U.S. PRESIDENCY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 18 April 1944, Page 2

U.S. PRESIDENCY

THE MACARTHUR CORRESPONDENCE

MORE PRESS COMMENT ( Rec. 1.20 p.m.) Washington, April 17. “General MacArthur’s very fine state ment clarifies the atmosphere. I still think the general will be available and can be drafted.” says Mr Miller, who added that General MacArthur is the one man who could provide experi enced military leadership in the White House, shorten the war and bring the boys back home. Concerning General MacArthur’s repudiation of the suggestions that he wa> criticising the Administration, Mr Miller declared: “I never felt General Mac Arthur was attacking the New Deal although he agreed with some of my thoughts.” Most Republican leaders agreed will: Mr Miller’s interpretation of General MacArthur's availability for nomination. “Political realists at Washington believe that General MacArthur has lost whatever chance he had for ihc Republican nomination, firstly through Mi Willkic's defeat in the Wisconsin primary, and secondly through the release of the Miller correspondence,” says the “New York Post’s” political correspondent, who adds: “General MacArthur looks very much like severa other Republican candidates. It i.‘ tragic for his high reputation that thi.< has happened, but possibly it is fortunate for the country.” The “New York Sun” comments that the Miller correspondence has dis qualified General MacArthur not only for the Presidential but also for the Vice-Presidential nomination. "Prominent Republicans point oui that before the letters were publishec there was a good chanco that the ticket might be Dewey or MacArthur, but not now. General MacArthur’s political ac tivity while on active duty overseas ir an important military command woulc be difficult to defend. It w-ould certainly be used by the Democrats as an argu ment that the Republican Party concones politics in the mifitary services Democrats in the forthcoming politica campaign are unquestionably going tc emphasise the President’s trials and tribulations. and will endeavour to show * s a . Political cabal in the Southest Pacific seeking to undermine the Lommander-in -Chief.”