Dust Begins to Fly

The Army found out last week that it could not do its housecleaning without raising political dust. Congressional pals of officers whom the Army swept out began to raise dust aplenty. Dustiest squawk came from Missouri's Senators: rabid Isolationist Bennett Clark and obedient New Dealer Harry Truman. The Senators were aroused because Truman's cousin, 61-year-old Major General Ralph E. Truman, credited with saving the 35th Division from a rout at the Argonne Forest in World War I, had been relieved of his field command by Lieut. General Ben Lear, assigned to head the reclassification board of the Second Army. General Truman, who had been doing a lot of housecleaning in his own division, resigned rather than take his housemaid's assignment.

Ben Lear had sent Bennett Clark a telegram giving loud diplomatic praise to Truman's service in the Army. Senator Clark wired back angrily: IF HIS SERVICES

WERE AS SATISFACTORY AS YOU INDICATE, WHY DID YOU PERSONALLY RELIEVE HIM CF COMMAND? . . . YOU ARE TRYING TO BLAME THE TACTICAL DEFEAT WHICH YOUR ARMY SUFFERED [IN THE LOUISIANA MANEUVERS] ON TRUMAN AND VARIOUS OTHER NATIONAL GUARD OFFICERS, WHICH IS EXCEEDINGLY UNFAIR. YOU SHOULD RETIRE YOURSELF RATHER THAN MAKE GENERAL TRUMAN THE GOAT.

Meanwhile, Texans in the House began to grouse about the shelving of Major General Claude V. Birkhead, Brigadier General Walter Pryon.

These hurt and angry yells were no surprise to the Army. With ten of the 18 National Guard Division commanders al ready scheduled for retirement or assignment to new posts, and with 2,000 other overage Guard officers being transferred to ground duty with the Army Air Forces, somebody's feelings were bound to be hurt. Political interference was inevitably going to make the Army's hard job harder.

Thanks to such political outcries, Chief of Staff George C. Marshall last week deviated from his rigid rule that no reasons be given for relieving officers. When General E. A. Walsh of the 34th Division was relieved last week, the War Department pointed out that ill-health had caused his retirement from active duty.

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