REVELATIONS OF HIGH LEVEL DISSENSION IN U.S.

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 September 1950, Page 6

REVELATIONS OF HIGH LEVEL DISSENSION IN U.S.

WASHINGTON, September 27.— A bitter feud blew open today with the publication of a biography of Mr Truman in which'he is quoted as say- ' ing that Mr James F. Byrnes “failed ■ miserably as Secretary of .State and I ran out on me when the going was very rough and when I needed him most.” i The biographer, Jonathan Daniels, ! served at the White House under Mr I Roosevelt and Mr Truman, and was closely associated with Mr Truman i in the 1948 election campaign. i He says that Mr Truman lost faith 1 in Mr Byrnes in. 1945. He pictures Mr Truman’as thinking Mr Byrnes was too soft towards the Russians and “lost his nerve” at his first big Moscow conference in 1945. Mr Truman had seen advance proofs of the book, which hit the capital like a ton of bricks and drew a ' counter-blast from Mr Byrnes. Mr Byrnes, who is now an antiTruman candidate for the Gorvernor--1 ship of .South Carolina, said today: i “So he says I ran out on him. Well, i I would call that very slow running.” I Mr Byrnes recalled that he offered I his resignation as Secretary of State in April, 1946, and agreed to stay on i only at the President s request. On ■ a plea of poor health, Mr Byrnes left i office in January, 1947. He said today: “If he (Mr Truman) ; felt that way, why should he have ■ wanted a miserable failure ai’ound at ■ any time?”