Editorial
EDITORIAL The McCarthy Case Ever since the shock which greeted the Administration's capitulation to Senator McCarthy, Washington has been buzzing with plans for curbing him. The simplest and...
...But the circumstances surrounding the betrayal of Army Secretary Stevens indicate that this is most unlikely...
...And McCarthy's buddy, Scott McLeod, has been stripped by Secretary Dulles of decisive power over State Department personnel...
...The condition of such people, to whom ideology and grandiose ambitions become more real than the world around them, was well described by Eric Hoffer in his book, The True Believer...
...Details of the Javits plan were spelled out in the New York Times Magazine of February 28...
...This one is strictly for the grandstand...
...In the first place, McCarthy will accept nothing which does not suit him from a GOP conference...
...They are about as representative of Puerto Rico as the Trotskyites are of the United States...
...Why did these four act the way they did...
...Nor can much be expected of the GOP promise that other Republican members of McCarthy's committee will sit in at his hearings...
...Among these must be numbered the four fanatics who sprayed the House of Representatives with bullets, wounding five Congressmen in an effort to "dramatize" their program...
...The Civil Service Commission now says that, of more than 2,400 persons released from Government jobs by the Eisenhower Administration, only 383 could be classified as "possible subversives...
...The simplest and surest plan would be for the President of the United States to crack down...
...True Believers No matter how many people are satisfied with social conditions, no matter how many more are agreed on methods and mechanisms for peaceful change, every society has its discontented few who can write off reality, secure in the knowledge that they bear the only true faith...
...They employ terror against the United States, even though President Eisenhower is prepared to recommend independence any time the Puerto Ricans ask for it...
...In March 1954, this is locking the barn after the horse has been stolen, but it is nevertheless a step in the direction of sanity...
...Secondly, excellent fair-practice codes for committees were introduced long ago (by Congressman Keating of New York and Senator Douglas of Illinois), but have been steadfastly ignored by Republican officials...
...With most Democrats sympathetic, the Javits bill would undoubtedly pass if the President backed it...
...Because the Javits bill so plainly merits the support of all Democrats and Republicans who wish to handle the subversive issue responsibly, it furnishes another clear test of how sincere the Administration is in its periodic vaguely-anti-McCarthy statements, press releases and "clarifications...
...If the former commander of SHAEF was unmoved by the humiliation of one of his most heroic D-Day generals, he will take an awful lot...
...It is sad to contemplate...
...Jacob K. Javits (R.-N.Y...
...The Nationalists demand complete independence for Puerto Rico, even though the overwhelming majority of Puerto Ricans prefer Commonwealth status...
...In the absence of Presidential leadership, Congressmen have been turning over plans to mollify the revulsion against McCarthy and the appeasement of McCarthy...
...Javits has introduced legislation which would simultaneously (1) replace the existing McCarthy Investigations Subcommittee, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and the House Un-American Activities Committee with a single joint committee of fourteen members, chosen without regard to seniority, and (2) establish a stringent code of fair procedures for that committee...
...But, thus far, the White House has shown no interest...
...one of the original Eisenhower backers...
...The President seems to believe that McCarthy can help the Republicans win the November elections, so he will not break with him...
...Meanwhile, we must be grateful for two small favors...
...According to Puerto Rican Governor Luis Munoz Marin, this group has about 500 members and does not participate in Puerto Rican elections because it fears a public display of its weakness...
...Far more serious action is proposed by Rep...
...has decided to get all the committee chairmen together to discuss improving committee procedures...
...an unchecked McCarthy can do immense damage between now and November...
...This is the mark of the true believer—a faith that defies reality, an arrogance that transcends humanity...
...This is a far cry from the "2,000 traitors" advertised by GOP orators, but one should be very skeptical even about the 383 figure, because we still have only a hazy notion of what is meant by a "possible subversive...
...However, those who see beyond partisan interest can only be disturbed by the Administration's attitude...
...These four were members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist group which made a previous attempt on the life of President Truman...
...Senator Homer Ferguson (R.-Mich...
...Because they felt they "knew better," because they believed independence should be imposed even if the people did not want it...
...Although Senator Potter has occasionally bucked his chairman, Senators Mundt and Dirk-sen were McCarthy fans long before they helped take Secretary Stevens for a ride...
...This belief privately delights Democratic strategists, who think it will regain for them many of the independent voters who switched to Ike in '52, while McCarthy enthusiasts among the Landon voters of '36 will hardly be enabled to vote more than once each in '54...
Vol. 37 • March 1954 • No. 10
