The Charlotte News

Wednesday, August 30, 1950

FOUR EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that the American and South Korean forces on the Pohang front had launched a small-scale tank-infantry attack on enemy troops who had penetrated to within rifle range of the port city at the northeastern part of the 120-mile defense arc. After the attack gained a mile, it stalled. The enemy troops had been cleared from the main road to Pohang, cut by a North Korean patrol earlier in the day.

On the eastern coastal front, where the enemy had recaptured Kigye, changing hands for the third time in two days, the enemy were threatening to cut the Pohang-Taegu road, isolating thereby South Korean troops just north of Pohang.

On the central front, twelve miles northwest of Taegu, American forces attempting to take a hill were forced to withdraw after reaching to within 200 feet of the summit, under heavy enemy mortar and automatic weapons fire.

American and South Korean troops threw the enemy off Battle Mountain near Haman, ten miles northwest of Masan, on the southern front, the eighth time the bloodied mountain had changed hands, swapped twice on Wednesday.

Probing forces by the enemy attempted to cross the Naktong River between Waegwan and Battle Mountain, but were repulsed by American artillery and riflemen.

South Korean Marines, in two commando raids on the south coast, between Tongyong and Kosong, ten miles southwest of Masan, had rescued civilians about to be forced into the North Korean army.

Tom Lambert reports from the 27th Wolfhound Regiment, which had first seen action July 24 in the area of Sangnyang, about 20 miles southeast of Taejon, knocking out at least three enemy tanks and producing 1,500 enemy casualties. Since that time, they had been shuttled up and down the front "like a yoyo", sent in as a fire brigade where the fighting was fiercest.

Secretary of State Acheson said that it was up to the U.N. to determine whether the allied forces would drive the enemy back further than the 38th parallel. He added that if the North Koreans ceased hostilities, the question would resolve itself. He also branded as typical Communist propaganda the supposed urging by 38 American prisoners of war in North Korea that the U.S. withdraw from the action, and condemned the laws governing the October 15 elections in East Germany. He declined comment on Winston Churchill's proposal for a unified West German army.

Senator Taft said that the Administration lacked the plans and policies to meet the threat of a new world war and Secretary Acheson quickly challenged the statement by telling the press conference that the free nations had demonstrated their alertness to the dangers of Communism.

After the Senate had the previous day unanimously passed legislation to permit special drafting of doctors to age 55 and dentists to age 45, the House appeared set to pass a companion measure this date.

After Senate-House confreres had reconciled differences in the bills to provide family assistance checks to the dependents of enlisted men, it was expected the bills would receive quick approval in both houses.

The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 8 to 3 to delay until January further action on Universal Military Training. The President had said that he saw no need for it at the present time, virtually killing the drive for the measure.

The President would deliver a thirty-minute "fireside chat" via radio and television on Friday at 9:00 p.m., regarding the Korean war and consequent need for economic controls and increased taxes at home. The President urged quick action by Congress on the five billion dollar tax increase.

Ford Motor Co. suffered from unauthorized walkouts over wages for the third straight day, the only major automaker to resist recent wage hikes, its contract not set to expire until after the first of the year.

The Gulf hurricane was approaching New Orleans, from a point 165 miles south-southeast, expected to hit the Louisiana coast during the afternoon and the Mississippi and Alabama coasts by nightfall, with winds between 95 and 100 mph.

On the editorial page, "Order in the House" finds that the President had acted wisely in refuting both the statements of General MacArthur and Secretary of the Navy Francis Matthews, both having been contrary to Administration policy. Both statements had run the risk of upsetting perception abroad of U.S. policy, in the case of General MacArthur, regarding protection of Formosa, and in the case of Secretary Matthews, regarding initiating a preventive war to facilitate peace. The President, it concludes, had to maintain control of foreign policy or else chaos would result.

"Test for Governor Thurmond" tells of an incident near Myrtle Beach occurring the previous Saturday night in which a Klansman, who was also a Conway, S.C., police officer, had been killed in a shooting spree with blacks. The police officer still had on his uniform.

It suggests that Governor Strom Thurmond, as the primary exponent of states' rights, needed to be aware of the corollary, state responsibility, and undertake to assure a vigorous investigation of the matter, which had arisen because of failure of local law enforcement. He had a responsibility to all of the citizens of the state, white and black, to do so.

"Restatement of Policy" reprints the full seven-point statement of the President sent to General MacArthur regarding clarification of U.S. policy toward Formosa, designed to neutralize the country against attack during the Korean crisis, but not generally to offer it protection, as General MacArthur had stated in his planned written message to the VFW, ordered withdrawn by the President.

"Missing Denominator" finds troublesome two news item, one from Britain, showing that there were substantially more married men than married women in England and Wales, and the other from Canberra, Australia, revealing that there were more male pajamas manufactured than female pajamas and nighties. It finds that there must be a connection between the two sets of figures, conveying a great truth about men and women. But it had not yet figured it out and invites any reader to answer the question.

It perhaps lies in the "ties" at the end of the "night", as on "pants", as in Ty Ty Walden. Men only wear ties around their necks.

A piece from the Rock Hill Evening Herald, titled "Ahead", tells of repeated reports suggesting that after the fall elections, the draft would be stepped up, as would economic controls and taxation. It suggests that the voters were prepared to do what was needed without putting things off.

Bob Sain of The News continues his four-part series of articles, begun the prior day, on Communism, this time telling of being part of "Gideon's Army" two years earlier at UNC, listening to the praises being sung of Henry Wallace in his idealistic Progressive Party bid for the presidency. At the event, a projector had shown a film of Paul Robeson singing "Joe Hill". Former Vice-President Wallace, he finds, had been an unwitting dupe of the Communists and fellow travelers. Mr. Sain had been one of the "young suckers" falling for the promises. The radicalism had been born of passion rather than reason. It was the genius of Communism, he finds, that it could capture and channel the "inborn, passionate radicalism".

No one, save Junius Scales, North and South Carolina Communist Party leader, and Bill McGirt, a budding public relations man, admitted to being Communists. One knew about the others but could not prove it. Once, Mr. McGirt had talked to Mr. Sain in the University library about becoming a party member, or at least he thought that is what he had meant, but he had declined. He was not willing to give up inquiry, trying to find the meaning of "radicalism" and the best method of "serving the common man". As a member of the Communist Party, such inquiry would be negated as a matter of course. For the time, they were content to be "fellow travelers".

Drew Pearson suggests to Senator Claude Pepper, investigating the wiretapping of Howard Hughes and others in 1947, that he subpoena an assistant U.S. Attorney who had tipped off the Washington police lieutenant accused of the wiretapping that he was under investigation, while the latter was vacationing at Nags Head, N.C., in August, 1949. He suggests that the incident might explain why the U.S. Attorney had delayed until nearly the expiration of the three-year statute of limitations to bring the matter before the Grand Jury.

House Speaker Sam Rayburn and other leading Democrats wanted Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson replaced, as they were aware he was passing out information to Republicans, such as Senators Owen Brewster and Kenneth Wherry, against Secretary of State Acheson. Mr. Johnson would thus feel the full effect of Senator Lyndon Johnson's investigating committee, assigned to examine the military. It was expected that Secretary Johnson would be forced to depart sometime after the fall elections.

Winston Churchill had told former French Premier Paul Reynaud that he was sure war with Russia would come by the end of 1951 and that six weeks later, the West would lose all of Europe unless Mr. Churchill's plan were adopted to unify Western Europe.

The column congratulates the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force for working out their differences before passing on recommendations to Secretary Johnson. Unification, as a result, was working better than ever.

The military was unable, because of deference to the civilian market, to get such things as resistors for radios and walkie-talkies, and electrical wire for the fact of hold up by DuPont of the wire covering.

Housing Expediter Tighe Woods would ask Congress to restore his wartime power to control rents.

Friends of Secretary Acheson feared for his health. It would be denied that after January he intended to resign.

Senator Harry Cain of Washington had been posing during a tour of Western Europe as the "special agent for Secretary Johnson", so much so that Secretary Johnson had complained to the President. In one reported instance, the Senator had dressed in his uniform as a Reserve colonel and lined up a group of diplomats and generals in West Germany, demanding of one two-star general what his problem was, to which the stunned general said lack of adequate reserves. Senator Cain then told him to write him a memo and he would take care of it. One general later privately inquired of another whether Senator Cain was crazy.

Mr. Pearson notes that the Senator's twin brother was locked up in a mental asylum.

Marquis Childs contrasts the weekend speech by Winston Churchill in England, urging the Western world to use whatever time was left to try to prepare Western defenses, with that made by Secretary of the Navy Francis Matthews in Boston, urging that the West should start a preventive war to preserve the ultimate peace. After a storm of protest arose over the latter speech, Secretary Matthews said that he had been speaking only for himself, which Mr. Childs regards as an impossibility given the Secretary's position.

Not only was the speech improvident as being useful for Communist propaganda but came at a time when the weaknesses of Western European and American defenses, including the Navy, were prominently on display.

Previously, the rhetoric of a preventive war had come from Air Force generals reliant on the superiority of the B-36 long-range strategic bomber and its ability to deliver the atom bomb to specific targets. Such statements had encouraged the belief in a quick, easy, decisive war. Secretary Matthews did not provide any recipe for any other kind of preventive war.

But responsible military leaders had counseled that a war with Russia would last thirty years, provided nuclear annihilation were initially avoided.

Mr. Childs wonders whether the statement of Secretary Matthews reflected the belief of Secretary of Defense Johnson. Secretary Johnson, in response to questioning about a reported lack of cooperation between the Defense and State Departments, had said that he and Secretary Acheson were cooperating. Mr. Childs finds cooperation not to be enough, that coordination of military and diplomatic policy had to take place. Moreover, the Matthews speech had suggested how little cooperation existed between the two departments on major policy issues.

Robert C. Ruark, in an unexplained reprint of an editorial published August 15, addresses the request by the Government that Paul Robeson turn in his passport and that Harry Bridges's appellate bond be revoked. Mr. Robeson had been blessed by American life but appeared to hate his native land in favor of Russia. Mr. Bridges stood convicted of perjury for misrepresenting the fact of his past Communist alignment when applying for a passport in 1945.

Since the previous publication, the revocation of Mr. Bridges's bail by the U.S. District Court, on the basis that he was a national security risk in time of war, had been reversed on August 24 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held this ground to be usurping by the courts the role of the executive in regulating military expediency and national security. It had also found that the conviction was had in probable violation of the three-year statute of limitations, which appeared to apply to the statutes under which Mr. Bridges was convicted, including fraud on the United States, notwithstanding the prosecution's counter-argument, upheld in the lower court, that the statute did not begin to run on fraud or perjury until the discovery of the false statements or the ground for them, a prior case having held the three-year statute nevertheless applicable to such cases. The appellate court had thus concluded that since the appeal was meritorious, had not been dilatory in its prosecution by Mr. Bridges, and that there was no risk of flight, as conceded by the Government, there was no valid legal basis to deny Mr. Bridges admission to bail pending the outcome of his appeal.

Mr. Ruark thinks the Government on sound ground in both instances, despite cries of due process and free speech, as both men posed threats to the national security in time of war, especially so for Mr. Bridges who had become a citizen only by false representations.

A letter writer wonders why the newspaper changed the location of the radio log every day rather than leaving it on page 2A, to which the editors respond that since it was three columns wide it would not always fit on an eight-column page, and thus from time to time had to be moved. It recommends consulting the "What's Inside" box on the front page each day for the page number.

That's good to know, so's we can find out fast what's on the radio, without having to thumb through the pages and pages and pages. We needs to know when Superman and the Lone Ranger's on the show, not to mention "Counterspy", "I Love a Mystery", and Sergeant Friday.

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