Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 February 1952 — Page 12

The Indianapolis Times

b A SORIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER

ROY W. HOWARD WALTER LECKRONE HENRY W. MANZ President Editor Business Manager

" PAGE 12 Tuesday, Feb. 12, 1952

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LIERIPRS ~ NOWARD |

‘Today We Need a Lincoln

FEW years ago a poll was taken among 55 leading

American historians, asking them to rank all U. S. presidents in ability@md achievement. In the final tabi¥ition, six were classed as “great” and four as “near great.” Abraham Lincoln's name led all the rest, even George Washington's. : It is not hard to understand why. He met the greatest crisis a young and growing nation could ever face: civil war. A nation beaten by an outside foe may recover and rise

command a vital place onthe world stage. For this achievenment, Lincoln has the unqualified ad miration of the professionals. He brought the United State: through its hour of trial, and he did it with the consummat: mastery of the statesman who was not above being

politician. ; : ’ ” n

BUT Lincoln was more than the preserver of unity more than the courageous helmsman piloting Americ through violent winds. He was a man of compassion, of deeply human instincts : Though he wielded unparalleled power in Civil War times, he did not dictate. He led. He had the sympathy and support of ordinary folk because he was sympathetic to them and understood thei: problems and wants. _ Thus Lincoln’s greatness has a double foundation: H. was a genius at statecraft, and he was a great leader of men in the fullest and most human segse. People like to say that “America has been lucky, that w always seem to find the man to measure up when the time demand great leadership. Certainly this has often been true. But the soundnes of this geners! statement is in peril right now. ;

WE face an "external foe potentially more dangerous than any we have ever beaten in war. We see a friendly world mired in troubles. To be secure and to exert our strength for good amid these complexities, we must spend more money than any nation ever did in peacetime. All these difficulties cry out for great leadership. But today we do not have it. We have no Lincoln, only a man who likes to read of Lincoln. But for all his stubborn courage he appears unable to emulate him. America does not want a man on horseback, a dictator to follow blindly and supinely. Perhaps all it wants is to be able to say that its luck in times of great stress is still good.

Betting on a Guess

OMMENTING UPON the “calculated risk” President Truman is accepting by scaling down the ‘aircraft production program on the theory that a Russian attack is not imminent, one of our readers poses a pertinent question. “When,” he asks, “has a calculated risk borne fruit?” There are various kinds of calculated risks, of course. The one the President is taking is like the one the ostrich takes when it buries its head in the sand to escapé an enemy. Since ostriches fear no evil they cannot see, they are easily captured. England took ‘a calculated risk when it imposed the stamp tax on.the 13 colonies. That set off the chain reaction which led to the American Revolution. The United States took one of those risks when it shipped scrap iron to Japan. That scrap iron was shot back at us at Peari Harbor. Secretary of State Acheson took a " chichiated risk when he decided to let the “dust settle” before changing his China policy. While he waited the Reds took China.

» ~ » . THE UNITED STATES took another calculated risk when it neglected to arm the South Koreans’so they coula defend ‘themselves against « Red invasion. That miscal culation has cost us 105,000 casualties to date. Now the same administration which made that blunder is prepared

to new. strength. A country torn in two may never again

to enter into, a cease-fire agreement with the Reds, with

no guarantees that the Reds won't use the time they gair to build up their forces to renew the attack. ‘A calculated rigk is taken every time an airplan leaves New York to fly to London. But it’s a relatively safe gamble because the pilot makes sure that his engines are in good running order and that his gasoline tanks are full before he takes off. When Mr. Truman gambles that

— 7 Russia will not go to war against us-before 1954 he is

going it blind. He has no way of knowing what the Kremlin intends to do. He is simply surrendering to his own wishful thinking. : If -he is making a bad guess it could be disastrous.

No Telling

VWHEN CONGRESS passed a law combining the Army, Navy and Air Force into one Defense Department it ‘was called unification. And what Congress “clearly meant by unification was just that—a single, united defense force, all down the line. * There has been ample evidehce, both from congressional investigations and dtherwise, that unification is something less than what Congress intended.

For instance, in the purchase of supplies: _ Congress :

* has turned up hundreds of cases of differing standards for the same items, and wide differences in prices paid for-the same items by the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

A House committee headed by Rep. Hebert of Louisi-.

ana has been riding herd on the Armed Forces about this kind of waste. Now Mr. Hebert says the Navy has discovered that

a gaskpt it has been buying for 39 cents can be made by . its own machinists for a lone penny. :

A 's fine,” says the Congressman, “but did they ‘the Ar wort al reget Ec

i7 /

» 8 . ©“ + & y %

ARE THEY SAFE? .

WASHINGTON, Feb: 12—Some people in the Pentagon handle military secrets for as long as a year before the Defense Department knows for sure they're safe, The Atmy and Air Force Courter Intelligence Corps and the Office of Naval Intelligence are supposed to screen anyone-—-civilian or military—who has access to classified information. But screening now often takes as long as a year. The department has added 45,000 elvilians fo its payroll since the Korean War started. It's rare that anyone igscreened in less than six months, unless his is special case. If that happens, routine cléarances are delayed even longer. . Ww Bd

SINCE June 14, 1950, the Defense Department, as well as the three armed services, have «issued what are known as “interim clearances.” That means the person involved is considered safe enough to work while his formal clearance Is being processed. An Intertm clearance is also known as a national agency check. The applicant’s fingerprints are sent to the FBI, the

1 8 ! !

“WE SHALL NOBLY

. By Jim G. Leas Some ‘Pentagonians’ H

Civil Servite Commission, the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Counter Intelligence Corps. If he has no black marks against him, he’s considered OK, If derogatory information turns up later, he can be suspendetl, shifted to a less sensitive job, or fired. “> HO

A DEFENSE DEPARTMENT spokesman sald this is because necessary clearances had been taking such a long time. Due to a shortage of investigators, he pointed out, a serious bottleneck had developed and there was no way to break it except by issuing iterim clearances. He said people switching jobs within the Defense Department couldn't go to work until their formal clearances came through. Some were needed too badly’ to®put up with that long a walt. “Take my case,” he said, “I've been here 18 months, I could have been here 24 months, but I had to wait for my cléarance. That was before we started issuing interipn clearances, 1 sat around doing nothing for six

SAVE OR MEANLY LOSE

THE LAST, BEST HOPE OF EARTH.”

POLITICS .

. By Charles Lucey

What Do the Chief Oracles Say?

CONCORD, N. H,, Feb, 12—Just one month before New Hampshire votes in the nation's first presidential primary the state's political oracles speak about as follows: Gen. Dwight Eisenhower is favered to win both the popular preferential vote and a majority of the state's 14 delegates to the Republican National Conventjon—but he will not have the soft touch once foreseen for him. Sen. Robert A. Taft is stronger in New Hampshire than was suspected. Many call the outcome close and a few say the Senator will win. A Taft victory on Mar. 11 probably has to be rated a long shot. In the Democratic test between President Truman and Sen. Estes Kefauver, it looks like Mr. Truman, He has the state party organization with him. But Mr, Kefauver was in New Hampshire for only the first _ time Sunday. His position could improve. Nobody can estimate yet the effect of Saturday's last-minute entry of a full delegate candidate slate. for Gen. Douglas MacArthur on the Republican side and a partial slate for

Sen. Taft

+ + . stronger

‘ James A, Farley on the Democratic side.

Gen. MacArthur has questioned popular support in this state, and candidates contesting in his name despite his wishes are sure to get some votes, Mr, Farley's name still is popular. It's being tossed in against a President who has lost in public esteem and a Senator not welltnown here. : With Gen. Eisenhower, the test isn't simply whether he can win but whether hé can win impressively. Almost every ‘top GOP leader is on his side and his entry seemed to:accord with “the-sound-politicat- -and-military-axtom-of-choos-ing your own battle-ground. The belief is widely held that election of big qame Republicans on Gen. Eisenhower's slate

f candidates is about as sure as anything can.

e In Politics,

SIDE GLANCES

2 2 De “ we Lets Ronsider, for instance, the Ww illows in 4 bt i 3 be another hour or 10, dear! Towser i is enjoying hs exercise Roe Be gam yout * «+ so much!" “Pillow, bed, ing. Spor white. LW Ati . A fit Le ThA Seals bs ie wel

By Galbraith

(11.

Taft leaders do not concede almost automatic election of the top half-dozen Eisenhower

candidates, but agree the odds favor them. The

big question is whether the Taft forces can get an even break on the remaining eight delegate places involved. That would mean gomething like a ten-to-four split of delegates. Anything less than such a showing would not be rated here as-a spectavular victory for Gen, Eisenhower. Because of the lineup of state GOP leaders for Gen. Eisenhower, Mr, Taft can be topped by the General and still come out looking fairly good.

But a Taft victory over Gen. Eisenhower :

could be extremely damaging to the case made for the General on the basis of his great popular appeal. Because of the strength of ‘the Eisenhower slate, and the fact Mr. Taft's candidates are in many cases not well-known, it Is possible the Ohio Senator could run well in the popular preference vote and. still get very few

, delegates.

Gen, Eisenhower's strength probably is greatest among young Republicans, among millworkers in the larger cities who dislike the Taft labor record, and among party members of all kinds who think that only Gen. Ike can defeat the Democrats in November. But there is much evidence of a Republican conservatism here which may favor Mr. Taft. Nobody is sure how Harold Stassen will run in the GOP presidential test. He figures t finish- third but he is sure to make a vigorou of campaign here just- before Mar. 11 and that could help some. Mr. Stassen is not entered in the separate contest for delegates. The MacArthur slate, entered after much prodding from outside New Hampshire, is made up mostly of political unknowns. But they could damage Gen. MacArthur's prestige. They also could hurt Sen. Taft, from

~whom. they. are. most likely to draw votes. .. As to organization, Gen. Eisenhower’s forces

seem to have the edge. But the Taft group,

‘ though starting late, is headed by professionals

who know their stdte. Both sides know. organization can be the payoff Mar, 11.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 — The admiral, the secretary and

the Congressman who was investigating ‘em posed in front of an assortment of the military’s identical feather pillows, all bearing différent price tags. The photographer pushed the button and his flash bulb went, boom.

This explosion, according to Rep. F. Edward Hebert (D. La.), was prophetic. What he's got in store for the boys at the Pentagon in connection -with their topsy - turvy . buying of supplies shouldn’t happen to a brass-bound brigadier.

Mr. Hebert and associates on the Armed Services Subcommittee charge that the Pentagonians are wasting billions a year, buying stuff they've already got, and bidding against each other for the things they need. So the lawmakers have opened their investigation in a room they call the chamber of horrors... Here they have in‘stalled a display of ~militafy merchandise, ranging from ‘lamp bulbs to balbriggan underdrawers, for which each

_ payers, $2.95. Hebert and Co.

Wo v.

andle Secrets Before Security Check

months while my papers moved from. the bottom of the stack to the top.” * A person granted an interim clearance, the spokesman said, seldom goes to work immediately on secret and®top seéret documents. He's more likely to be given a. job handling papers classified “restricted” or “confidential.” Later, if he looks like a good man, he may move on to other documents with a higher security classification. : Actually, the spokesman said, theré’s no policy rule in such matters, It depends on the office or section to which he is assigned. Some are more security-minded than others. All jobs in the Defense Department are considered critical. .. : oo ¢

. THERE is a great deal of duplication in the Defense Department's security program. When a man moves to a new job he starts from scratch and must be checked again, no matter how many times he has been cleared. That accounts for part of the backlog which has

SOUTH AMERICA .

made interim clearances necessary. One young officer, for instance, previously had been cleared three times—for the most secret kind of work —in the last nine years, but now is working under an interim clearance waiting for- his

fourth. . © > » FORMAL clearances are processed in bunches. If a man has lived in New York,

Ohio and California, for instance, his New York background will be checked, along with that of 10 or 20 other ex-New ‘Yorkers from that part of the city. His Ohio background hay not be checked until some time later. His California background will be checked along with a number of ex-Californians. A person who has moved about the country a great deal must wait longer for his clearance, since inquiries must be made wherever he has lived. Clearances include not only possible connections with subversive organizations, but also go into a man’s attitude and loyalty as well as his general behavior and discretion. If he's a heavy drinker or a gossip the Pentagon wants to know about it.

. By Ludwell Denny

Can the Reds Keep Guatemala?

GUATEMALA CITY, Feb, 4 .(Delayed)— Reds run Guatemala, though “the people Are not Communist and the gbvernment ‘is more Nationalist than .Stalinist. This is made possible by ‘a marriage of convenience between Moscow and the lotal Nationalist boss, exPresident Juan Jose Arevalo. Tho unnatural alliance is based on hatred of the United States. Like the German Nazis in the days eof Hitler-Stalin partnership, Guate1slan National Socialists think they can use Stalin and then dump him when no longer needed. Maybe, Meanwhile a handful of Reds —1500 at most—call the tune for a nation of 3.7 million. President Jacobo Arbenz apparently is not a Communist. He is the weak and uncomfortable puppet of Arevalo. Arevalo is a former idealistic ‘college professor gone wrong. He taught in Argentina, flirted with Peronism, and got the personal

-power itch when he returned to Guatemala to

establish “spiritual socialism” after the reactionary dictatorship of Jorge Ubico. He aims to unite and rule Central America and the Caribbean against the United States—in the name of democracy of course, Though the Comrhunist Party is illegal under the constitution, it operates openly with government protection and. acts as host to Red “world” conferences. The government-con-trolled press is pro-Russian and anti-American. Anti-Soviet editors are intimidated, and antiCommunist organizations and demonstrations are discouraged by the government. The most prominent Communists are Jose Manuel Fortuny, secretary géneral of the party and editor of its newspaper “Octubre”; and Vic-

-g tor Manuel Gutierrez, head of the Confederation

of Labor, which is affiliated with the Red international. Gutiérrez returned last month from Moscow.

All Three Mediocre THE LOUDEST fellow-traveler is Roberto Alvarado Fuentes, president of congress—and, as such, constitutional successor to the president of the republic if the latter dies or is incapacitated. Fuentes attended the Soviet “peace” conference in Vienna.

All three of these men are mediocre. Before

"any important Communist move, an abler Stalin

agent usually arrives from Cuba, France or Mexico—often the chief of the Latin American Red Labor Federation, Vincente Lombardo Toledano. Russians so far have kept their own identity secret. While Communist membership is small, its

MR. EDITOR: Good sportsmanship is an old American tradition, and in the great game of politics a poor loser hurts himself, his party, and his government. Therefore, I was quite distressed to read Mr. Gasper’'s diatribe against his fellow Democrat, Andrew Jacobs, Not being an insider, I had never heard of

- Mr, Gasper before I saw his name in the paper

as one of the candidates for Democratic county chairman; but I have heard of Mr. Jacobs, and I remember that he was considered one of the best and most outstanding freshman in the 81st Congress. That is quite a distinction for a state which has two of the 10 worst Senators in the whole

U. 8. and a handful of medidcre Congressmen. “Andy” is admired by many people who like his rugged Hoosier honesty, his independence,

color, and inteiligent grasp of the great issues

before us. Republican or Democrat, Indiana needs more of his ilk and less of the specie petty politician. " If Mr. Jacobs is willing to “take on” McHale, Pulliam, Taft and Jenner, it's about time somebody did, and I say more power to him, I wonder what Mr. Gasper has done to break up the unholy alliance that threatens to hand Indiana to the special interests on a silver platter? At a.time When all good men shoulda _come to the aid of the party dnd throw the

rascals out before the voters do It for them,

Mr. Giasper’s petulent carping ill becomes him.

Remember, there's got to be a few Indians.

We can’t all be chiefs. » —M. C., City

‘TAKES TIME’ . . . By Frederick C. Othman

Probers Buried in Military Pillow Fight 7

haven't discovered the " price of Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard pillows,

but they intend to soon. Their theory is that this pillow fight » of the military has cost us taxpayers many thousands of dol-

and-blue-striped cotton ticking, still filled with chicken feathers,” said the sign on the Navy's pillow. The sailors have 145018 of these in stock at a cost of $1.15 each. ” » - THE ARMY'S pillow, looking like an exact duplicate, cost $1 each and there are 562,359 on

hand. The General Services Administration pillow, for use of civilians in: government, cost $1.44. : The medical service's pillow ‘was different. It looked the same, but it was stuffed with duck feathers. Cost to us tax-

lars.

pia LINCOLN

ONCE a yéar we honor Lincoln . , . not be.

EEO E EOE E EEE EERE EEO ERNE EEE TEER EEE E NOES STROBE ERO EE EO EEO EER NEH000 00H ERTS A RENO ENO8 Les 0s 00a Ren snes errass

When the pillow picture was taken, Vice Admiral C., W. Fox of the Munitions Board found a ~seat, while Deputy Secretary of Defense William C. Foster undertook to defend the Defense Department's buying habits. He sald and I quote: s “I have come here not to bury the Defénse Department, but to praise it.”

power is ‘great. This is achieved not only through the tie-up with super-nationalists, but: also by— * Superior organization, rigid discipline, and experienced Moscow direction. Capture of the trade union movement. Bribery of key officials and officers. Threats of assassination and other terrorism, Exploiting public suspicion of alleged United States “imperialism,” and hatred of ‘Yankee monopoly capital’—meaning the United Fruit, Co., the International Railways of Central America, Pan-American Air Lines, Electric Bond & Share, and various American insurance companies. The United States, as arch-enemy, has replaced Britain, with which Guatemala has an old quarrel over British Honduras. Non-Communist forces are largely unorganized and temporarily impotent, This is due to fear, ignorance, indifference, internal rivalries

; and a national inferiority complex. .

About 70 per cent of the population is illiterate. The remainder is politically immature, Nearly two-thirds of the people are Indians, who do not speak the country’s language. They live in unfriendly mountains, growing a little corn, following their ancient customs, worshiping the pagan gods of their Mayan ancestors.

Never Heard of Washington

THEY never heard of Washington, much less Moscow. ‘Guatemala City is an alien capital of mixed breed and- whites, whose political plots do not interest the Indian—as long as he is let alone. Perhaps some day this unknown and unknowing Indian Guatemala will erupt in Jentible fury like its smouldering volcanoes, but not yet.

Though the country is Catholic in name, it has been anti-clerical for a century. There are only, 140 priests, half of them, foreign. Many churches never see a priest. The percentage of religious mafriages runs as low as two per cent, Last summer there was a spontaneous, successful demonstration against a Communist replacing a nun as head of an orphanage. But in geperal the small Catholic hiergrchy is on the defensive, neither anxious nor able to chal lenge Red power here.

The army by nature is non-Communist, Eventually it probably will overthrow a Red or fellow-traveler regime. Unless it waits until Stalin has taken it from within. But for the present ‘the army {is doped with graft and favors, and divided by personal rivalries. Key officers cannot agree on which should be, the new liberator or dictator,

EEE EEE EOD EOE E ROE EE ERLE STEELE EEE EER EERE SEER TERRORS IEEE RTS T RS SRR PETAR Og

HOOSIER FORUM—‘Politics’

"I do not agree with a word that you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it."

‘Insane Drivers’ MR. EDITOR: A letter by the “Spirit of '76” in The Times, says that we are led. by a “common” man, Heaven help our country if this is true. I was really under the impression that the common American man was a pretty fair, honest and intelligent person. A quote by L. L. Bullington, another reader, that “No driver in the world (unless he is insane) would deliberately drive in front of, or obstruct any emergency vehicle.” Mr. Bulling. ton either does not drive very much, or is not very observant, or he would know that about 75 per -cent of the drivers are insane, as the accident statistics will prove. Walt, Crawfordsville,

Views on the News

By DAN KIDNEY BEING FRANK about Franco caused Presi. dent Truman to lay an egg for a Spanish omelet, dS 4 4

CULTURE QUIZ: How did quartets eat bee tween the death of Chautauqua, and the birth Of APN Pinion S > SH CALLING the British beef eaters in the Second Sisatethen era will be strictly tra ona

He did, too. Said the military had been doing its level best to get buying of materials on a single-price-tag basis. This did not impress the statesmen, ” - TWENTY-THREE long years ago, said Rep. Paul Cunning ham (R. Iowa) Congress auth orjzed the soldiers. and sailors to get up a standard catalogue of all items, from apples to zine and. airplanes to xylophones, that the fighting men need. “Now more than two decades later you're still explaining why the job isn't finished,” said Rep. Cunningham. “And telling

working on it.” “It's & job that takes time,” suggested Mr. Foster. “Not 23 years,” said Rep. C, “A shoe is a shoe, a blanket

us that. you have 3500 men

service pays a different price. -

cause he made men free . . . but because he.

stood for freedom . . . and a land of liberty -

+ « « Not because he led a nation . . . through a time of pain untold . .. but because he spread

. true friendship . . . from a heart of purest gold « « « not because he set a standard . . . for the _

statesmen now in sway . . . but because he spoke with passion . .., words that linger till this day + « « even those who fought against him . .. for what they believed was right . . , truly have respect toward him . . . for his honesty and might . . . so It is we honor Lincoln toss Tian of trails sud wan of trust, . and be aver Sle SN Morgue buy now Is dust, 5 Ben Busteugta,

nt L

is a blanket and & bowl 8 2 bowl,” said Rep. Hebert, g

turing toward his horeors No

reason why each one of these items shouldn't cost the same, whether used by sdilor, flyman, or soldier, he added. Rep. Jack Z. Anderson (R,

- Cal.) agreed. He said the mili-

tary had 1108 separate listings ‘for one item, unspecified. This meant 1108 separate bins, bee. cause the management takes

pains not to get Satslogiod “merchandise mixed up,

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