National Affairs: Wiley's Wile

As senior Senator from Wisconsin, Republican Alexander Wiley has maintained an aloof attitude toward Joe McCarthy. When the U.S. Senate was voting to censure Wisconsin's junior Senator, the senior Senator was handily attending a conference in South America. Some of McCarthy's powerful Wisconsin friends who did not care for Wiley's attitude let it be known that they might try to beat him in the 1956 primary. Last week, the primary 18 months away, Wiley unexpectedly took a place at the speakers' table at the 50th anniversary dinner of the Knights of Columbus of Kenosha, Wis. When Senator and Mrs. McCarthy arrived, to the wild cheers of the 450 diners, Wiley walked all the way across the platform to the other end of the table to pump McCarthy's hand. Said wily Wiley: "Joe and I have never had an altercation. He goes his way and I go mine."