Will They Get Strauss?

The enemies of Lewis Strauss are a curious lot. Of course they are not all Communists. There are also the anti- Semites. Conde McGinley’s Common Sense (tied with the Alsops’ “Matter of Fact” for American journalism’s most inappropriate title) has attacked Strauss for years. Others in the queer cabal include the “prominent Democrat” who said of the distinguished AEC Chairman: “I just drool at the thought of cutting him up.” The quotation is from Newsweek (March 17), not Krafft-Ebing.

It is the Communists who have the most substantial reasons for attacking Strauss. He has blocked their path since 1947. If they are to fulfill their historic mission they cannot bypass the American nuclear fortress. They must occupy it, reduce it, or perish, for while it is secure they are insecure. The issue is joined in the security program of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. A priori it seems incredible that Strauss should have been indispensable to that program. Historically, that is the way it worked out. If Strauss’ enemies succeed in making a Laocoön of him—because he too has implacably resisted the Trojan Horse—we shall probably meet the fate of Troy. On the other hand, while we secure our historic nuclear advantage Communism withers on the vine.

ME

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Medford Evans

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The enemies of Lewis Strauss are a curious lot. Of course they are not all Communists. There are also the anti- Semites. Conde McGinley’s Common Sense (tied with the Alsops’ “Matter of Fact” for American journalism’s most inappropriate title) has attacked Strauss for years. Others in the queer cabal include the “prominent Democrat” who said of the distinguished AEC Chairman: “I just drool at the thought of cutting him up.” The quotation is from Newsweek (March 17), not Krafft-Ebing.

It is the Communists who have the most substantial reasons for attacking Strauss. He has blocked their path since 1947. If they are to fulfill their historic mission they cannot bypass the American nuclear fortress. They must occupy it, reduce it, or perish, for while it is secure they are insecure. The issue is joined in the security program of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. A priori it seems incredible that Strauss should have been indispensable to that program. Historically, that is the way it worked out. If Strauss’ enemies succeed in making a Laocoön of him—because he too has implacably resisted the Trojan Horse—we shall probably meet the fate of Troy. On the other hand, while we secure our historic nuclear advantage Communism withers on the vine.