The Charlotte News
Saturday, January 12, 1952
SIX EDITORIALS
Site Ed. Note: The front page reports, via Olen Clements, that U.N. truce negotiators asked the Communists again this date for a clear statement of their stand on construction of North Korean airfields during an armistice, and again received no satisfactory reply, echoing their previous statement that it was an internal matter. Some observers believed that the U.N. command might be willing to settle for less than a formal ban on military airfield construction, that they might accept only a verbal commitment to that effect, which would become part of the conference record but not part of the armistice agreement, itself.
The other subcommittee, considering the prisoner exchange issue, had spent most of the day arguing over whether war prisoners and civilians should be allowed to refuse repatriation, with the allies insisting on freedom of choice and the Communists wanting all prisoners exchanged.
In Paris, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Vishinsky proposed this date to the U.N. political committee a simultaneous ban on atomic weapons and international control of atomic energy on a continuing basis, and renewed his demands for urgent consideration by the U.N. Security Council of the Korean War ceasefire efforts, calling for withdrawal of all forces from the 38th parallel within ten days and from all of Korea within three months.
The U.N. adopted, by a vote of 51 to 5, with three abstentions, a plan, introduced by Secretary of State Acheson, to meet the threat of aggression anywhere in the world through collective action. The resolution served to strengthen the General Assembly in meeting threats to peace when the Security Council was hamstrung by a Big Five veto. The previous day, the Assembly created a West-backed disarmament commission and instructed it to begin work quickly on proposals to regulate, limit and balance reduction of all the armed forces in the world.
In Washington, the military chiefs of the Pacific nations, France, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, plus the U.S. Joint Chiefs, completed consideration of specific measures to resist a threatened Communist Chinese invasion of Indo-China. The steps agreed upon were maintained in secret, but were said to be firm.
Elton C. Fay, Associated Press military affairs reporter, tells of the artillery gun for shooting atomic shells possibly to be fired with a conventional propelling charge as with any other large caliber gun. No nuclear explosive would be required for propulsion of the missile. A model of the weapon had been shown to the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy the previous day. A major problem with the design was to keep the weight of the gun to a level where it was practical for battlefield use. Committee chairman, Senator Brien McMahon of Connecticut, described the weapon as an "artillery gun" designed to handle atomic shells, not a rocket-launching device. While the size of the atomic bomb had been reduced considerably since Hiroshima, it was doubtful that the diameter could be reduced to a size which could fit standard existing guns, the largest of which was the Army's 240-mm howitzer, with a bore slightly under 10 inches, weighing 25,000 pounds, and its transport carriage, about 39,000 pounds. A bore twice that size would be cumbersome for use in the field, weighing probably around 60 tons, but there were 60-ton tanks which were considered by some military men to be practical for use on the battlefield. The maximum effective range for the large howitzer was 25,255 yards, about 14 miles, sufficient to keep the immediate area of an atomic explosion remote from friendly troops operating the weapon. There was also the problem of handling and storage of atomic shells.
Senator Karl Mundt of South Dakota said this date that his personal "grassroots survey" had indicated that the public desired either Senator Taft or General Eisenhower as the next president, but had not made up their minds between the Senator and the General. He had based his remarks on hearing from rank-and-file voters while delivering a series of speeches in the Southwest and Midwest during recent weeks. He said that he was convinced that the President would not run again, and could not win without the South, which he had already lost.
Meanwhile, Governor Sherman Adams of New Hampshire, future chief of staff to President Eisenhower, got the General's campaign officially underway by filing entries listed as "favorable" to the General in that state's primary.
Senator Clyde Hoey of North Carolina, chairman of a Senate Investigations subcommittee, indicated that a complex deal regarding war surplus ships would be the first case taken up by the subcommittee during this session of Congress. The subcommittee had voted unanimously to hold in abeyance cases involving Representative Frank Boykin of Alabama, Flo Bratten, secretary to Vice-President Alben Barkley, and Charles E. Shaver, a former Senate employee, until the Justice Department finished its investigations of those cases.
Rowland Evans, Jr.
In the North Pacific, debris and floating cargo had been found by air and sea searchers, believed to be from the freighter Pennsylvania and its missing 45-man crew, who had abandoned the ship on Wednesday when it broke open during a storm. The discovery caused the search area to be reduced this date by two-thirds, to a 3,600 square-mile area. Moderating seas and warmer weather were making the search easier.
In Falmouth, England, Captain Kurt Carlsen, who had sought to save the crippled freighter Flying Enterprise before it finally succumbed to the sea some 50 miles from its destination, while under tow to Falmouth, had turned down offers of wealth and Hollywood glamour, amounting to deals worth $84,000-$112,000 for film and story rights regarding his two-week ordeal with the ship. Having filed his report on the ship's sinking, he was now free to return to New York.
In Bunker, Mo., three small children were burned to death in a one-room cabin early this date and their 24-year old father was jailed for questioning based on a report that he had quarreled with his wife a few hours before the fire ignited, causing her to flee to a neighbor's home and thus not being present when the fire started. No cause of the fire is indicated.
As pictured, in Atlanta, a legless veteran of World War II, who had lost both his legs in the battle for Luzon in the Philippines, had seen a picture of a 77-year old one-legged man crawling along an Atlanta street after a bout with pneumonia and donated one of his two wheelchairs to him, as he understood how the older man felt.
On the editorial page, "Something's Got To Give" finds inconsistency between the statement by General Eisenhower that he would not ask to be relieved of his command and the President's statement that he would never relieve the General unless the General so requested. While finding the motives of both men understandable, it hopes that the President would change his mind and find a way to relieve the General from his responsibilities so that he could return to the U.S. in time to campaign for the GOP nomination. It suggests that such would show the President to be a big man, but, it opines, judging by his past decisions, he would likely "prove himself the small man he often appears to be", and require that the General ask to be relieved, though he had said he would not do so.
That is one of the stupider Saturday editorials yet produced among several Saturday ringers through time. As subsequent events would bear out, the paradox posed by the piece was not so boxed as it suggests, but was premised on the General completing his job in Western Europe before stepping aside, something which he indicated he felt a strong responsibility to complete. The President was only following the General's lead, without seeking to constrain his political ambitions. The piece impliedly posits a run by the President for re-election and pulling the strings on who would be his opponent.
"For the Protection of All" indicates approval of the Mecklenburg County Commissioners having provided their assent to the creation of a County Planning Board and the eventual establishment of a zoning board for the county's non-urban areas. The decision was important both to the City of Charlotte and to the County, as it would prevent the development of poorly planned sections which might become a liability to an expanding city in the future and because it would give rural property owners protection against sudden depreciation of their property from the construction of unattractive commercial or industrial structures.
"Back to Jessup" finds regrettable a move by Republican Senators, led by Senator Styles Bridges of New Hampshire, requesting the recall of Ambassador Philip Jessup from the Paris U.N. General Assembly meeting, where he had been operating as the chief U.S. delegate, replacing ailing Warren Austin. Senator John Sparkman of Alabama had stated it correctly when he said that the move was "a stab in the back" for the U.N. delegation's efforts. Ambassador Jessup's "skillful and forceful diplomacy" at the meeting had belied the charges against him by the "more rabid Republicans" that he did not command the confidence of the American people—based on the claims during the fall that he had supported the interests of Communist China against the Nationalists during and shortly after the war, charges that were confuted by the transcripts of the meetings in question.
It indicates that it did not know the attitude of the American people on this issue, but did know that such partisan attacks on the Ambassador at such a time did not command its confidence in the 38 Republican Senators who had joined in the attack.
"Whatta' Laugh Dept." finds that whatever hopes the country had that there would be a clean-up in the Administration had been dashed by the fact that the President had decided to forgo appointment of his previously announced commission for the purpose, and instead rely upon Attorney General J. Howard McGrath to lead the effort within the Justice Department. After the Attorney General had stated his continued support for Lamar Caudle, despite the evidence of corruption in the latter's handling of tax prosecutions, it could find little reliance upon the Attorney General to get rid of the crooks and favor-seekers and incompetents" in the Government. It doubts that he was so disposed and believes that the President's action would only result in a "whitewash".
"Pants Problem" remarks on
the earlier editorial in which it had commented on the Army having
issued about 12 million suspender buttons for G.I. trousers, but
without suspenders in the requisition. It had taken the stance that
it was important that the pants stay up, a position to which it clung
"Sign of the Times" tells of a piece in the Fort Mill Times of Fort Mill, South Carolina, having reported that the new town council had renamed a street in the town Ralph Bunche Street, in honor of the U.N. official who mediated the Palestine issue and had distinguished himself on other occasions.
The previous year, Dr. Bunche and Governor James Byrnes of South Carolina had engaged in a verbal dispute over segregation in the schools, with Dr. Bunche objecting that the Governor's position on maintenance of segregation was outmoded and that segregation should be completely abolished. The piece suggests that a generation earlier, that kind of position would have made Dr. Bunche persona non grata in any South Carolina town, and the fact that Fort Mill was willing to honor him for his accomplishments, despite disagreement with his opinions, was a sign of "enlightenment and intellectual honesty that boosts the spirit and warms the heart."
Well, let's face it: it is simple enough to change the name of a short street, but not so simple to change attitudes of a bunch of dumb-bunnies regarding something so simple as integrating the public school systems. Nothing was ever simpler, provided the students and their parents were not morons, full of stupid superstitions and outrageous presuppositions about people based on the color of their skin.
A piece from the Cleveland Press, titled "60 Feet of Beard", tells of statistics compiled by British sources on the amount of time an average man spent in shaving during his lifetime, showing that if he started when he was 16 and continued to shave regularly until age 65, he would remove 60 feet of beard. The average man would spend 2,478 hours in shaving, amounting to more than 100 days of his life
The piece suggests that it might sound like a lot of time just to remove surplus hair, but that the alternative would be to drag around 60 feet of beard by the time the man was in his late 60's.
Drew Pearson tells of the same dangerous conditions which caused the explosion at the coal mine in West Frankfort, Ill., killing 119 miners, existing at another mine, owned by the same company, 20 miles away, according to the miners who worked there. A combination of escaping gases and explosive coal dust had caused the previous explosion, and the UMW safety committee had protested that the mine at Waltonville, Ill., should be shut down because of the same conditions. Despite these issues, Illinois state mine inspectors had already given a permit for the mine to operate. The Federal Government lacked the power to enforce its safety findings, but John L. Lewis, under the UMW contract, had the power to order the men out of an unsafe mine, and he was awaiting the outcome of a Federal inspection before making his decision. The miners who worked at the mine said that they had so many Christmas bills to pay that they were willing to risk their lives by continuing to work in it.
He next catalogs some of the reaction to General Eisenhower's announcement that he was available for the Republican nomination if drafted by the convention, indicating that the President had said he had known that he was running and as a Republican, and sent a message to Paris indicating that he was glad to have an anti-isolationist Republican opposing Senator Taft's isolationism, but hoped that the General would remain on the job in Europe until NATO was up and running. RNC chairman Guy Gabrielson had said that the General would provide major competition for Senator Taft. Former campaign manager for Governor Thomas Dewey, Herbert Brownell, to become the Attorney General under President Eisenhower, was busy, along with New York RNC committeeman Russell Sprague, lining up convention delegates for the General. The Taft camp decided to put out the idea that the General was a stooge of Governor Dewey and predicted that Mr. Dewey would be Secretary of State and would adopt a Wall Street foreign-policy in an Eisenhower presidency. They were also planning to get General MacArthur to take aim at General Eisenhower. Governor Earl Warren would benefit most from a deadlock between the General and Senator Taft at the Republican convention.
DNC leaders were not pleased with the announcement, as they had wanted Senator Taft to be the Republican nominee, believing he would be easier to beat. Senator Estes Kefauver, who was considering a run for the Democratic nomination, took the announcement in quiet stride.
Joseph & Stewart Alsop indicate that new DNC chairman Frank McKinney had told the President that he would have to know his intentions on whether he would run for re-election or not, to which the President had responded that he would make up his mind within the ensuing 60 days, indicating that by the end of February, that decision would likely be known.
The Alsops suggest that the positive Republican response to General Eisenhower's announcement the prior Monday that he was a Republican and would be available for a draft of the nomination, would likely influence the President's decision. The President would be more inclined to run were the Republican nominee Senator Taft, because of the latter's isolationist foreign policy. General Eisenhower, by contrast, posed no such issue.
Moreover, the President would have difficulty finding a candidate within the Democratic ranks who would carry on his policies, his preference being Chief Justice Fred Vinson. But he had stated that he would not run directly from the Supreme Court and would only do so if provided some key Administration position, such as Secretary of State, from which he could then enter the political arena, a possibility now appearing to be foreclosed by the proximity in time to the conventions. Meanwhile, the other potential candidates were either not available for sound political reasons or were not personally acceptable to the President. Vice-President Alben Barkley and House Speaker Sam Rayburn were both too old, at 74 and 70, respectively. Senator Richard Russell of Georgia would not be acceptable because of the racial issue. Senators Paul Douglas and Estes Kefauver were not acceptable to the President, and Senator Douglas had ruled out any such run.
Robert C. Ruark, comments on the decision of General Eisenhower to accept the draft of the Republican convention, saying that he was therefore just as much a candidate for the office as the General, except that he had not declared his political allegiance to a particular party. Mr. Ruark says he would run if only to beat the tax structure. He likes General Eisenhower, but finds fault with his continued coyness, wants him to step out and say what his positions were on various issues. Otherwise, he would become President on less public disclosure than anyone in history, and his election, if it happened, would be akin to a marriage, whereby the country would say that they wanted him, faults and virtues notwithstanding. Afterward, they would discover whether it had been a good choice or a bad one.
In conclusion, he indicates that he could not find fault with a man who essentially told the nation that if they wanted him, they could come and get him, and, meanwhile, he had a job of work to do.
A letter writer commends the newspaper on its editorial of January 8 regarding General Eisenhower's announcement of availability for the Republican nomination and its statement of support of the General as the best choice among the candidates announced for the Republican nomination. He hopes that the newspaper would shortly provide the names of those who would be in charge of the General's campaign in Charlotte.
A letter writer finds ridiculous the editorial which had commended to the attention of Francis Cardinal Spellman the Catholic attack on a Protestant chapel in Colombia as another form of persecution because of religious belief. The writer finds it an inapt comparison, as "hundreds of Catholic priests, sisters and laypeople have been executed by Communists in China and in Europe." Stones thrown in anger at the dedication of the chapel in Colombia could not equate to murder and imprisonment.
The editors respond that the editorial did not state or imply that there was no difference in degree between the persecutions in China and that reported from Colombia, and agree with the writer that the calculated plan of extermination in China was infinitely worse, but clarify that the editorial had only called attention to religious persecution in the Western Hemisphere, within a nation which was presumably democratic and amicable to the U.S.
A letter writer from McBee, S.C., recounts of having seen General Eisenhower visit the Isle of Capri on Christmas Day, 1944, prompting a procession by Italian war-orphaned children and the turn-out of the entire population of the island to see him. When a child had handed the General some roses and kissed his cheek, the writer could tell that the General's eyes were full of emotion as he stooped down to return the kiss. Based on this observation, he found him to be not only a great wartime general, but also a "great guy as well".
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