Some Gilded Roses

In the 1954 elections, said Dwight Eisenhower last December, the Republican Party will stand or fall on its record of accomplishments, particularly its legislative program. At times, after he made that statement, his legislative program seemed to be falling more often than it was standing. But last week, with considerable justification, the President found a handy word to describe the prospects for his proposals on Capitol Hill. His word: rosy.

A Pleasant Weekend. At his press conference the President, newly tanned from a weekend at his Camp David retreat in the Maryland mountains, wore a pleased expression. Said he: "In the past week there has been such great progress in both Houses that I think the prospects are looking up. As a matter of fact, I would say the prospects are rosy that there will be placed before the public this fall a record of accomplishment of which any Congress, any Administration, could be proud. Particularly the farm bill that passed in the House and the tax bill in the Senate, made my weekend, at least, a very, very much more pleasant affair." Ike admitted candidly that his program had not been entirely successful; there had been some disappointments. "I would be just guilty of misrepresentation if I just said all the world is rosy, and all the roses are gilded. But if we [have] had a straightforward, across-the-board progress that shows that men have stood up to be counted and had the courage to go ahead in doing what they think is right, then I think we have got a pretty good record ... I think by the time . . . Congress goes out, we are going to look pretty good."

A Principle Established. Congress' compromise bill to support basic farm prices at 82 1/2% to 90% of parity, said the President, was not even a compromise.

"So far as I am concerned, I don't mind telling you I look upon it as a great and sweeping victory. We have got a long-term principle established in a positive way . . .

I was delighted." When a reporter asked if he planned to take his program before the people this fall (i.e., to campaign personally with it), the President responded firmly and promptly: "If it is as good as I think it is, I would be proud to." The President's program still faces a struggle in Congress in the next fortnight, but its prospects for survival look good.

Of ten major legislative items proposed by the Administration, two--the St. Lawrence Seaway and the tax revisions--have passed as clear-cut victories for Ike. Two other bills--Hawaiian statehood and the revisions of the Taft-Hartley law--have been blocked by Democratic action, will probably die with the current Congress. Foreign aid and the broadening of social security have passed the House in good form, with Senate approval very likely.

The farm bill faces a tough Senate fight; the housing bill has been complicated by compromises, will probably emerge as a small gain for the President. Extension of reciprocal trade was cut from the three years Ike originally requested to one year, must be counted as a defeat for the President. No final action has been taken on the tenth bill--the revision of the Atomic Energy Act.

In balance, the Eisenhower program was in good health last week, considering the circumstances, and Ike's bullishness was justified.

Last week the President also:

P:Received an optimistic report from Ambassador to Italy Clare Boothe Luce.

Western diplomats in Europe, Mrs. Luce told the President, feel confident that the Trieste problem will be solved "in the not too distant future," and that Italy will ratify EDC "in the foreseeable future." After that the Italians "will be able to play a far more dynamic and democratic part in Europe."

P:Greeted Generalissimo Franco's daughter, the Marquesa de Villaverde, and her husband at a White House tea.

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