Abstract

Taft Stands Pat

A drumfire of speeches in the U.S. Senate on January 19, 1951 made it clear that the Great Debate on foreign policy, provoked by President Herbert Hoover and then practically taken over in a burst of non-stop oratory by Senator Robert Alphonso Taft, will soon fizzle out. Taft lacks support in his own party, and no serious doubt can exist that Congress will continue to support the Atlantic Pact while retaining normal control of financial appropriations. But it has been almost impossible for the last few days to attend a press conference or twist a radio dial without hearing Taft expound his views on tactical air power and the defense of the Malay Peninsula, the future of the United Nations, or the U.S. proper attitude toward Europe or Chinese generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.