
The Russian government tells
the people that the debate reflects,
deep American dissatisfaction with
present, foreign policy and a grow
ing desire for a change in what it
balls the “bankrupt policy of force.”
ACE SWEARS IN SON . . . Colonel Eddie Rickenbacker, famed ace of
World War I, recently swore his son. William F. Rickenbacker, 22,
into the United States air forces. Shown during swearing-in cere
monies 30 WhitehaU Street, New York City, are (L to r.) Colonel
William A. Haviland, commander of the southern New York and New
Jersey recruiting district; William F. Rickenbacker and his famons
ther, Reserve Colobel Eddie Rickenbacker.
DRAFT ADVICE . . . Admiral
Forrest P. Sherman, chief pf naval
operations; urges congress io re
frain from slashing the 27 months
provision of the draft and supports
the administration’s plan to draff
Ig’Tes/'ftlds.
In 1909 world _
Tigers made 19 errors
seven gamps.
Laura Lou Ji
first national tennis
at 14.
. More than 5,000
one were made In
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