Chapter 13 A Little Heroic Image of Harry in the Night-1

This is a sentence that Acheson praised Truman.From Shakespeare's "Henry Fifth".Harry is a nickname for Henry, the king's name.Shakespeare said his servants were inspired by his optimism and steadfastness in times of trouble.Of its excellence, "his clumsy pen" can only describe his "a little heroic image... in the dark night".Truman's name is also Harry, so Acheson quoted this phrase to praise Truman. ——Translator The banner of world leadership shifted from the dying British Empire to the United States. We can determine the time and place. On Friday afternoon, February 21, 1947, Lord Inverchapel, the British ambassador to Washington, called the State Department to say that he had an urgent meeting with George Marshall, who had just succeeded Bernas as Secretary of State.The ambassador said he was ordered to deliver "a blue paper" to the White House.According to the idiomatic language of diplomacy, it refers to formal and important correspondence.Dean Acheson said Marshall had left the State Department to attend and speak on the bicentennial of Princeton University.Can we wait until Monday?

Not really, Inverchapell replied.He was going to have the papers sent at once by H. M. Sicil, his first secretary.This raises a peer-to-peer reception problem.Acheson was a deputy secretary of state, and it would be a breach of diplomatic etiquette to receive a first secretary.Find someone with a lower rank.He therefore appointed the Director of the Far East and Africa Division, Roy Henderson, as his representative.So the two low-level diplomats met in a gloomy office in the administration building that evening, and the first step in the westward shift of world leadership began. Sicil actually brought two documents.According to Acheson's later recollection, both items were "amazing".The situation in Greece was chaotic, and Acheson knew it.It was reported that the Communist Party was preparing to take over the government, rumors were that the British army was withdrawing, and Henderson had also typed a report entitled "Crisis and the Possibility of Immediate Collapse", arguing that the only way to save Greece was for the United States to deal with it. The coalition government there provides massive assistance.But until then, there is little sign of the extent of Greece's doom.The document that Acheson has seen now states that Greece needs more than 200 million U.S. dollars as the first emergency aid, otherwise it will have to succumb to the brutal Russian aggression.The second document said Turkey was also in trouble.They are a little stronger, but they will be conquered without assistance.Britain is helpless.Six years of anti-Nazi struggle had exhausted Britain and dried up its financial resources.In fact, they too are in dire need of dollar bailouts.It will not be long before Lord Inverchapel will again come to the Americans for help in person.

After Truman learned of this situation, he couldn't help being surprised.He didn't expect the situation to be so bad.Churchill had, of course, warned him that Europe had become "a place of rubble, a hall of bones, a breeding ground for epidemics and hatred", but most people believed that this was nothing more than Churchill's sensational statement.The press either ignored or downplayed Europe's plight. "Time" magazine has always been known for being good at spotting sharp-tongued bystanders. It once quoted the widow (unnamed) of a Czech partisan as saying: "We don't need much, but we need it urgently." It sounds reasonable, because they believe that the European continent, like the United States, will rebuild its peacetime economy after a short period of chaos and adjustment.The week after the victory over Japan, the President had studied the Allies' request for an extension of Lend-Lease, but had not granted it.The $40 billion provided under the Lend-Lease law should be sufficient, he said.Lend-Lease must end as soon as possible.He firmly opposed the United States continuing to be the benefactor of the world after the September 1945 victory.

De Gaulle protested against this, Chiang Kai-shek also opposed it, and Churchill yelled: "I can't believe that this is the final decision of the United States. I can't believe that such a great country will deal with problems so simply and bluntly." In fact, the United States did not To do so is to give up one method and replace it with other methods, the main one of which is the United Nations Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Administration.But despite spending $11 billion on credits and grants, the Low Countries, France, Italy, West Germany, and the Balkans were poor and desperately short.For two years after the war, well-organized Berliners dug thousands of graves in autumn, before the arrival of ice and snow, for their neighbors who seemed never to see another spring.The supplies that UNRRA sent to Greece were only enough to replace the corroded water pipes and pumps in Athens with new ones, and solve the damaged city-wide water supply system.The Nazi tyranny was defeated, but what followed was not freedom, but hunger and chaos.From the Aegean Sea to the North Sea, this is the case.After being looted by the Germans, bombed by bombs and destroyed by resistance fighters, the factory was cold and desolate, and there was no smoke.Anyway, there were no raw materials at all, and even if a miracle happened, the railway network would be in disarray, and it would be impossible to transport them to the factory.It seemed that political leadership was about to pass to the Soviet Union: if for no other reason than simply because there was no other way out.

The State Department understood the need for a colossal rescue, and initially looked to Britain and her vast empire to provide it. In July 1946, Truman signed a bill authorizing a $3.75 billion 50-year loan to the Crown Government.He thought that in this way the United States would be relieved of its obligations to Europe.But now that the money has been spent, there is little to say.There are about 17,000 houses in London, accounting for a quarter of the city, and they are still dilapidated.Temporarily set up 10,000 Nissen-style prefabricated houses to meet the urgent needs, but there are too few monks and many monks, which can only meet a small part of the needs.While American women debated whether to adopt the new style, their English sisters were rationed every year for only one long coat, four ounces of wool, two yards of material, 1/3 of a petticoat, 1/4 of a suit, and 1/5 of a suit. pajamas.The victory brought nothing but the survival of the great ally of the United States.

But survival was a question, as the harsh winter that had begun in January 1947 threatened Britain.For two months in a row, temperatures have been below freezing and storms have brought blankets of snow in unprecedented quantities, crippling Britain.Agricultural production fell below nineteenth-century levels; industrial production ground to a halt, and electricity was only available for a few hours each morning.Unemployment rose to more than six million, and rations were tighter than during the war.As Sicil rode down Pennsylvania Avenue on a bitterly cold Friday with two documents (one on Greece, the other on Turkey), the White House also predicted that "more bad".The Times of London described the prophecy as "the most disturbing statement ever published by the British government".The President invited Herbert Hoover to travel around 24 countries. He reported after his return that the people of all countries, especially the children who were homeless during the war, were on the verge of starvation.Only the United States will help on an unprecedented scale, and it will be saved.Only then did no one doubt that Europe was indeed in great distress.

But Hoover's own Republican partners in Congress were dubious.Many people are talking about Uncle Sam being scammed again, about pouring money down a mouse hole, or paying a global engineering and development agency, about the inevitable bankruptcy of the American ideal.Europeans, in turn, were greatly irritated by such indifference. Anti-Americanism has spread.A military chaplain said that in the eyes of mainlanders, American soldiers are poor young men who don't understand why they fight or the meaning of victory.There were only three things they were interested in: sleeping with women, stealing brandy, and waiting for a slot on the next boat back home.The Reverend Renwick Kennedy wrote of the typical image of a soldier in the American occupation army: "He is bloated, fat, overfed, lonely, bored, brooding, less observant, and more superficial in thought." —a conqueror, but with a bar of chocolate in one pocket and a pack of cigarettes in the other... chocolate and cigarettes, that's all the conqueror can give to the conquered."

The claim made its way to Capitol Hill, sending lawmakers into a rage. For the first time since the 1930s, parliamentarians began to talk about Europe's gratitude.But the problem of Greece and Turkey is not the only one.The Communists posed a real threat there.Now that Britain can no longer easily disperse them, Washington has no choice but to pick up the burden.To have Europe enslaved by the hammer and sickle seems unthinkable.Because this means that the Soviet Union's steel production capacity, shipbuilding equipment, skilled labor, power generation and output of the chemical industry, science and technology and factory equipment will all double.Under those conditions, and only under those conditions, Russia has the strength to contend with the United States. "I think that if we lose Western Europe," General Forrest Sherman testified before a congressional committee, "...it will be increasingly difficult for us to keep ourselves. Conversely, even if we lose the entire continent of Asia, we will still Survive, rally, and possibly take it back."

This consideration was valid, although not urgent in 1947.The Russians are remembered as heroic allies.Disappointment with her had begun to deepen, but only to demoralize; the Second World War had been brutal, but the lines had been clear; , but it is undeniably chilling. In 1946, Herbert Bayard Swope coined the term "Cold War" in a speech by Bernard Baruch.Baruch thought the word was too strong and crossed it out.By April 13, 1947, after another year of Soviet brutality, Baruch finally used the term in a speech in Columbia, South Carolina.Even so, it means nothing more than "ideological confrontation".As late as May 1950, before the outbreak of the Korean War, Paul Hoffman was a famous American business leader. ——The translator can also say: "The cold war is a good form of war, the only problem is that this kind of war does not cause destruction."

But even in 1947 it was clear that ideological superiority alone would not drive General Marcos and his 20,000 Communist (National Liberation Front) partisans from the mountains of Greece.What the legitimate Greek government needs is what the Department of State's Policy Planning Division calls "enormous non-ideological assistance," which is to say: artillery.Guns are easier than butter to win the yes votes of the anti-communist Republicans in Congress.Truman and his advisers were determined to do both.However, according to their experience, using a piecemeal approach to undertake tasks, the effect is not satisfactory.What Europe needs is reconstruction, not relief.America needs a foreign policy worthy of the name.In search of a proper theoretical basis for practical foreign measures, the government finally found an article in a new issue of the authoritative quarterly magazine Foreign Affairs.The article is entitled "Basis for Soviet Behavior".The author's attribution uses only an "X".

This "X" turned out to be George F. Kennan, a brilliant scholar of Russian psychology although he hadn't come to the fore.He wrote this thesis while he was a counselor at the American embassy in Moscow. In 1946, Stalin delivered a speech to a grand meeting of the staff of the Communist Party, indicating that he would take a tough line.This dictator opposed coexistence with democracies and pledged to carry on the proletarian world revolution.Kennan felt compelled to write this article after a careful study of the speech.In Kennan's view, the Soviet leaders had spent a quarter of a century under the suspicion and suspicion of the West, and their mood was unbalanced, some frightened preachers of Marxism.Communism was their religion, the tranquilizer they took in their insecurity.According to Kennan's analysis, from the perspective of theology rather than politics, communism has become one of the important religious beliefs in the world, with dogma, ceremony, and historical mission, everything is available.It is indestructible like Islam etc.Where society is unhealthy and people demand reform, it will have an impact like Islam.Once people believe in it, it can never be completely undone.But one can contain it—that is, confine it within the borders of the country already obsessed. Under the conditions of the 1940s, the containment policy was in line with the realities of the time.To Harry Truman, this view made perfect sense.He declared that the United States, as the largest and richest free nation, had obligations to the "free world."The president promoted Kennan's views so hard that people called them the "Truman Doctrine."According to his directive, these views were written into the National Security Council's Policy Paper No. 68, which has become, in Dean Acheson's view, "one of the great policy directions in the history of our country." ".In fact, before Kennan's article became the US Cold War strategic policy, Acheson had already outlined these principles in front of the president at a meeting with leaders of both houses and parties.He believes that this is related to the future of Turkey and Greece.He later wrote: "Never in my life have I spoken with such an urgent feeling that the question is entirely up to me." After he finished speaking, there was a long silence.Then Arthur Vandenberg turned to Truman and said, "Mr. President, if you take this to Congress and to the nation, I will support you. I think most members of Congress will support you as well." He made a speech, and they, of course, expressed their support. On March 12, Truman asked the joint meeting of the two chambers to allocate 400 million yuan, 250 million yuan to Greece, and 120 million yuan to Turkey.Afterwards, Truman, Marshall, Acheson, and Vandenberg stepped onto the podium one by one to spread the gospel of "containmentism" to all influential groups in the country.This went on until May 22, when the president finally signed the bill to aid Greece and Turkey in the temporary office of the Muirbach Hotel in Kansas City. At the time, the Truman Doctrine was considered a masterpiece.The loudest in the opposition were the right-wing chiefs, who advocated the "drive back" of the Communists to their pre-war borders.But some of the questions mildly raised by some of the naysayers remained unanswered a quarter of a century later.Senator Taft, referring to the imminent acceptance of American arms by the governments of Greece and Turkey, suggested that, whatever the nature of the problem, Congress should be particularly careful not to delegate the power of waging war to the President.General Albert Wedemeyer argued that containment would lead to foolish military action, since the Russians could engage in aggressive provocations on the borders of their satellite states, "using their C-teams against our A-teams," and confuse the United States. to exhaustion.Adding to the disquiet was Walter Lippmann's excellent refutation of Kennan's, in which he added his own arguments in support of Wedemeyer. Lippmann's slim book, published in 1947, is titled The Cold War: A Study of American Foreign Policy.He refers to Mr. Kennan as "Mr. X" throughout the book, which is both polite and overwhelming.He quoted an article in the "Foreign Affairs" quarterly, and specifically mentioned Kennan's point of view, "Where there are signs of Communist Party aggression," there must be "unswerving counterattacks."He wrote: If the Soviet Union were an island like Japan, the United States could block it with air and sea power.Unfortunately, it is a continental power.In this case, containment can only be achieved by confrontation between the two armies, or by endless bloody guerrilla warfare. "Eurasia is vast," he pointed out tartly, "and American military power has its limits." Now the Greek partisans have turned their struggle to the mountains, where modern weapons are of no use and infantry skill matters. everything.Lippmann went on to say: Using the strategy of containment, the number of winners and losers will depend on the army conscripted by the country or the army of the slave country.But no matter which aspect, it will make the United States desperate.The United States must eventually "get rid of its puppets, and to do so would be tantamount to appeasement of the Soviet Union, admitting defeat, and losing face," or it would be left "on an unforeseen, and perhaps quite nasty, issue that we did not intend ", were forced to support these puppets, and paid an incalculable price.Lippmann repeatedly mentioned the problems of Asia and the traps the region has set for diplomats obsessed with a strategy of containment.Accepting the challenge in Asia will enable the Communist Party to choose the battlefield, choose what weapons to fight with, and even choose which country's Communist forces to fight with.His conclusion: "It is difficult for me to understand how Mr. X could even propose containment of this monster as our strategy." But 18 months later, Greece was pacified, Turkey was no longer weak, and George Kennan was famous.People in Washington reminded each other: Lippmann did not predict things like a god, after all, he once miscalculated Roosevelt.But this time his instincts were right.It is true that centrists in Greece probably would not have come to power without US aid.But this victory would not have been conceivable had it not been for Tito's quarrel with the Communist Intelligence Service, which resulted in the closure of the border between Yugoslavia and Greece, so that General Marcos could not hide.Later, because the situation in Greece and North Korea was somewhat similar on the surface, those who argued for containment and "limited war" became more plausible; but the problem of sanctuary, which was not resolved at that time, also played a role in leading to the Vietnam War.It is worth noting that professional soldiers like MacArthur and Bradley, though very different in other respects, both considered a war of the kind Lippmann estimated to be a nightmare. This is the dark side of containment.The bright side is the Marshall Plan.It started with the Truman Doctrine and became its great sequel.If Kennan's foresight is not as thankful as people think it is in regard to Greece and Turkey, then the gratitude of Western Europe to us is immeasurable.In terms of later developments, the Marshall Plan (its official name is ERP, the European Recovery Plan) was unanimously endorsed, just like social insurance. If there is one individual who promoted the European recovery plan, it should be said that Under Secretary of State Will Clayton.After visiting Europe for six weeks, on his way back home, he formally proposed in writing that avoiding war in the next ten years was the only choice.In every country he visited, subversive activities were undermining national unity and independence. "Because of hunger, economic hardship, and frustration," he wrote, "the subversive campaigns have taken effect in some newly liberated countries." He advised the president and the State Department to shake the American people into action.After he flew to Washington from Zurich, he immediately sent the written report to Acheson, and Acheson forwarded it to the president.Acheson reminded Truman that he had directed him to speak on behalf of the President at a small rally in the South on May 8, and that if the American people were to be shaken, it should be fired there. Truman agreed.Thus, the concept of the European Renaissance Project was first presented to an American audience at the State Teachers College in Cleveland, a remote town in Mississippi.Acheson told the audience: just after the severe winter, the Nordic people were almost destroyed; it is not easy to survive abroad.He said: "Today, one of the main purposes of our foreign policy is to use our economic and financial resources so that more people can survive. If we are to maintain our own freedom and our democratic institutions, we must It has to be done. For the security of our country, we have to do it. And at the same time, it’s our duty and our honor as human beings to do it.” That's what the Marshall Plan is, in a nutshell.But Marshall's name hadn't been named yet.The Mississippiians took up the speech, and the New York Times, with advance notice, carried it on its first page, with an analysis by James Reston.But the news agencies paid little attention, because economic reports were considered to be as dull as bureaucratic screeds.But if General Marshall spoke, the press would take notice.So he was going to release the second test balloon.His speech was originally scheduled to be delivered at the commencement ceremony of Amherst College on June 16, but was later delivered at the commencement ceremony of Harvard University on June 5. At the same time, Dean Acheson was agitating journalists everywhere to demand They support.This all speaks to the urgency of the rapid deterioration of the European economy.Acheson was particularly proactive with British journalists, he spoke to Leonard Miall of the BBC, Malcolm Muggeridge of the Daily Telegraph and Rene McColl of the Daily Express Said: "Don't waste your time writing the report. As soon as you receive the speech, you call the full text back to London. One of you asks the editor to send a full copy to Ernie Bevin immediately. No matter what the night Wake O'Neill up at the hour and hand over the full text to him." General Marshall spoke for 15 minutes on the Harvard campus.He first described the fragmentation of the "European economic structure", and said that the remedy is to "interrupt this vicious circle and restore confidence to the European people in their own countries and in the economic prospects of Europe as a whole".America must continue to provide assistance.The figure he is now considering is about 17 billion yuan.But the aimless spending of money like UNRRA must end and be replaced by a new program. "European countries need to meet the needs of the current situation, and no matter what actions our government takes, our country should cooperate and play a role, so that it can produce the desired effect, and we should achieve some kind of coordination." The United States has made suggestions, and now it is its turn Europe takes action. Europe took steps almost immediately, thanks to the swiftness of Muggerich's actions.It was past midnight in England, but a Telegraph correspondent pedaled his bicycle to take Mugridge's report to the home of the sleeping Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin.Muggerich acted on Acheson's suggestion and sent the full text back to London by long-distance telephone.Bevin and Georges Pidour of France called an all-European conference in Paris almost immediately.After the conference, Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Ireland, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and later West Germany all applied to Washington for financial assistance.After six weeks of debate, Congress rejected Taft's proposed amendment to cut $1 billion, and formally approved the plan, and allocated another $597 million as a transitional fund before this long-term aid took effect. The so-called "Marshall gap." On April 14, 1948, 11 days after President Truman signed the European Recovery Plan, the veritable cargo ship "John H. He left the port of Galveston and sailed to the port of Bordeaux with more than 9,000 tons of wheat.This was the first of a fleet of six ships to carry emergency supplies to France.The Marshall Plan provided Europe with a total of $12.5 billion, less than he had expected to need.There are other programs that have sprung from it, such as the Displaced Persons Program, which made 339,000 Europeans US citizens.This is a proud page in American history.Naturally, the Russians were not happy.They also announced that a "Molotov plan" was about to be implemented, but there was no follow-up.At this time, Henry Wallace, who leaned sharply to the left, called the European recovery plan "war plan" in the original text, which is "martial", which is homonymous with Marshall's Marshall. — translator.Seventy-five members of the House opposed it.In the Senate, newly-elected Senator Joseph R. McCarthy demanded that for every dollar spent, the United States should get back a dollar's worth of strategic supplies, or corresponding foreign bases. Despite his clamor, European leaders were deeply moved and elated.This is especially true in the UK.Churchill praised the European recovery plan, calling it "the most generous act in history".The London "Economist" weekly said that "never has a country supported other countries with such integrity and generosity".Two and a half years later, when Britain was able to gain a foothold again, the "Manchester Guardian" said: "It is not enough to express gratitude in an ordinary way. In the history of international relations, this is one of the most brilliant achievements." At that time, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Gaitskell added: "We are a nation that is not easily emotional ... and not verbal. But these traits should not obscure our sincere and deep gratitude to the American people." Across the English Channel, on the Continent, everything had changed.Malnutrition has disappeared.People can wear cold clothes to survive the winter, and raw materials are continuously transported into the factory, and they are pulled by new diesel locomotives running on new rails; Saar and Ruhr are revived, and the factory is busier than before the war .The Marshall Plan directly led to Jean Monat's "Coal and Steel Pool" in 1951. In April 1951, France, Italy, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Rwanda concluded the 50-year European Coal and Steel Pool Treaty in Paris. ", with the support of the United States, tried to coordinate the contradictions of production and sales among various countries.——Translator." "Coal and Steel Joint Venture" After six years, it led to the Treaty of Rome and the European Economic Community or Common Market, March 25, 1957, above The six countries officially signed a treaty on the establishment of the "Common Market". — translator.The Common Market, on the other hand, grew and could later rival the United States and the Soviet Union.But in the late 1940s, the United States was still alone, and no other country could hold its own.To make it lose its far-reaching leading position, only some special unfortunate events occur, such as which president or several presidents squandered the wealth and young manpower of the United States in the distant Orwellian war. The original text is Orwellianwar.George Orwell (George Orwell, 1903~1950) was a British writer, and his works were all about attacking the Soviet Union in the Stalin era.Here it means the war against communism. —— Among the translators.Such possibilities were so rare at the time that no one could conceive of them.As the British say, the American sentiment is: why worry.America is rich, benevolent, peaceful, and number one.It was so then, and it will continue to be so in the future. As for number two, life is getting worse and worse.Under the full blow of the Nazi war machine, Russia's towns and countryside were ruined, so it was impossible and unwilling to understand why the Western Allies waited until 1944 to open a second front.Now that Germany had bowed its knees, the Russians were particularly sensitive to any sign of recovery.The paranoia of Joseph Stalin aggravated this national disbelief and became a terrible torment Western soldiers and statesmen had to endure.As Europe showed signs of revival and Germany showed signs of vitality, the torment intensified, reaching its peak in 1948.In the weeks leading up to the conclusion of Congressional discussions on the Marshall Plan that spring, the Soviet Union became increasingly aggressive. In February, Stalin captured Czechoslovakia; on June 24, he forcibly blocked Berlin. The immediate dispute at the time was that of currency management.Since the occupation of Germany, the Russians have printed and issued banknotes, and now they are flooding the western occupied areas in an attempt to hinder Germany's economic recovery.In order to curb the inflation caused by this, the Western authorities changed to issue new currency; at the same time, they signed the "Brussels Defense Treaty". 50 year treaty. — translator, and drafted a constitution for the revival of West Germany.The Russians fought against these reforms, walked out of meetings, and issued another currency.They announced the suspension of railway traffic between Berlin and West Germany for two days, and sealed off a road bridge in the name of "repair", and then ordered a complete blockade, leading to a complete break with Western countries. The Western allies decided not to retaliate.Whenever possible, Truman wanted no confrontation.The only hope left is to fly in the air.Therefore, air transportation was established between West Berlin and the outside world, relying on entering and exiting from two airports, Tempelhof Airport in the US-occupied area and Gatau Airport in the British-occupied area.Of course, it is impossible for the Soviet Union to blockade in the air.The Soviet aircraft may provoke the Western aircraft, but it is easy to shirk responsibility in such an incident, and neither side will lose face. However, aerial resupply on such a large scale is inherently dangerous.2.5 million people live in West Berlin, more than Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, or Cleveland.No one has ever used air freight to supply a city that big or nearly that big.Just to keep the Berliners alive requires 4,000 tons of supplies every day, which is equivalent to a C-47 transport plane taking off or landing every 3 minutes and 36 seconds in 24 hours a day.And every plane going to Berlin had to be overloaded, ten tons each.This figure only addresses the essentials.Even though it meant life for the pilots and hardship for the Berliners, it was possible, numerically possible.There may be enough coal for lighting, but not for heating.To keep the city normal, 8,000 tons of supplies are needed every day, that is, a plane takes off or lands every 1 minute and 48 seconds.It can't be done, at least not yet. The Germans promised the common people to observe discipline and cooperate.The U.S. and U.K. Air Forces worked out a meticulous plan with a precision measured in seconds.In order to train new pilots, a flight path and navigation equipment similar to the Berlin Skywalk was built in Montana.They learned new ways to use ground-control radar blindfolded and pilot four-engine transport planes.Crews take off frequently and sleep very little.The ground crew spray-washed the soot-smeared jet-black fuselage and contracted a nasty skin disease.And the timelines don't always work out smoothly.During the aerial resupply of Berlin in 1948-1949, 28 Americans lost their lives. Pilots called the airlift the "Food Action Plan."In the beginning, the food load was not enough. From June to July 1948, the average daily airlift was only 1147 tons. It seems that the Russian blockade will really achieve its goal.But on June 30, when a squadron of C-54 transport planes arrived from Panama, Hawaii and Alaska to participate in the airlift, the first breakthrough occurred.These planes are larger and carry more weight, allowing for longer delays between landing and takeoff.General Lucius Clay flew to Washington to ask for more of these planes for the airlift, and he was awarded 160.When winter is approaching, the air freight volume has been able to maintain 4000 tons per day.With the efforts of young pilots from the United States, Britain, and France, West Berlin can not only survive, but may even improve a bit. Berlin Airport was originally not big enough, and it was also expanded at this time.Two additional runways were built at Tempelhof Airport and one at British Airport.That's not enough, what they need is a third airport. In September, the French proposed construction at Tegil in their occupied area.With initial doubts about the viability of the plan, the need for labor seemed impossible.And they don't have rock crushers and other heavy machinery.But American inventions, combined with German tenacity, soon taught the Western Allies a useful lesson.More than 20,000 Berlin men, women and children volunteered to work three shifts a day.At the same time, C-54 transport aircraft began to bring in the necessary equipment.In his memoirs, Clay recalls the situation without exaggeration, saying that during the first planning meeting, engineers proposed to him that the new airport could be completed in March.So, "I think it is necessary to tell them that it will be completed in December." General Jean Ganeval, the commander of the French army, dared to do something, and with his help, they really completed it on schedule.He was infected by the drive to get rid of the radio tower blocking the new runway.The tower was in the Soviet-occupied zone, and he asked the Russians to dismantle it, but was rejected, so he brought in a demolition team and simply blew it up. This "food action plan" passed when a third airport was built in the French occupation zone.By December, the average daily air freight has reached 4,500 tons; in January and February, it has even reached 5,500 tons.It is now clear that Berlin is not a problem.And that's not all, households and some industries have begun to ration coal.Clay's C-54 fleet has grown to 224.By early spring, airfreight had reached 8,050 tons per day, with 13,000 tons unloaded in one day.Blocked Berlin is fast becoming one of the wealthiest cities in Europe.Warehouses were filled with supplies, in case the Russians didn't know their plan had failed and didn't stop. They knew they had failed. The blockade was lifted on 12 May, airlifts of supplies are history, and what seemed impossible has been achieved.如果从1948年初那几个星期的局部的“小封锁”算起，这次封锁持续了15个月，而这期间美国和盟国的飞机共飞行了277264班次，运输了食品、燃料、药品和衣服达2343315吨，平均每个柏林公民约有一吨。这样的战绩已脍炙人口。美国飞行员所创造的奇迹把美国大兵在休假期间丑态行为的坏影响抵消了不少。丘吉尔高兴地称赞说：“美国拯救了世界!”当然不能说是全世界，但确实可以说拯救了中欧一个关键部分。如果说空运补给不能代表美国的典型形象，至少它把美国最足以自豪的一面反映出来。美国海军工程兵和空军部队曾自夸：“困难的任务，我们可以马上完成；看来不可能的任务，我们多花些时间也可以完成。”这次美国真的说到做到，而且还干得很漂亮，很慷慨。 不但美国政府慷慨大方，连驾驶员们也是如此。美国赢得的荣誉，几乎可以说一半是由于“粮食行动计划”，一半则是由于“小食品行动计划”；后者是一个名叫卡尔·S·霍尔弗森中尉想出来的。他在坦珀尔霍夫机场飞进飞出时，柏林的孩子常在下面眺望，于是他便把一袋袋糖果用降落伞投给他们。这个办法很快就流行开了，不久，所有飞行员们都这样干。1948年12月，他们发动了一次“圣诞老人行动计划”。数以千计的小降落伞日日夜夜地飘下来。这是那些在天空翱翔的看不见的“朋友”，给那些年纪太小，不知封锁为何物的柏林人撒下来的礼物。每件玩具、每个娃娃、每块糖果都是机务人员们用自己的钱买来的。 这样，还通过其他很多方面，欧洲大陆对美国的民族性格，逐步产生好奇心理——它对解决问题的信心、技术知识、实用主义、重实际轻理论以及不那么有利的市侩作风。麦克阿瑟有一回以高人一等的态度对一位来访者说：“现在重读一下柏拉图的乌托邦，又看看我们的成就，真是极其有趣……那些老家伙生活在那样落后的条件下，却具有多么高超的理想，多么光辉的智慧呀!”他这种说法，是代表了很多美国人的。对麦克阿瑟之流说来(美国人恐怕大多如此)，通畅的自来水管道和说干就干的精神，比之苏格拉底转弯抹角的推理，要重要得多。 美国人即使穿着平民衣服，还未张嘴说话，欧洲常常就能辨认出来。部分原因是因为他们进餐时的习俗、服装的式样、不拘礼节的风度和似乎每个人肩上都挂着的一个35毫米摄影机。他们的举止行动也别具一格。“征服者么·”埃里克·塞瓦赖德谈及美国大兵时曾说，“他们根本不理解征服别国是怎么回事，他们只是追击德国人，不得不走过大地这一具体部分来打击对手罢了。”甚至战前他住在慕尼黑时，他就注意到他和其他美国人出去散步时，总会引起德国人的注视。他得出结论说：“美国人走起路来，可说是世上最随便的了。不像英国人那样身体僵直，又不像法国人那样敦实而拘谨；他们左顾右盼，脖子转动很是自如。”有些人说他们目空一切，又有些人说他们自信心强；当然，要确切说准并不容易，但却一点不假。有人说：“英国人在地球上昂首阔步，似乎他们就是地球的主人。而美国人则在地球上来来往往，似乎根本不在乎地球谁属。” 过去，好莱坞使欧洲人对美国人的形象产生错觉，好像是游乐场中哈哈镜里的人物。现在，他们印象中的美国人成了思家心切的大兵，又进而越来越成了在海外旅游的人。这比好莱坞所介绍的形象并好不了多少。来自别国的游客都是些特权阶级，受过良好的教育，学识丰富，并多能运用几种语言。但是美国生活水平特殊，各阶层的公民，都能远涉重洋，而且时常带着说个不停的老婆和喧哗吵嚷的孩子。这一代美国人，可以回到祖辈的故乡，这对美国声誉自然有好处，可是也使国家的声誉受到损失。 美国这个民众文化水平比之奥韦尔所说的“上层中产阶级的下层”略低，正是他们的文化面貌引起欧洲大陆的担心，怕整个世界会按照他们的样子美国化。他们从大西洋那边蜂拥而来。成批的旅游者、技术人员、交换学者、外交官员、新闻记者、美国新闻处的图书馆员、红十字会女职员、经济合作署的行政官员、《第四点计划》的农学家、后台食堂女服务员和美国商人——单在巴黎就有五千。他们在海关查验处分头排队，然后就分散到内陆各地，人数愈来愈多。与此同时，按照富布赖特和史密斯-蒙特计划，很快每年又有4万外国学生到美国留学。欧洲人纷纷议论，这些人究竟给欧洲带来什么·而皮埃尔和格雷岑这些普通的法国、德国男女青年横渡海洋又能学到些什么· 1945年法国改用闪闪发亮的美国新电椅，代替了可爱的断头台，使得热爱传统的法国人大为不满。这种变化多少是有象征意义的(美国人也认为如此，不过所持理由不同罢了)。过去圣诞节来临，穿着多彩的本地人在公共场所跳舞，而现在欧洲人却成了宾·克劳斯贝的俘虏。他的“银白色的圣诞”唱片到了战胜日本那一天，已经售出170万张，《宁静之夜》唱片售出150万张，而《别把我围起来》则售出125万张。在人类历史中，他竟成了最受欢迎的歌唱家。农民曾在欧洲社会中起过极其重要作用，并且世世代代引为自豪，现在发现他们的同胞竟然要“美国中西部这个世界的面包篮”供应粮食。过去喝惯了精选的葡萄酿制的美酒的人，现在改喝名为可口可乐的一种廉价棕色液体。这种简称为“可克”的臭名远扬的饮料，在40年代后期每日售出5000万瓶，其量之大可以浮起一艘轻型巡洋舰。于是法国人反击了。打破柏林封锁的空运补给才刚结束，巴黎的国民议会就以366票对202票通过，“在法国、阿尔及利亚，以及法殖民帝国范围内禁止进口、制造和销售可口可乐”。 对所谓“美国化”的厌恶，就如在过去漫长的英国霸权时代，约翰·布尔意即普通英国人。源出于阿巴思诺特1712年所著的《法律深渊》。——译者之不受欢迎一样，也非常普遍，而且也同样在所难免。在欧洲看来，大洋彼岸的这个巨人，实行的是新的经济帝国主义，使他们的自尊心受到压制，比之老牌帝国主义更使他们感到屈辱。有同感的并不一定是马克思主义者。当《泰晤士报》登出消息，说英国市场管理委员会每年派50名经理人员去哈佛大学商学院进修，由英国政府担负费用，牛津大学的院长们作何感想呢·由于纽约证券交易所进行“技术调整”指按市场实际情况在账面数字上进行定期校正。——译者，意大利的里拉又要贬值，罗马人知道又有何感受呢·埃索石油公司在欧洲大陆卖出的石油比在美国售出的还多，那些独资经营加油站的比利时小商人又是怎样看的呢·美国商务部把洛桑只看做是海外联合碳化物公司的大本营，苏黎世则是谷物产品公司的海外基地，巴黎、布鲁塞尔和伦敦又分别是国际商用机器公司，昔兰尼人造丝公司和新泽西美孚石油公司欧洲分公司所在地，欧洲人对此又有何想法呢· 然而，撇开这些商业寡头们以势凌人的竞销不说，这个国家把最好的人才、最大的努力花在欧洲上面看来往往是白白糟蹋了。外援花了不止一千亿元，而大使馆竟然经常成为敌对示威的目标，迫不得已要考虑是否该安装防震玻璃窗，这点毕竟似乎是难于接受的。接受外援时倒是毫不迟疑，但在短短一个月之内，有时还不到一个月，收受礼物的人就会公开发表鄙视美元的言论。所以就在这杜鲁门时代，在欧洲颇有声望、但确非沙文主义者的美国知识分子路易斯·克罗南伯格也愤愤不平地写道： 美国人开始在美洲艰苦拓荒，征服大地，接着驾驭电波，控制太空。对这种创业传统，他们完全有权引以自豪。美国人在开国时极其艰难竭蹶，而现在则非常舒适安逸，因此对其民族理想及其独特行为方式，亦应可踌躇满志。我们这样慷慨大方和殷勤好客；这样生气蓬勃，机警活跃；贫而无告的人在别国走投无路，而在我们这里则有无限前途。我们为什么不可以感到骄傲呢· 其他一些人也对欧洲的批评进行回击。《时代》周刊有一期把法国称做妓女，令人久久难忘(于是法国国民议会中又出现一次很大骚动)。毫无疑问，这时如果总统在预算中把援外项目全部削去，威望必会大大提高，但他从没有认真这样考虑过。连参议员塔夫脱也知道，现在不可能再退回到孤立主义，而作为美国总统，现在再也不能只考虑国内压力问题。在热核武器时代，整个地球比之战前已大为缩小，因此对别国人民的希望和意愿能否理解，已经是关系国家安全的大事。正是在这方面，杜鲁门对他就任之初所定下来的规矩，一概置之脑后。他虽缺乏治国雄才，却能靠勇气和天赋的机灵，以补其不足。“杜鲁门政府站稳脚跟以后，”迪安·艾奇逊后来写道，“其各种政策显示出一种新的气象、视野和魄力，在我国历史中都有其新颖之处，而且显然还是集中计划和领导的。”他接着引述莎士比亚《亨利五世》的一句话说，在国际危机的最黑暗的时刻，总统会成为并不好惹的对手，表现出“黑夜里哈里的一点英雄形象”，因此他能够使得美国的盟国放心，敌人却无法得逞。 在对柏林进行空运补给之前，整个春天，共和党人天天看着日历，愈看愈高兴。从罗斯福上台把他们打入冷宫以来，已经过去16个年头。他们对“那个家伙”的所作所为还是极不以为然。在某种意义上，他们当中的多数人还在把他当做竞选对手，但是他们认为他既已去世，他的魔力也即随之消失。共和党再也不会在那敌意的笑容、狂放的笑声、翘起的烟嘴和闪亮的夹鼻眼镜之前受到威胁了。 取代他的职位的是一个卑微得多的政客，看起来很像个纸糊草扎的人。杜鲁门外貌丝毫不像罗斯福，他身材中常，戴副普通眼镜，说话时音调很高，却又平板，缺乏他前任那种有教养的特别预科中学学生的腔调，使人一听就显得身份显赫。人们认为罗斯福本人有惊人魅力，所以能把主张塞进他的政纲。从这点出发推论，在下次四年一度的总统选举时只要美国人民表态，很明显所有这些政纲，例如宪法第18号修正案指由1933年宪法21号修正案所废止的禁酒修正法案。——译者，都可以全部废止。到了11月2日一切就都行了，他们简直急不可耐了。 那是轻而易举的事。“杜鲁门已经完蛋了。”康涅狄格州选出的秀丽的金发女议员克莱尔·布思·卢斯说。民主党人退避了，但没人出面反驳。自从1946年11月中期选举共和党大获全胜以来，每次民意测验，每次政治分析家的调查分析，都是一个调子：如果哈里·杜鲁门竞选总统，就注定要失败。按照盖洛普的民意测验，在1947年10月至1948年3月之间，认为总统干得不错的人大大减少，比例降至36%，如果他竞选的话，无论对手是杜威、史塔生、麦克阿瑟，还是范登堡，他都会失败。 “假如杜鲁门被提名为候选人，”约瑟夫和斯图尔特·艾尔索普兄弟写道，“他就会被迫进行近来最为孤立无援的竞选运动。”甚至他本人也有顾虑。1947年秋天，他又一次向艾森豪威尔试探。他请陆军部长肯尼思·罗亚尔告诉这位将军，如果艾克愿意作为民主党候选人竞选总统，杜鲁门很愿意当他的竞选伙伴。艾森豪威尔请罗亚尔转告总统，表示衷心感谢，但同时又表示遗憾。也许他想的是，如果杜鲁门当他的副总统候选人，他的竞选就会失败。 1947年11月中旬，总统的特别顾问克拉克·克利福德向总统送上一份长达35页的竞选连任方案。他指出，杜鲁门取得的成就远远超过大多数人认识所及。他使农场主得到不少好处，他把约翰·刘易斯挫败了，他热烈支持犹太人复国，犹太人是拥护他的。他任命了一些黑人军官，黑人也拥护他。他把三军改组，统一指挥，又否决了一些反劳工法案。至于大规模建筑民房的计划，那是国会山上那些共和党反动派塔夫脱、惠利、米利金、布里奇斯、乔·马丁和查利·哈勒克等人拒绝讨论的。一项社会保险法案的基本部分，即对老年人进行医药照顾，也是他们反对掉的。克利福德认为总统应在不利条件下，在第80届国会反对派占优势的情况下进行竞选。 杜鲁门建议艾森豪威尔竞选这件事，回忆录里没有提及。他给人的印象是，他从没考虑过靠边站。事实上，直至1948年3月1日，他还是犹疑未决。那天他在基韦斯特召开的记者招待会上还说，他自己由于“对外事务和其他情况，忙得够呛，还没空去考虑总统竞选问题”。接下去一周，产联表态坚决反对亨利·华莱士出任第三党的候选人。看来这事使他认为有可能获胜。3月9日，他把民主党全国委员会主席霍华德·麦格拉思请来，对他说：“好吧，霍华德，如你认为可以，那咱们就干吧。”麦格拉思给他弄得有点糊涂(他原来没有要总统竞选，他只不过是要他做出是否竞选的决定而已)。但是他在外面大厅，却勇敢地对白宫的新闻记者宣布说：“总统授权于我说，如果民主党全国委员会提名他当候选人，他将接受提名进行竞选。”于是，杜鲁门就开始了竞选。 大多数民主党领袖们立刻要求他退出竞选。纽约市布朗克斯区的民主党头子、前民主党全国委员会主席爱德·弗林，不肯在纽约和总统在同一讲台上露面，总统的一个魁梧的助手实际上把他从车里硬拉了出来。南卡罗来纳州参议员奥林·约翰逊当众怠慢杜鲁门。阿肯色州的富布赖特提议他辞职，干脆马上让一位共和党接替他，以便国民恢复信心。由于杜鲁门政府要取消种族隔离而产生隔阂，一个由斯特罗姆·瑟蒙德为首的南方六州长代表团，准备退出民主党，另外支持一名来自南部的候选人。这样，这次总统竞选就成了四党竞选，其中两个是从民主党分裂出去的。在纽约曼哈顿区，民主党主席麦克格拉思原定邀请党内大亨们开会，请他们捐款支持竞选，现在宣布取消，因为只有三个人肯予出席。有一次，他在洛杉矶的群众集会中提到杜鲁门的名字，嘘声竟使他讲不下去，提出责难的人原来是由詹姆斯·罗斯福及其他一些新政热情拥护者领头的。他们是志同道合的一帮。在倒杜鲁门派的人中，还有詹姆斯的兄弟埃利奥特、利昂·亨德森、佛罗里达州的克劳德·佩珀、切斯特·鲍尔斯、沃尔特·鲁瑟、威尔逊·怀亚特和明尼阿波利斯市的年轻市长休伯特·汉弗莱。伊利诺伊州的民主党头子杰克·阿维也宣布他不再支持杜鲁门，而美国人争取民主行动组织则提出一个《时代》周刊称之为“别出心裁的意见”。这的确是惊人的。为什么以前没想到呢·原来他们想硬拉艾森豪威尔将军作为民主党候选人。 1948年这个民主党人支持艾森豪威尔竞选总统的运动，富有喜剧味道。他们并不知道他已经两次拒绝总统的类似建议，也不了解艾克自认是个保守的共和党人(这点连杜鲁门也不知道)。于是，期望艾克作为他们党的领袖人的，除了上述那些倒杜鲁门派的人以外，又加上泽西市的弗兰克·黑格、康涅狄格州的约翰·贝利、肯塔基州的哈皮·钱德勒、佐治亚州的理查德·拉塞尔、芝加哥市长爱德华·凯利以及亚拉巴马州的参议员利斯特·希尔和约翰·斯帕克曼。而最滑稽的事——也是一件难以原谅的无礼行为——就是华盛顿州的民主党领袖休·米切尔给白宫一封电报，请总统担任动员艾森豪威尔当民主党候选人的行动委员会的主席。 这个“无艾克毋宁死”的竞选运动非常受人欢迎。只要这位将军还有可能改变态度，很明显，杜鲁门就不可能得到提名。但是，到了全国代表大会前夕，艾森豪威尔直截了当表示拒绝考虑。他宣布：“在任何情况、任何条件或任何前提下，我都拒绝接受提名。”民主党的党员群众这才放弃了这个想法。代表们也情绪一片消沉，他们确信11月大选会失败。为了尽可能减少损失，他们请先在费城的大会堂召开代表大会的共和党把他们用过的旗帜装饰就地留下，以便再用。显贵的人物总是助人为乐的，共和党人慨然答允了。民主党对此表示的感激之情，简直令人可怜。他们已在考虑尽力节约，为1952年度的总统抢先作好准备。也许到那时候，艾森豪威尔会同意出面领导他们吧。 与此同时，杜鲁门的班子则忙于修饰杜鲁门的“肖像”，这是克利福德所用的词儿(那时“形象”这个词还未通用)。总统是不屑向群众展开宣传的，他认为这是“玩弄骗术”。但他爱好斗争，一想起要对共和党控制下的国会展开进攻，他的斗志就来了。在他的宏大战略中，第一个战术行动，就是每星期一向国会提出一份受人欢迎而估计塔夫脱和他的同伙们又肯定会搁置不议的议案。杜鲁门一个接一个的提出开建圣劳伦斯河航道、扩大民权、联邦政府兴建民房、援华指国民党政府。——译者、延长战时管制条例、建筑公路和扩大互惠贸易法等一系列法案——这一切最终都成为11月大选时引起争论的问题。 如果民意测验果真可靠，那杜鲁门获胜的前景，在4月份时最为暗淡。但是，就是在这个时候，他的竞选班子突然异想天开，想出个好主意。后来克利福德、乔治·埃尔西和查尔斯·墨菲三人都没一个记得起究竟是谁的主意，可见当时一片混乱的情景。他们都知道，总统从来没有学会怎样念讲稿。他低着头看稿子，不知道该在哪里停顿、哪里强调，往往该是鼓掌机会，他却继续念下去。但另一方面，离开讲稿来即席发言，他却讲得非常生动，效果很好。既然如此，为什么不劝他在大型集会中即席发言呢·他觉得这主意不错。4月17日，他在美国报社编辑协会念了一份准备好的讲稿以后，接着临时讲了半小时美苏关系问题。和念讲稿时相比较，其效果是惊人的，也是令人鼓舞的。记者们在他结束时都纷纷喝彩，相互议论，认为他讲得很好。接着他又再来了四次不用讲稿的演说。到了5月14日他在五月花饭店对约一千名青年民主党员进行政治性的宣讲，把这一系列竞选演说推向高潮。讲话结束时，他说：“我告诉你们，未来四年高踞白宫的将是一个民主党人，就是现在对你们讲话的人。”于是全场起立鼓掌。第二天，《纽约时报》称它为“新的杜鲁门式”的“战斗性”的讲话。现在他找到适当的竞选方式，感到颇为满意，于是他和他的班子就准备在一次横贯全国的旅行中再试它一次。 但是他们遇到了经济困难，而且看来难以克服。民主党的竞选经费差不多用光了。整个竞选期间，他一再遇到经济拮据的难题。没几个财雄力厚的人对这个候选人有信心。甚至在4月份，他们就考虑削减竞选经费。在五月花饭店的聚餐会后，竞选班子想出一个高招。杜鲁门总统为什么不在他那每年达3万元的旅行津贴内开支，乘火车作一次全国旅行，使全国人民知道他在国内外取得的成就，同时也就他和国会的关系问题说上几句字斟句酌的话呢· 采用这种政治手法，说明他已是穷途末路，说明形势对杜鲁门非常不利。当然，历届进行竞选连任的总统，往往不得不到处去为纪念碑揭幕或为大桥剪彩来宣扬自己。花纳税人的钱做这种短途旅行，一般认为无可非议，因为这样做的目的，表面看来并不是追求党派利益。但他这一种旅行则是另一回事了。杜鲁门从一开始就声明，他要把每一分钟都用来抨击共和党控制下的国会。正如共和党全国委员会主席卡罗尔·里斯说的，说这种做法“没有政治性”，就和说潘德加斯特集团密苏里州的一个著名政治集团，杜鲁门是这个集团的一个成员。——译者“没有政治性一样”。要不是杜鲁门的竞选看来毫无希望，要不是这次竞选旅行从远处看上去像是要彻底失败，里斯本来会在这问题上大做文章的。 6月3日下午11时5分，在国会因为两党召开全国代表大会而休会之前两周，总统的专用列车拖着16节车厢，开出了华盛顿的联邦车站，朝西方开去。按惯例杜鲁门旅行爱坐飞机，但那时候人们总想总统和总统候选人乘火车旅行。这列车中最后的一节，是豪华的“费迪南德·麦哲伦”号装甲车厢，那是由美国铁路联合会为罗斯福特制的。这车厢两边车壁镶着胡桃木，能不停顿地和华盛顿保持无线电联系，而最惹人注目的特点，是在后部装有个特大平台，上有条纹的天篷，并装有扩音广播设备。那时候这个平台看上去没有什么特别，但后来它在总统的政治历史中，却成了竞选闹剧的舞台。 但在人们记忆中，这舞台往往令人想起那些小小的不幸插曲。有些民主党人以为他已同意请艾森豪威尔当候选人，带着自制的牌子出来欢迎杜鲁门。牌子上写着：欢迎艾克当总统!哈里当副总统!内布拉斯加州的民主党主席威廉·里奇，想登上“费迪南德·麦哲伦”号车厢，却被推下车去。他生气地对记者们说：“我肯定他不会当选，他过去干得太糟了。他对所谓老朋友似乎比对为民主党做出了贡献和捐了钱的人还要好。”在另一处，有个所谓老朋友，是个1918年退伍的军人，有人要他安排演讲会，他却以为是要搞第35师老战友们的话旧会。于是其他的人都不准参加。结果是，在一个能容纳万人的礼堂里，坐着听总统演说的不到一千人。摄影记者们兴高采烈，站在后排高处，拍摄各种镜头，借以表明他是对着大片的空位子演讲。那些照片想说明真的没有谁对总统发言感兴趣，但《时代》周刊则说总统的演讲“愈来愈引人入胜，有趣得很”。 他至少有两次是穿着睡衣和浴衣出现在火车平台上的。 “我听说他们已宣布我要在这里讲话，”他对着一批瞠目结舌的听众说，“我很抱歉我已上了床，但我想即使我没穿好衣服，你们也想看看我究竟是什么样子。”在加利福尼亚州巴斯托，一个女孩子望着他穿着的蓝色晨袍，问他是否着了凉。He shook his head.她还是说：“你讲话的声音像是感冒了。”他眨了一下眼睛说：“那是因为我乘着火车，在风里张着嘴到处讲话呵。”这是实话。在俄勒冈州尤金市，他照例先向群众介绍他的妻子贝丝(“这是我的上司”)和女儿玛格丽特(“她比我上司还高”)，接着信口开河谈起波茨坦问题。他忘了有记者在场，说道：“我喜欢老约指约瑟夫·斯大林。——译者，他是个好人。但他是受政治局控制的，不能想干什么就干什么。”于是卢斯太太就在美国东部对他猛烈开炮。民主党终于承认了，她感到高兴。她恶毒地说：“我的好老约!他们当然喜欢他嘛!他们不是把整个东欧、满洲、千岛群岛、华北都给了他么·不是在波兰、南斯拉夫和捷克斯洛伐克都让他建立了联合政府么·” 哈勒克在华盛顿对记者们说，杜鲁门将作为美国最坏的总统载入史册。而俄亥俄州的众议员克利夫·克莱文格则说，他是个“密苏里的蠢驴”。这时塔夫脱说走了嘴。本来倒不是大问题。他在费城对大学生联谊会讲话时，他对杜鲁门“在全国铁路各小站发表演说辱骂国会”感到遗憾。他创造铁路小站这个新词，从共和党人看来，这是颇为不妙的。民主党总部用电报通知了杜鲁门火车经过的大小城镇的市长。他们对这种轻蔑都感到愤怒，杜鲁门便把他们的复电愉快地发给报界。洛杉矶市人山人海，等待总统到来，他咧嘴笑道：“这大概是最大的铁路小站罢!” 6月18日，他回到华盛顿。他在外地两周，走了9504英里，在16个州发表了73次讲话。在大多数场合下他都按照克利福德的意见，“拼命引起争论”。到了旅程行将结束，他自己就已感到和群众的情绪无形中变得颇为合拍。他在伊利诺伊州就说过，11月新的国会选出来以后，“也许这个国会，会为人民的利益，而不是为大财东的利益工作。”人们翘首望着他，互相咕哝表示同意。在华盛顿州布雷默顿，一个林场工人大声向他喊道：“加油干呀，哈里!”他立即回答说：“我会加油干的，我会加油干的。”在斯波坎，有个人说：“向塔夫脱扔点鸡蛋好吗·”杜鲁门回答说：“对塔夫脱，我可不扔鲜蛋!”“你们这个国会是再坏不过了。”他大声说，“如果你们选举时再让共和党控制国会，那你们就是一伙笨蛋，比我想像的还要笨!”人们大声喊叫，表示同意：“加油干呀!”和“哈里，狠狠搞他们一下!”他又赶忙粗声回答说：“对，我现在就是这么干的，就是这么干的!” 当然，塔夫脱说的是对的，这样干是卑鄙的，非常失体的，这种先例给后来的竞选运动带来丑恶的影响，而且对于像范登堡这样的共和党人也不公平。要是没有他们，便不会在巴尔干有所谓杜鲁门主义，也不会有马歇尔计划和柏林空运。但是他是在形势非常不利的情况下孤军作战，这样的场面却也动人。白宫的记者们就是这样看的。他们不时地告诉在首都家里的妻子说，总统当选的可能本来微乎其微，而他的做法几乎使他们忘记了这一点。 费城的知名人士，用了65万元将市容装饰一新，为了依次让共和党、民主党和进步党在那里召开全国代表大会。而被北卡罗来纳州夏洛特《新闻报》的一名编辑命名为“狄克西党人”见上。指美国南部各州中的民主党人，因在民权问题上持不同政见而分裂出来的，'狄克西'，即美国南部各州。——译者的，是在昔日邦联的历史圣地举行大会。他们决定选择东部一个城市，因为实况转播的高频同轴电缆，最远只能达到大西洋沿岸地段。这一点，演讲的人都清楚，而爱德华·默罗和其他著名电台评论员还坚持要用无线电广播。在费城大会堂开会，美国东部约有40万架小型电视机屏幕上可以收看，这在当时算是了不起的。 1948年，新闻记者们租用带浴室的房间要付12元，都埋怨通货膨胀。在那一年，他们认为旅馆的杂务，都可以廉价雇用黑人来做。杜鲁门那时已经尽力做了一些工作，稍舒黑人的困境。但是共和党的政纲委员会在衡量之