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Show Oh Salt fake Gribune ee : Established April | 1S, 1871. Issued every morning by The Salt Lake Tribune ane Publishing 30, 1950 Co., Salt ‘Lake City, Utah President Should Speak for U. S.s Conese ‘Should Keep Out of Politics in Wartime and must to America’s remain in For- far east defenses non-Communist hands tration attitude toward the box east, Formosa bee is vital that especially, because W. Averell Harriman, State department trouble shooter, made a flying trip come ‘mosa MacArthur’ s statement ee General and high military and civilian officials. It further divides Americans at a time unity is — | —it will put us in an automatic war with the President LEAS RL Truman issued one of his own reit- Aan A me A ae alliance with Chiang and tie up our military power so that we could not resist Communist aggression elsewhere. Britain, India and ede bel Pakistan are supporting the United Nations action in Korea. They do not support any. form of United States intervention in For-mosa. All three recognize the Peiping govern- ment and all three have tried to persuade — the United States to accept the fact that it is a governmenti in control. Except for Chiang Kai-shek’s forces we would be in a war against the Communists, without allies, in De tive leadership in Washington and weakens faith of the man in the street that the United States can get out of the current international debacle without disaster. After suppressing the MacArthur state_ment (but not before it was widely published) © © At - sion in other countries, many of them tacitly on our side. It dramatizes the lack of effec- mainland Chinese, traditionally our friends and not yet proved to be Stalinist Communist puppets. Such a war would put us in open 5 desperately needed. Added to the curious — utterance of the secretary of the navy last week end, advocating a preventive war against Russia, it will increase mistrust and confu- et to Tokyo only a few weeks ago to confer with gave antiadministration foes a sharp madehim on that matter. This followed MacAr_to-order political hatchet. But it may do thur’s dramatic surprise visit to the island, _ irreparable damage to our already precarious - where he gave all the appearances of being a __. foreign relations in the Onient.c: The statement was written £6r “phe nabuddy of Chiang Rai-shek, the all bak. sletepted i Nationalist Chinese generalissimo. Gonel convention of the Veterans of Foreign The administration position regarding ForWars, without the knowledge or consent of mosa is admittedly inconsistent and difficult — the commander in chief. Mr. Truman, to explain. The Seventh fleet is patrolling when he heard of it, ordered the general to — the island to quarantine and neutralize it for withdraw the statement, and now the. fat is the ostensible purpose of preventing spread in the fire. The incident points up the furious of the Korean war. But if the Chinese reds breach of long standing between politicians attack Formosa—as they are resolved to do erating that the United States has no designs on Formosa; that we are guarding it to keep defending Formosa. Support of the Asian the war from spreading, and that its future © peoples is desperately. needed in the te as a former_Japanese.territory—issubjeet tointernational settlement. The administration - For ie ‘most part we are regarded as an has tried hard to prevent the appearance of accredited United ‘Nations — agent defending — any “imperialistic” designs on any Asiatic _ Asiatics against im perialism i in Korea. Regardterritory which Communist propagandists - ing Formosa there is a deep suspicion of immight seize upon. | perialistic designs, a suspicion which must The war in Korea and related military nee | have been increased by having our far east © ters should occupy MacArthur’s complete commander put into words the theory that attention. He has no authority, legal or the island is part of our defense line. otherwise, to speak for the United States on Every effort must be made to place Forpolicy matters. Whether one agrees with -mosa’s future status in United Nations hands. aS nat the CaS Trunian administration’s policy or not, it must be clear that the president must be the spokesman for that policy; there must be only one official voice. General MacArthur should have been well acquainted with the adminis- Removal of this. heavy difficult now. The chips yoke are will be more down. From now until November, ‘at least, it will be MacArthur’s infallibility versus gling in eg campaign. Truman’s bun- | |