Humphrey Scores Contradictions In Ike's Administration Policies

Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minn.) last night sharply criticized the Republican administration of President Eisenhower, calling it "liberal in words and conservative in budget, liberal in promises and conservative in results."

"Politics is something like golf," he asserted, "it isn't just teeing off, but following through that counts."

Before a small but enthusiastic Young Democratic gathering in New Lecture Hall, the liberal Senator slashed at both the domestic and foreign policies of an administration whose basic "premeditated decisions are indecision."

He accused it of being two-faced on TVA and advocating land reform abroad and land "collectivism" at home. Foreign visitors are shown this apex of American achievement one day by governmental officials, and then read the next day that Eisenhower calls it "socialism" at home, he added.

"The corruption in Truman's administration compared to that of this administration is for peasants," Humphrey charged. Their honesty is revealed in their budget statistics, which conveniently leave out requests for military expenditures which are asked for later, he said.

Attacking the GOP theme of "peace and prosperity," he stated that "there is just about as much prosperity in the Middle West as peace in the Middle East, and the administration chooses to ignore both."

"Republicans are not creative, not imaginative, but they are terrific on hindsight," Humphrey said.

He cited several examples where the Republicans borrowed from Democratic proposals, and claimed credit for "bold, new programs."

The soil bank idea, for instance, came directly from a bill that he, himself, had sponsored, under the title of "Acreage Conservation Reserve Bill," he said. The use of "bank" must have made the proposal acceptable, he chided.

The farm problem received special attention in the Senator's attack. "This will be known as the year of two billion-dollar enterprises," he said. "General Motors made a billion, and the farmers lost a billion, that's Republican economics."

"We have had an overdose of public relations, what we need now is some public service. We have had a full measure of popularity preoccupations in Washington, but what we need now is some leadership," he concluded