November 6, 1951 – General Eisenhower raised more than a few eyebrows when he arrived in Washington and then quickly left, heading back to France. President Truman said there was only one reason for his quick trip to Washington; to discuss the problem of maintaining Western Europe‘s economic stability, at the same time Western Europe was re-arming. The President said that when Congress cut the Foreign Aid bill by some $800 million, the key and fundamental proposition in the economic recovery program was taken away. General Eisenhower reiterated the issue during a Press Conference, adding that this new phase was more about economic and political changes in Europe than just military ones. But when pressed on the issue of a possible run for the Presidency in 1952, and if he had given some key political figures in Washington the okay to act on his behalf, he politely dismissed the speculation saying that no one had the authority to act for him or anyone else and he was, at this point in time, doing a job and that it had nothing to do with partisan politics, nor should it. He added that, when the time came, he would let everyone know where he stood, on no uncertain terms.
Meanwhile, French President Auriol opened the UN General Assembly meeting earlier in the day with a plea for a Big Four Meeting in Paris. He felt that, if the Four Powers agreed to meeting face-to-face, in person to discuss these ideas and jointly try to reduce their disagreements, there would be world wide joy. Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his first message to the House Of Commons, made a similar suggestion, adding that successful negotiations were only had from a position of strength, not weakness. He went to discuss the domestic situation in Britain, saying the biggest problem Britain was facing on this day was bankruptcy and he was going to take action to set the British house in order, which meant another period of emergency with exceptional measures.
And that’s just a part of what was going on in the world, this November 6, 1951 as reported by Edward R. Murrow and The News.