Presidential Papers, Doc#562 To Alfred Maximilian Gruenther, 3 February 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Doc #563

Document #562; February 3, 1958
To Alfred Maximilian Gruenther
Series: EM, AWF, Administration Series
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIX - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace
Part IV: Recession and Reform; February 1958 to May 1958
Chapter 8: "To engender confidence"

 

Dear Al: I begin to be impressed by your mail. While I had, of course, assumed that you were writing these documents yourself--not believing anybody else could be so eloquent considering the subject--I think that there must be some other explanation.1

In any event, the latest one, from Mr. Walker, gave you an opportunity to set forth in interesting and lucid fashion the problem America has in this cold war business. So even if these "Letters to the Editor" have their origin in your own staff, I still approve of all the things that the answers contain.2

At Augusta the bridge was above average in quality; the weather was so bad as to permit one no truly expressive opinion.3 As ever

1 Gruenther's January 30 note (AWF/A) forwarded correspondence from Paul Walker in response to the request made by Eisenhower on the evening of January 28. Eisenhower had asked for another letter in support of his presidency. "But you didn't think I had one, did you?" Gruenther joked. "Well here it is, just off the top of the pile--merely one of many." Walker was the editor of the Harrisburg (Penn.) Home Star. His letter, which apparently had praised a speech Gruenther had recently made, is not in AWF.

2 Gruenther had also included with his note his reply to Walker (AWF/A). Gruenther had written that national security consisted of "much more than military strength." Even if the United States had stationed throughout Europe all the ballistic missiles it wanted, they "would not contribute in the slightest to the amelioration of the poverty and squalor which exist in a large portion of the world," he explained. The cold war was also being fought outside Europe, and the Administration's programs supporting the Mutual Security Act and the extension of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act were essential in fighting the battle (see nos. 370 and 524). "The American people must understand clearly that a satisfactory solution will not be reached by military measures alone." Gruenther called on Walker and other community leaders to urge Congress to pass the Administration's program (Gruenther to Walker, Jan. 30, 1958, AWF/A, Gruenther Corr.).

3 Eisenhower had left Washington on January 31 for three days of golf at Augusta National Golf Club.

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Alfred Maximilian Gruenther, 3 February 1958. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 562. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/562.cfm

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