White House Whitewash

Sweltering last spring in the uncomfortable heat of the Army-McCarthy hearing, President Eisenhower made the statement that the issue of Communism in the Democratic administration and "20 years of treason" would not be a part of this Fall's campaign. Severely, he decried the tactic of impugning the patriotism and loyalty of a responsible sections of the nation's opinion.

But May's rosy glow has been whipped away by the ic political winds the Republicans now feel; reports from the states indicate a Democratic victor tomorrow. In a last minute attempt to win the margin his party needs, Vice President Nixon has been beating the campaign drum with a volley of irresponsible charges, shuttling about the country crying that the Democrats are "soft on communism." The pundits who thought the purge of McCarthy meant a return to sanity now see the Senator returning in the robes of the Vice-President.

Eisenhower's reaction to the campaign has been two-fold. Speaking on Thursday, he reiterated his opinion that the basic issue of the campaign is still the record of his Administration. To this he added that he is not familiar with what the G.O.P. campaigners have been saying across the country, that he has not been consulted about it, and that he assumed the speakers were doing their best in their own way, putting the case as they saw it.

Then, in a letter to his belligerent Vice President, Mr. Eisenhower informed Mr. Nixon that he "can find no words to express my deep appreciation of the contribution you have made" to the campaign. Considered in the light of his springtime pronouncement, such a statement is absurd. It only points out that President Eisenhower has even less control over his party now than the very little that he has shown in the past.