MAN-TO-MAN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 176, 28 July 1942, Page 4

MAN-TO-MAN

PRESS CONFERENCE GENERAL MacARTHUR SPEAKS (Special Aiutraliin Correspondent) SYDNEY, July 23. General Douglas Mac Arthur, Com-mander-in-Chief in the South-west Pacific, isn't given to speech-making. He has held only two Press conferences since his arrival in Australia. Both times he spoke "off the record." What he said was not for publication. The general's second conference was held on Sunday last. His first was on March 23, just a few days after his arrival from the Philippines. The General Mac Arthur who spoke on Sunday seemed a different person from the tired, worn man who had just arrived in Australia. Then he was thin-faced and had obviously been under severe strain. On Sunday he looked physically fitter and his personality gripped his audience. War correspondents travelled up to 2000 miles from operational bases to hear General Mac Arthur. Most of the editors of Australia's leading newspapers attended. The general talked for two hours. Nobody left feeling that he had made a wasted trip. General Mac Arthur didn't explain or expound—he illuminated his subject. He invited his audience to ask him any question they wished. Some of his replies took more than 15 minutes. Always he asked his questioner whether the answer was fully satisfactory. His replies were vigorous. His speech was picturesque and liberally garnished with slang. He didn't talk about the army "moving fast." He said, "They went like hell-for-breakfast." The general began the conference smoking a cfgar. But he soon became absorbed in his subject matter —and only an inch of the cigar was smoked when the conference ended. His replies were made as he paced the floor, often seemingly oblivious of his audience and talking only to himself.

Never for an instant did he lose the attention of a single individual present. Sometimes he- spoke softly, often he was forceful, and once or twice emotion was evident in his voice. But always he talked man-to-man; he tVas completely informal; he didn't evade a single question.

At his first conference, General Mac Arthur wore tropical drill. On Sunday he was in dress uniform, with four silver stars- shining on each shoulder, and row upon row of medal ribbons extending from the top of his tunic pocket almost to the shoulder line. Marking the beginning of the top row was the pale blue, silk, silver-starred ribbon of the Congressional Medal of Honour America's highest award.