Eyes on Berlin

In the book-lined study of a Georgetown home, two men who frankly dislike each other sat down for a frank conversation. The host was Secretary of State Dean Acheson. His guest was tart-tongued Styles Bridges of New Hampshire, the Senior Republican Senator after the ailing Arthur Vandenberg, and the man who had vowed to "get Acheson."

Dean Acheson's invitation to Bridges was more than a gesture toward restoring bipartisanship in the nation's foreign policy. Country by country, Acheson ticked off to Bridges some of the danger spots in the cold war--Korea, Berlin, Burma. The most dangerous of all, said Dean Acheson, was Berlin.

There were firm indications that some time in May the Communists would try to march half a million youth-organization members into Berlin to force the Western powers out of the German capital (TIME, April 17). There might be serious violence, perhaps out & out fighting between East and West. In defense, the U.S. was prepared to use police action at first--water-hoses or tear gas--and then, if necessary, machine guns. The Western powers would have to stand up against the assault, the State Department believed, for to lose Berlin would be to lose all of Europe.

These harsh facts impressed Styles Bridges. The U.S. should take the strongest action necessary to stay in Berlin, he agreed, and he would use all his influence in the U.S. Senate to back that stand.

Four days later, Styles Bridges was invited to the White House. Again it was a meeting of political enemies. Only three weeks earlier, President Truman had denounced Bridges as a "saboteur" of U.S. foreign policy. Again both sides got along with wary amicability. They had "a very satisfactory talk," said the President afterwards. The meeting was a "very eminent gesture," said Bridges, though he reserved the right to "speak my views when I deem it desirable." Out of the meeting came an agreement to keep Republican Leaders Taft and Wherry posted on all future sessions, as well as the Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

By announcing so early and so explicitly its intention to remain firm, the U.S. was making it plain to Moscow that any bloodshed in Berlin would be on Russia's hands.

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