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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1952)
Steel and Oil Fronts Flare As Seizure Issue Explodes ?(kD WuU f feos W THE biggest controversy since the Great Debate raged across the land this week. It involved a President's powers. Behind the stormy Constitu tional conflict were cleavages be tween labor and management in the Vital steel industry. No sooner had Federal Judge David A. Pine handed down his decision calling President Truman's seizure of the steel mills illegal when CIO Presi dent Philip Murray sent some 600,000 steel workers out on strike. President Against Wall The Truman Administration sought with alarmed urgency to a halt the paralyzing strike. The President was backed to the wall for the moment at least in the Constitutional struggle over his "inherent" powers to act in an emergency. Government lawyers moved swiftly to get a postponement of the effective date of the formal give-back-the-mills order issued by Judge Pine which would restore the status quo, making the steel workers employes of the Government again. The chief hope of Administration lawyers was to get Pine's decision re versed by the Supreme Court Embargo On Steel When the vast steel industry shut down almost overnight, the Govern ment slapped ' an embargo on ship ments of steel from warehouses to producers of civilian goods in foreign countries. The Administration felt that if Judge Pine's decision, stating "There is no express grant of power in the Constitution authorizing the President to direct his seizure; There is no grant of power from which it reason ably can be implied; There is no en- Incident Fireworks Over Berlin U.S. officials pondering reasons for Tuesday's Russian fighter-plane at tack on a French airliner agreed on one thing this week: It opened the 1952 season of spring jitters in Europe. Four of the 17 persons aboard the Berlin-bound liner were wounded, one seriously. British, French and American High Commissioners in Berlin protested the "unwarranted at tack," demanding investigation and compensation. The Russians ignored the protests and sent a counter-protest instead a time-worn Soviet tactic. They charged the plane was not flying in th. corridor permitted over the Soviet zone of Germany. When the French plane faijad to loUow a signal to land, the Russfans said, the Soviet jets fired "across its bow.1' In Washington, officials considered two possible--and opposite explana tions. 1. That the Soviets deliberately staged the attnek as a terror tactic, to spread fear and tension in Europe. 2. That the whole thing was un planned, perhaps the result of over-zealousnes-; on the part of trigger happy fighter pilots sent up to check on the airljner. Whatever the explanation, it's time for Communist activities of this kind. The Soviet high command is getting ready to launch spring maneuvers with about 30 divisions east of the Iron Curtain. The Russians have used the maneuvers in the past to drama tize the relative isolation of Berlin by sending fighter flights near the neu tral air approach lane and firing anti aircraft shells right into it. It Happened in April April 1 Taft wins 24 of 30 convention delegates in Wiscon sin primary and bests Eisenhower in write-in contest in Nebraska. April 2 Willie Sutton, bank robber, sentenced as fourth of fender to 30 years to life. April 3 Attorney General J. Howard McGrath fires corrup tion chief Newbold Morris, is fired himself by President Tru man four hours later. Federal Judge James P. McGranery ap pointed Attorney General; West-, ern Union employes in most states go on strike. April 7 CIO communications workers strike across the nation disrupting telephone service. April g President Truman announces Government seizure of nation's steel industry to avert strike; Taft wins Illinois primary election. April 9 Steel industries seek injunction against Government seizure; Revolution erupts in Bo livia. April 10 Iowa and Nebraska brace as Missouri River goes cn record-breaking flood; Russia proposes all-German elections under supervision of four-power commission. April 11 White House an nounces Eisenhower's release as Supreme Commander in Europe effective June 1. April 15 Eisenhower wins New Jersey primary, leads Taft by 157.000 votes. April 16 Gov. Adlai Steven son, of Illinois, announces he "could not accept" Democratic presidential nomination: Presi dent flies to Omaha, decries Con gressional slow motion in passing adequate flood control measures ir r. -y-as 'oc. . .vv.v.. .-.-Gv. JUDGE DAVID PINE The biggest controversy actment of Congress authorizing it" were allowed to stand, Presidents would be forever bound from action in time of emergency. That was the reason the Adminis tration pushed its fight rapidly into the High Court. President Truman seized the steel mills to avert a strike called by Philip Murray's CIO Steelworkers in a dis pute, principally over wages, with the producers. The Union insisted that the industry accept a Government recommenda tion for: 17'2 cents an hour more (wages averaging just under $2 an hour), about 8l2 cents' worth of fringe benefits, compulsory union member ship, and an 18-month contract. Basically, the tripartite structure of Government was designed, as James Madison, one of the framers of the Constitution, said, so "that its constituent parts may, by their mu tual relations, be the means of keep ing each other in their places." The Government's chief attorney in the steel seizure case. Holmes Bald ridge, said he did not claim that Pres ident Truman holds unlimited pow ers. Oil Strike - Previously the attorney had assert ed the President's power had only t'AO limitations the ballot box and impeach ment. Baldndge asserted this week that if the court had understood him to In Short Named: by President Truman, Fred Korth, Ft. Worth Tex., attorney, as assistant secretary of the Army. Upheld: by the U. S. Supreme Court, an Illinois law outlawing "race ha tred'' literature. Predicted: by a high British official in Bonn, that an Allied-German '"peace contract" probably will be signed before May 20. Voted, by the Senate Foreign Rela tions Committee, to cut President Tru man's $7.fUO.00O.0OO foreign aid pro gram by one billion dollars. Announced: by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, that she will be crowned June 2. 1953. Up for Army court martial trial: Maj. Gen. Robert W. Grow, former military attache in Moscow whose diary was copied by Communist agents in Germany last year for "im properly recording classified military information. for Missouri River Valley. April 17 New York Democrats endorse Mutual Securit3r Director W. Averell Harriman as "favorite son" for Democratic presidential nomination. April 18 Missouri flood crest passes Omaha and Council Bluffs without crumbling emergency dikes. April 21 Convicts at big Southern Michigan Prison at Jackson, Mich., go on rampage and barricade themselves with guards as hostages; Impeachment motion introduced by Rep. Hale (R-Me.) as result or steel seizure. April 22 U. S. explodes atom bomb in Nevada as troops crouch in foxholes three miles from the blast; Eisenhower chalks up popularity poll victory in Penn sylvania and New York pri maries. April 25 Allies request ple nary session of Korean truce ne gotiators. Reds accept; Navy an nounces 30 men killed in explo sion aboard Cruiser St. Paul in worst naval disaster of Korean War. April 27 Navy announces loss of 174 men aboard the U. S. De stroyer Hobson in collision with aircraft carrier U.S.S. Wasp in Atlantic. April 28 Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway named Supreme Com mander in Europe to succeed Gen. Eisenhower. Gen. Mark Clark to succeed Ridgway in Far East. April 29 District Judge David A. Pine rules Government seizure of steel mills illegal. April 30 30.000 oil workers strike for higher pay and in creased night differential. HARRY S. TRUMAN since the Great Debate. make the claim that the presidential power was unlimited, he desired to correct it. More labor trouble cropped up in the nation's oil industry. The Oil Workers International Union (CIO), struck for a 25-cent hourly wage in crease and higher differentials for night work. More than 90,000 unionized refinery and pipeline workers were involved. Government officials indicated at the start they had no intention of inter vening. The union had requested 10,000 members in California to re main on the job so as not to hinder operations for the Korean War effort. The strike threatened the U.S. mo torist. Even before the strike deadline at 12:01 A.M. Wednesday, Denver time, long lines of cars were reported at filling stations in Many cities. Some shortages of natural gas were also threatened if the oil strike be came a prolonged squabble. The pe troleum strike originally was set for March 3. but postponed three times by Government request. Dates Monday, May 5 Maryland primary election. Denmark's Liberation Day. Tuesday, May 6 Primary elections in Ohio. Flor ida, Indiana and New Mexico. Wednesday, May 7 Anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. Overseas Press Club awards to be made in New York. Thursday, May 8 Sixty-eighth birthday of Presi dent Harry S. Truman. Industry Advisory Committee meets in Hot Springs. Va. Japan Diplomatic Gamble In Tokyo this week there was no dancing in the streets, but there were new smiles and a quiet warmth as Japan became an independent nation again. The U. S. is gambling that freedom and independence will make a better and more dependable ally of Japan in the struggle against Soviet Com munism than retention of military controls would have made. This is a gamble which has a share of Repub lican support as well as the backing of the Democratic Administration. The signing of the Japanese Peace Treaty at San Francisco last Septem ber was preceded by a squabble with in the Government. The argument in itially involved the State and Defense Departments. Some officials in each favored and others opposed an early Japanese peace. State Department View The dominant State Department view was that Japan could not be kept under occupation restraints in definitely and that with basic reforms out of the way the nation should be given its independence. This was one case, at least, in which Gen. MacArthur, as Allied Occupation Commander, and the SJate Depart ment saw eye to eye. MacArthur argued that no occupation could prof itably last much beyond five years and he pressed repeatedly for an early peace treaty. The "military price" for the early Japanese treaty, was the security treaty drafted to come into force simultaneously with the peace pact. This was fully supported by John Foster Dulles, architect of the treaty, and the State Department Up to Japan The big new fact of Japanese American relations is that from here on the United States can no longer tell Japan what tq do. It can negotiate and request, and it has tremendous power because of Japan's economic and military weakness for the time being, but the Tokyo government has achieved real independence. Hardly had the U. S. put the Jap anese treaty into effect this week when Soviet Russia denounced it and the accompanying security pact as "treaties for the preparation of a new war in the Far East." Mil Rights Reserved. AP Newsfeatures) POLITICS: WITH Chicago convention time about nine weeks away, the GOP race for the presidential nomination looks like a knock down, drag-out battle between Sen. Robert A. Taft and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower. In the Demo cratic camp it's still anybody! guess. Gen. Eisenhower emerged this week from the Massachusetts primary with a ringing endorsement from the vot ers of that state. The general not only swept the Republican popularity con test from Sen. Taft, but also chal lenged the position of Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee on the Demo cratic ticket. While Massachusetts Democrats had less interest in their contest, for lack of a powerful candidate, those who voted made it a two man race for popularity between Eisenhower and Kefauver. In the Republican contest, such White House possibilities as Harold E. Stassen, Gov. Earl Warren, of Cali fornia and Gen. Douglas MacArthur were left far behind in the battle be tween Taft and Eisenhower. Crucial Florida Test An outstanding contest in the Demo cratic race is the Kefauver-Russell bid for Florida's preferential vote coming up Tuesday. Editors of Florida newspapers, can vassed in a special poll, believe the Florida primary will give Georgia's Sen. Richard B. Russell his first pri mary victory over Kefauver. The Tuesday election will be Rus sell's first popularity test since he en tered the Democratic race. If the estimates of the Florida edi tors prove correct, Kefauver will have suffered his first setback in a primary contest. Russell has the support of the entire Florida Congressional delegation, of Gov. Fuller Warren and of the leader ship and most members of the Demo cratic state executive committee. The state's junior senator, George Smath ers, predicts Russell will win by a 2-to-l margin. By contrait, Kefauver has waged' virtually a one-man campaign for votes. His efforts have included the simple technique he has used success fully in several other states a hand- NEW SHAPE r ; ! if ? ; " M i - GEN. MATTHEW RIDGWAY GEN. MARK CLARK There were grumblings, but comment generally was favorable. GEN. MATTHEW BUNKER RIDGWAY is a foremost expert on airborne warfare a soldier who likes combat command and only tolerates the complexities of administrative duty. During the last five or six years, however, Ridgway has shown patience, tact and diplomacy in some of the toughest administrative posts in the Army. At the end of World War II, he served as senior U. S. delegate to the Inter-American Defense Board while at the same time representing Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, then Army chief of staff, on the Military Staff Commit tee of the United Nations in London and New York City. Succeeds MacArthur Later, Ridgway served as deputy chief of staff for administration in Washington then came his combat command of the U. S. Eighth Army in Korea succeeding the late Lt. Gen. Walton Walker who was killed in a jeep accident. On April 11, 1951, a little more than a year ago, Ridgway succeeded Gen. Douglas MacArthur as commander of United Nations forces in the Far East, commander-in-chief of the Far East Command of the Army and supreme commander for Allied powers in Japan. Prior to the appointment this week of Matthew Ridgway as the new su preme commander of the North At lantic Treaty Organization, most Eu ropean members of Nato were report ed as favoring Gen. Alfred M. Gru enther to replace Eisenhower. In Good Hands However, the Pentagon was known to favor Ridgway on the ground that he has had long battle experience while Gruenther. the youngest four star general in the Army, has never held a major field command and is Squabble j Cj I l 'I i I It- 3 t J I f i I 1 I , i?" A r uf J I I I 1 I I -. $ I i h 1 1 II I 1 -- 11 : I My ( k- H3 SEN. RUSSELL SPEAKS IN ATLANTA Experts guessed Kefauver was in for his first setback. clasp and "madam-I'm-running-for-President -and -sure-would-like-your-help" routine. Upcoming Maryland Primary Maryland also has a primary coming up next week. In the May 5 primary election there Gov. Theodore Roose velt McKeldin wants to consolidate his plans to pledge Maryland's 24 national convention votes to Eisen hower, his personal choice. There will be no voting in the pri mary for any of the Republican presi dential candidates, but the governor is deeply involved in a contest for the Republican nomination to the' U. S. Senate. If McKeldin's man loses, Taft forces may slip some of those 24 votes from under McKeldin's thumb. Most Democratic leaders feel Mary land will send an uninstructed Demo COMMANDER noted chiefly for his brilliant planning ability. Although passed over for the Nato post, Gruenther, who will continue to serv as chief of staff, the same post he held under Eisenhower, quickly commented: "It will be no strain of relationships at all to serve under Ridgway" Said Gen. Eisenhower: "Things will be in good hands. We could not do better." Replacing Gen. Ridgway in Tokyo will be Gen. Mark Clark, wartime commander of the U. S. Fifth Army in Italy. There were grumblings over the big command shifts this week, but, generally, comment was favorable. The Rapido Incident Clark, 56 this week, has figured in a number of controversies, the most recent of which occurred when the President picked him as U. S. Ambas sador to the Vatican last year. After a storm of protest, Clark adroitly pulled out of the squabble by announcing he would not accept the nomination. Clark had other problems, the most celebrated of which involved the battle of Cassino in January 1944. The 36th (Texas) Division was badly mauled in an engagement at the Rapido River. The 36th Division Asso ciation of Veterans after the war adopted a resolution calling Clark "an inefficient and inexperienced officer." Clark, backed up by former Secre tary of War Robert P. Patterson, de fended the Rapido attack as a "calcu lated risk." in Dixie cratic delegation to the national con vention. Yet, they are just as sure Sen. Kefauver will run up enough of a showing in the primary to lay claim to Maryland's 18 convention votes. Meanwhile, there were first, faint signs this week of a "Draft Truman" movement within the Democratic party. Like a spring radish, the move ment grew slowly, at first, out of the difficulty the "fair deal" wing of the party has encountered in nuturing any candidate who stacks up as a strong contender against Kefauver. Quotes" Dr. Ales Bebler, Yugoslavia's permanent delegate to the Unit ed Nations: "Yugoslavia is on the western side of the Iron Curtain for good." Ellis Arnall, price stabilizer: "The unmistakable fact is that mot prices, both at wholesale and retail, are either at ceiling or verv close to it." Newsquiz Answers 1. June 1. 2. False. Sixteen states conduct presidential preference pri maries which are advisory, not binding, on the delegates to the conventions. 3. Judge David A. Pine. 4. $3 a ton. 5. An amendment to the Controls Act which makes it mandatory for the Government to allow marvifacturers to pass on to the consumer all in creases in costs from the start of the Korean War to last July 26. 6. The U. S. heavy cruiser St. Paul. 7. Loy W. Henderson. 8. The U. S. -Japanese Security Pact, signed last September at San Francisco. 9. None. One, the U.S.S. Forrestal, is now under con struction. 10. Winston Churchill from "In The Balance," a collection of his 1949 and 1950 speeches. 11. The Mississippi. The two rivers merge at St. Charles, Mo. 12. John J. McCloy. 13. In Eastern Poland near the Rus sian border. 14. The slaughter of 4.500 Polish officers in the forest by as yet unknown murderers. The discovery of the bodies set off international ac cusations and counter - accusations. The Russians blamed the Nazis. The Nazis blamed the Russians. Many wit nesses appearing recently before in quiring committees also blame the Russians. 15. U. S. Vice Adm. Charles Turner Joy. World This Week Newsquiz Answers Will Be 1. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's release as Supreme Commander in Europe was announced by the White House last month. When will the release become effective? 2. All presidential preference primaries are binding on dele gates to the nominating conven tions. True o- false? 3. What is the name of the federal judge who handed down a decision this week in the case of the Government seizure of the nation's steel industry? 4. What price boost was pro posed toward the steel industries under the Capehart Amendment? 5. What is the Capehart Amend ment? 6. The Navy announced the death toll last week in the worst naval disaster of the Korean War. What ship was involved? 7. The United States has agreed to resume military aid to Iran. Terms of the agreement were worked out by Iranian Premier .Mohammed Mcssadegh and the XT. S. Ambassador in Tehran. Who is the Ambassador? 8. The U. S. occupation of Japan officially ended this week. What diplomatic pact immediately went into effect? 9. Adm. William M. Fechteler, Chief of Naval Operations, has Suspense In Korea A STRONG sense of finality hung over the Allied truce camp at Munsan, Korea, this week. Some observers thought the U.N. had made its final offer for a set tlement. Officially, the secret Allied proposals made during full dress truce sessions at Panmunjom were described only as "an over-all solution for the re maining unresolved issues standing in the way of a military armistice." That means it wrapped up in one package the dispute over how to ex change prisoners of war, the Red de mand for the right to rebuild their war-wrecked military airfields, and Communist nomination of Russia as a truce supervisor. Dispatches from Washington quoted Allied diplomats as saying the pro posal handed the Reds at Panmun jom last Sunday was "about the last offer we can make." Official Descriptions Officials in Washington said the secret package offer was a three-point program keyed to the U.N. demand for "non-forcible repatriation" of pris oners of war, which the Reds re peatedly have called a "preposterous demand." In a lengthy attack on the Allied prisoner proposal. Red China's official Peiping Radio said Tuesday night: "It certainly cannot be considered by the Korean and Chinese side." Washington sources said the Allied package deal proposed to (1) allow the Reds to rebuild North Korean military airfields during a truce if (2) the Communists accepted the U.N. principle for prisoner exchange and (3) dropped their nomination of Rus sia as a "neutral nation" to help police an armistice. Communist negotiators wanted to trade Russia off for the airfields and insisted that all POW's must be re turned to their homes. War Actions Infantry action on the front lines picked up this week. Although the fighting was sharper the engagements generally involved units under pla toon size. The Battleship Iowa, flagship of the U. S. Seventh Fleet, moved in close to shore and hurled its big shells at Red ground targets 17 miles inland. The U. S. Destroyer Tnomason and the U. S. Destroyer-Mmesweep Doyle at tacked Red troop and supply areas. In the a:r. all-weather- B-29 Super fort dropped hundreds of tons of bombs on rail bridges and other tar gets in Northwest Korea. Sidelights In Providence. R. I., motorist Rob ert A. Martin, a: rested for speeding, explained to the judge he was trying to catch an hour of time lest to day light saving. The judse was sympa thetic, but fine.i him $10 anyway. In New York the manager of a restaurant was shot in the mouth by holdup men. Casualty: One set of false teeth, which doctors credited with stopping the bullet and saving the restaurant owner's life. In Maidenhead. England, Mrs. Mercy Coffee celebrated her 100th birthday this week. The mayor sent her a birthday present a plug of tobacco for her corncob pipe. This vas a hectic week for the Japanese. The peace treaty went into effect Monday. It was Hirohito's birth day Tuesday. Nobody felt like work ing Wednesday. May Day came Thurs day. Japan's war-renouncing constitu tion was due to be honored Saturday and "The Children's Day," a holiday for centuries, was slated for next week. Found in Column Above come out strongly in favor of more aircraft carriers of 6WK)0 tons displacement for the Navy. How many carriers of this class does the U. S. now have in serv- ice? 10. "There are more people liv ing today 20 stories above the ground in New York than there were living on the ground in New York 100 years ago." This quota tion is from a speech by Vincent Impellitteri, Grover Whalen, Winston Churchill or Herb Shriner? 11. The Missouri River went on the rampage in the Midwest last month. It latei joined with an other famous river to pose an added threat. What was the sec ond river? 12. Western high commissioners in Germany met recently in ex tended sessions with West Ger man leaders to work out a peace contract for Germany. Who is the U. S. High Commissioner for Ger many? 13. The Katyn Forest massacre has attracted much publicity in the past several months. Where is the Katyn Forest? 14. What was the Katyn mas sacre? 15. Who is the chief Allied dele gate at the Korean truce talks? . v V? i mi i i I ii ni io. 1 . m i ii