Unfading Old Soldier

In Pennsylvania, his friends and admirers have organized a "Fighters for MacArthur" group. In California, they go by the name "Americans for MacArthur." New Hampshire has a "MacArthur for President" committee. Texas has launched a "Demand MacArthur" movement which hopes to spread well beyond the Lone Star border. As one of its quietly enthusiastic sponsors, Dallas Printer William S. Henson, explained last week: "We've got a lot of little grass fires going all over the country, and there will be more of them by convention time. We aren't fighting anybody. We are just waiting." What they are waiting for: a situation in which Eisenhower and Taft supporters knock each other out in the Republican National Convention, leaving MacArthur in the center of the stage as the nation's best-known anti-Truman leader.

None of this means that Douglas MacArthur's hat is in the ring for the Republican presidential nomination. The general has repeatedly declared himself no candidate, a position he emphasized again last week by withdrawing his name from the New Hampshire primary (see above). Nor does it mean that a professionally organized MacArthur boom, or even boomlet, is under way. The G.O.P.'s state and local pols have eyes fixed on the Taft-Eisenhower duel; most of them are inclined to discount MacArthur's chances. The news, however, is that far more pro-MacArthur sentiment now exists than most political observers thought possible six months ago.

Unshakable Respect. In Washington, Congressmen of both parties are well aware of MacArthur's latent popular appeal. After his dazzling return to the U.S. last spring and the dramatic hearings, he soon moved out of the public notice. Then, between sessions in the fall, Senators and Representatives going back home discovered that MacArthur had not faded away. The feeling is not enthusiasm so much as unshakable respect and confidence. It varies geographically, is most pronounced in the West and Midwest and least in the East.

One sign of the MacArthur sentiment has been observed again & again: speech-making Republicans need only to mention the general's name, or to cite his stand on the Korean war, and the audience applause bursts out. One Congressman, after a recent tour of eight states, reported that everywhere MacArthur's name brought down the house. Another, an active Ike-man, observed: "MacArthur's reservoir of strength is enormous, far more than anybody in Washington can imagine." At a rally in Illinois, an applause meter registered most sharply when Candidate Harold Stassen promised that his first act as President would be to recall MacArthur to active duty.

Cautious Pols. Most politicians across the country can't see the general as a candidate, although they admit his popularity. Explained one California pol last week: "It's like a guy walks up to you with a new suit on. He asks you how you like it. You say it's beautiful. Then he says, 'You want to buy it?' Now, that's a different story. It seems to be that way with MacArthur. People revere him. But for President, I don't know. The whole thing's so ethereal. You can't pin it down."

The few pols who think otherwise do not like to talk about it publicly. The best-known MacArthur-for-President professional is Massachusetts' Representative Joseph Martin; even he, last week, would not say more than: "There is tremendous sentiment for [MacArthur] throughout the country." Almost alone in speaking openly, Nebraska's Representative A. L. Miller predicted: "I look for MacArthur to be the compromise candidate."

The word "compromise" seems to have no basis in political logic. On no issue does the highly uncompromising figure of MacArthur stand at a point between Taft and Eisenhower. What people who speak of MacArthur as a "compromise" may mean is that the general has views similar to Taft's and a vote-getting glamour comparable to Eisenhower's.

The subject of all this speculation has convinced almost everyone that he himself is not a candidate. Douglas MacArthur does not think there will be a G.O.P. convention deadlock. And he is ready to campaign for Robert Taft down to the last whistle stop.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.