The Journal

This Week in Washington

Many Washington observers have recently expressed the idea that the best thing about the McCarthy-Army dispute was the fact that it for so long kept the minds of many Americans from dwelling too much upon the Indo-China situation.

The early-April debate in Congress on the crisis in Indo-China would have received wide nationwide play had it alone been the big news story of the moment.

In this debate. the pattern of Congressional thought was so clearly outlined as to hint at what action Congress might prefer when the situation reached the "showdown" stage. When the United States was urging its allies to back the "warning" to the Chinese Reds, Senate floor leader Senator William F. Knowland of California asked that these allies be ready to contribute their share of military strength if the free world had to fight to guard Southeast Asia.

Senator Henry M. Jackson, Democrat of Washington, with apparent approval of some of his colleagues, called for the president to step forth with concrete statements as to what he would require in the way of backing for a Indo-China policy, declaring the Democrats would be found willing to help.

Senator Stuart Symington, Democrat of Missouri, voiced the opinion that the United States appeared to be approaching a great military test in Asia and at the same time was reducing the military establishment.

Senator John Stennis, Democrat of Mississippi, an early critic of what he called a move toward United States involvement, announced that he nevertheless was prepared to see Congress go to war if necessary, always provided that the United States did not go it alone.

A significant fact was that the entire hour and one-half discussion brought out only a single outright expression of opposition
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