All Very Amiable

Harry Truman strode into his weekly press conference with the brisk confidence of a man on solid and well-scouted ground. In a mild, almost casual voice, he began by reading out a paragraph from his April 11 radio speech explaining his dismissal of General MacArthur: "The Communist side must now choose its course of action . . . and with it the awful responsibility for what may follow . . . The decision is theirs, because the forces of the United Nations will strive to limit the conflict if possible."

Once he had restated his own side of the great debate for all to hear, Harry Truman threw himself open to questions and settled delightedly back to needle his enemies. "General Whitney said General MacArthur hasn't the faintest idea of why he was relieved," a reporter began. Harry Truman's eyebrows popped up in feigned surprise. Well, he said amiably, everybody else knows why. The reporters laughed. Had he changed his mind about giving MacArthur a clear field to air his views? Oh no, said the President blithely, the general is in the U.S. now. He can do anything he pleases without the slightest interference from his Commander in Chief. Does the same thing apply to General Whitney? That seems to be the case, cracked Harry Truman, with a look of mock despair. He has strings he could pull to restrain both generals, said the President, but he isn't going to use them.

Then the President paused in thought for a moment and launched out on his own. He wished the reporters would read up on their history. A good many Presidents had been forced to discipline their generals. He directed the reporters to a book called Lincoln Fires a General (correct title: Lincoln Finds a General). President Folk's diary was interesting, too, and so was Washington's. Why, during the Civil War, said Student Truman, a Senate committee got hold of General Meade and used him like a pickpocket. The reporters leaped at the bait. Did that mean "General MacArthur was likely to be used as a pickpocket?" He was making no inferences, said Harry Truman, just pointing out that history had a way of repeating itself.

Only one other question got a rise out of the President. He was asked whether Paul Hoffman was about to succeed Dean Acheson as Secretary of State. Hoffman is not going to be Secretary of State, said the President. He paused a moment, then, seeing a chance to get in a plug for Acheson, added that he had a Secretary of State with whom he was very well satisfied and that was that.

Last week, the President also: P: Signed a bill giving $10 million to keep the Defense Production Administration running until the Congress gets around to passing the regular appropriation. P: Tightened up the loyalty standards for Government jobs by making it possible to dismiss or refuse to hire an employee for "reasonable doubt" of loyalty instead of requiring reasonable evidence of disloyalty.

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