Home Again

Washington's mood last week was like the calm after the storm. With less sniping at the Administration than might have been expected in an election year, the Senate overwhelmingly ratified the U.S.-Japanese Security Treaty that Japanese leftists had tried to wreck. With the treaty ratified by both nations (see FOREIGN NEWS), Premier Nobusuke Kishi promised to resign, but the offer had been expected, and it set off no tremors.

Appearing before a Senate subcommittee, Secretary of State Christian Herter conceded that the State Department had "misjudged" the situation in Japan in the weeks before the President's scheduled visit. But Herter insisted that the picture of grievous damage done to the U.S.'s prestige was "definitely overdrawn," and nobody offered any convincing rebuttal.

Loss in Authority. In keeping with the calm, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's final report on the U-2 imbroglio proved to be so mild that all but two of the Republican members signed it without reservations. It chided the Administration for lack of "coordination" and high-level "direction" in the handling of the U-2 incident, but agreed with Secretary Herter that "the basic realities of the world situation have not greatly changed."

But above the calm brooded a vague sense that something had changed, and that change had nothing to do with the balance of power, the U.S.'s prestige in the world, or the U.S. presidency. It had to do with Dwight Eisenhower, who, admittedly looking forward to retirement, conscious of the fact that his successor would be nominated within the month, had lost some of his once vast, global personal authority. Cartoonists portrayed him more and more as a perplexed fellow.

New Strength. This week Ike, tanned and relaxed from a six-day golfing stopover in Hawaii, flew back to Washington. He had sent word ahead that he wanted no big welcoming. Nonetheless, upwards of 200 greeters were at the airport. "How was your trip, Mr. President?" asked a newsman. "Pretty good," said Ike.

While on the way home, Ike had worked over his TV speech to the nation this week. The tenor of the speech was that Ike felt that his trip was considerably better than "pretty good." U.S. relations with the Philippines, Nationalist China and Korea were "greatly strengthened." As for Japan, in spite of the "outrageous conduct of a violent and disorderly minority," he had been assured that the people were, in general, anxious to welcome him.

With a slight edge honed for those who have been criticizing his "personal diplomacy," Ike noted that personal good-will visits could frequently bring about "favorable results far transcending those of normal diplomatic conferences." Informal heads-of-state meetings can occasionally be profitable on broad problems and principles. "But heads-of-government meetings are not effective mechanisms for developing detailed provisions of international compacts, and have never been so considered by this government."

Note of Anger. One reason that the Communists went to such efforts to disrupt his visit to Japan, Ike felt, was that his good-will missions to Western Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America had been so successful. "A major aim of international Communism is to drive a wedge between Japan and the U.S." Above all, noted the President in a rare flight of anger, the free world must not let itself be "bluffed, cajoled, blinded or frightened. We cannot win out against the Communist purpose to dominate the world by being timid, passive or apologetic when we act in our own and the free world's interests."

In view of the brief span in office left to him, Ike had decided he would probably not make any more trips abroad as President. But if circumstances changed, he would not hesitate to undertake another journey to strengthen the free world's bonds of friendship. "No consideration of personal fatigue or inconvenience, no threat or argument would deter me from once again setting out on a course that has meant much for our country, for her friends, and for the cause of freedom --and peace with justice in the world."

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