The Brutal Truth

Ever since his days as Harry Truman's Secretary of the Air Force, Missourian Stuart Symington has been a man with a mission. A kind of national gadfly, he has stung the U.S. conscience with ominous reminders of the growth of Soviet military power. Last week, in Philadelphia, Freshman Senator Symington charged that the U.S. Government itself had soft-pedaled the Russian threat. Said he: "It is a sad fact that for a long time some of our national leaders--in both parties--have not told us the whole brutal truth about the world in which we live."

Democrat Symington recalled to his listeners the complacency fostered by the Truman Administration. In October 1949, the month after the Russians exploded their first atom bomb, the Truman Administration decided to cut U.S. armed strength. Even Chinese intervention in Korea, said Symington, "did not bring us to our senses . . . We were told that we could handle this new Soviet aggression with one hand, while we piled the other hand high with butter and automobiles and television sets.

"Now the Administration has changed. But one thing has not changed. The policy of butter and guns has not shifted in favor of guns . . . I do not believe this policy is right. Nor would the American people believe it right if they knew the truth."

The Government, said he, should publish answers to such questions as these:

"How many jet bombers has the Soviet? How many has the United Nations?

"How many jet fighters for defense against Russian atomic bombers has the United Nations?

"What is our Government's estimate of that date when the Soviets may have what they consider enough atomic weapons to launch a successful attack . . . against the U.S.?

"Is the size and form of our defense program aimed toward the maximum national defense possible against atomic attack by that date?

"In other words, will we be ready when that critical day comes?"

Concluded Symington: "The answer, in my opinion, is no--and I believe the facts prove it. In any case, why not give the facts to the people . . . Once the truth is understood, Americans will accept any challenge, will make any sacrifice to the end that they and their children can become strong--and therefore remain free."

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