Lievblogging the Cold War: September 19, 1946: Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman: Typed Note: September 19, 1946:
Sept. 19, '46
Mr. Wallace spent 2 1/2 hours talking to me yesterday. I'm not so sure he's as fundamentally sound intellectually as I had thought. He advised me that I should be far to the "left" when Congress was not in session and that I should move right when Congress is on hand and in session. He said F.D.R. did that and F.D. never let his "right" hand know what his "left" hand did!
I'm not so sure that Henry didn't purposely put it over on me with his Madison Square Garden speech. It isn't customary to expect a Cabinet officer to be "fuzzy" in his thinking-- but I'm very much afraid Henry not only is "fuzzy" but that he has absorbed some of the "Commy" - "Jesuit" theory that the end justifies the means.
Henry is a pacifist 100%. He wants us to disband our armed forces, give Russia our atomic secrets and trust a bunch of adventurers in the Kremlin Politburo who have no morals, personal or public. I don't understand a "dreamer" like that. The German-American Bund under Fritz Kuhn wasn't half so dangerous. All the "Artists" with a capital "A", the "parlor pinks" and the soprano voiced men are banded together under the Art Club and call themselves "leftists."
I am afraid they are a sabotage front for Uncle Joe Stalin. They can see no wrong in Russia's 4 1/2 million armed force, in Russia's loot of Poland, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Manchuria. They can see no wrong in Russia's living off the occupied countries to support the military occupation.
But when we help our friends in China who fought on our side, it's terrible. When Russia loots the industrial plant of those same friends it is all right. When Russia occupies Persia for oil that's heavenly although Persia was Russia's ally in the terrible German war. We sent all our supplies which went to Russia by the southern Route through Persia-sent them with Persia's help.
