Evening Star Newspaper, July 30, 1937, Page 9

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON D. C, FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1937. “ THE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not Cabinet Seen Doomed by New Plan Six Aides to President Will Fill Useful Role, Observer Says. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. LTHOUGH not announced as such, the move to give Presi- dent Roosevelt six assistants who are to get $10,000 a year apjece means the beginning of the end of the cabinet. 80 far as the present cabinet goes, Wwith perhaps two or three exceptions, the public has hardly been aware of their presence In fact, for many Years the cabinet as an institution has been grad- ually falling into obecurity. This is because the cabi- net officers are resally glorified chief clerks with hundreds of rou- tine chores to do, } 50 that they knos little else but their own departmental matters and hardly qualify as presi- dential advisers. When President Roosevelt asks for &ix $10,000-a-year men, he is asking for something every President before him for the last 30 vears should have | had. It is true that members of the House of Representatives when the proposal to give Mr. Roosevelt six “administrative assistants” was being debated poked fun at the proposal and call it & “kitchen cabinet” and wanted to know what the new officials would | do except to help to entrench bureau- | cracy still further. It has always been my desire, how- ever, to look objectively at legislative measures and to give the President support when he is right and criticism when he is wrong. The proposal to reorganize the Federal establishment is, on the whole, meritorious, and the real objection to it is the zugeestion that the controller-general’s office be | abolished and that quasi-judicial com- | missions be made subordinate to Gov- ernment departments. Neither of these objectionable provisions seems to have a chance of passage and the problem of giving Mr. Roosevelt the ad- ministrative help he neecds to admin- ister the huge responsibilities of bis| office is, &s a separate and distinct re- | form, wholly desirable. True Significance. Unless one is familiar with the slip- shod way in which Government bus David Lawrence, What’s Back of It All Lack of Roosevelt Hospitality Piques Congressmen. White House Breakfasts Missed. BY H. R. BAUKHAGE. INCERE Democrats who look up the rift between the majority and the White House, which seems to be growing wider day by day, are mumbling “might-have-beens.” They say, seriously, what sounds frivolous—that bacon and eggs might have helped matters. What they mean is that there haven't been enough intimate invitations to gatherings, such as President Coolidge sponsored, when Congressmen who otherwise never got more than a hand- shake from the Executive, had something they could write home about. President Roosevelt doesn’t have breakfast parties. Critics in Congress say that his dinners bog down with the members of the executive branch. Breakfasts are cheap—a few sausages, as one complainer puts it. The Coolidge “fish hash” became famous. But it was potent. There might have been a half a dozen Congressmen at these frugal gatherings, and not much conversation, but the home town newspapers only mentioned their own Representative. It sounded exclusive—it made him seem important. These days, the bed room- breakfast conference is a secre- HENEVER tariat affair. ME TO by Secretary McIntyre to talk OREAKFAST over the schedule of the day's visi- tors, Secretary Early to get answers to such questions the press might ask, or explanations or announce- ments to be released to the waite ing world. Frequently, Charles West, liaison man is on hand. But no Senators or Congressmen, Many a member of Congress met the President at Jefferson Island for the first time—unless you count a handshake in a reception line of a thousand. President Wilson, for all his austerity and aloofness, used to call in congressional drafting experts to help draw up the bills he suggested. He invited chairmen and committee members. The Hoovers were lavish entertainers and managed to get around the congressional membership pretty well. Of course, President Harding had a wide poker circle. x ok ok % Youth must be served these days in Congress. The Senate “freshmen,” who caused so much excitement marching up the hill against the court bill and march§ng down again against early adjournment, aren’t the only ones who are making trouble. Now, First-term Jerry O'Connell, Representative from Montana, seems to have placed a tack on Senator Wheeler's chair. He wants the Senate seat himself, it’s said, and is ready to battle for it. Just to help the folks at home, O'Connell introduced a bill last Jan= uary to “authorize completion, maintenance and operation of certain facilities at Fort Peck, Mont.,” to provide another one of those “author= ities” for the “generation, distribution and sale of electricity.” A flood= control project at this point was already provided for. Senator Wheeler apparently didn't pay much attention to Mr. O'Con= nell’s 'bill at the time, although he had been instrumental in securing the original project. He may have thought, as most people did until the Rep- resentative suggested the trimmings, that the main purpose of the Fort Peck Dam was flood control and irrigation chiefly affecting Missouri and not Montana, * Kk K But it is reported that the Senator has heard plenty lately. The ener- getic Mr. O'Connell made a swing around the circle boosting the court bill and doubtless mentioning his Fort Peck power proposition. Anyhow, Mr. Wheeler detected b BB TS a 1ot of resounding echoes. He made & trip through Montana. Two days after returning to Washington he intreduced a Fort Peck power bill in the Senate. Not such an all- embracing and T. V. A -ish propo- sition as the House measure. Its purpose is cautiously described as “improving navigation on the Mis- souri River and for other purposes ness is conducted due to the fact that appointments are made by political pull rather than merit, the true sig-| nificance of Mr. Roosevelt's request | for six $10,000-a-year men will not be immediately apparent. ‘What Mr. Roosevelt frankly realizes, | no doubt, is that he cannot abolish | the cabinet and yet every President is | compelled to recognize political service in the campaign or to the party in the past in selecting cabinet officers. The { soclal prestige and so-called “rank” in official circles is one of the main reasons why cabinet portfolios are | zought after, but when the modern | President, be he Democrat or Repub-{ lican, looks around the cabinet table | * he sees men of limited knowledge, experience and background. And if | they have intelligence and ability they | soon become immersed in routine tasks —not a small part of which is paying attention to Congressmen who want | Jobs for their friends in the vast Gov- i ernment bureaus. The result is that a8 general advisers on administration | policy they are useless. This is largely | because they cannot give time to study the facts and details of matters out- | side their own departments. | The system results in one-man | advisers to the President. If the cabi- | net officer happens to be a man of | vision, the particular recommendation | he makes may have merit, but, on the | other hand, the recommendations of | other cabinet officers may be mediocre | or subject to criticism. Other cabinet officers hesitate in cabinet meeting to butt in on the affairs of their col- | leagues’ departments. Makes for Inefficiency. Al this makes for inefficiency and certainly gives the overworked Presi- | dent no help. By selecting six admin- | istrative assistants, the presumption is | that a President will not have to con- | sider party politics or service but can | select men who have special qualifica- tions. It should not be forgotten that | nowadays there are 120 agencies of | the Government and that many of | these have grown up outside the 10 major departments as “emergency” bureaus. With six assistants a President can assign two Government depart- ments to each assistant and some executive agencies besides. Thus a cabinet officer’s recommendations will pass through the assistant who is delegated to watch certain things. | It has been suggested in a formal report that the President should choose six men with a “passion for anonymity.” By this is meant, men who will work hard and keep out of the newspapers and will act really as confidential advisers to the Presi- dent. It is assumed they will not receive callers, though the President | A blending of fresh fruits, pro- ducing a delicious fruit flavor. STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM Try this perfect combination of fresh sun-ripened Hawaiian pine- apple and richly ripe and luscious strawberries. is added and frozen, the result is .. Also Straw- h"!' end’ Aprico Sherbert combin pint pac age. delicior MEADOW GOLD Yee (heam. Order frem your mearest dealer or eall Lincoln 6900 incidental thereto” (a suitable pow- er plant). More power to the constituents. If Mr. O'Connell is re-elected in 1938 it is understood he will announce his willingness to replace Senator Wheeler in 1940, * o K ok When the State Department gave Assistant Secretary Carr his going- away party before he sails for his new post as Minister at Prague. he was presented with three humidors. Two small ones from the foreign service and a large one from the department. Minister Carr’s associates say that he seldom smokes. (Copyright, 1937 by the North American Newspaper Allance. Tnc) might ask them to contact particular Government agencies or persons out- side the Government when contro- versies arise. The whole plan represents a step forward and if it results only in getting to the eyes and ears of Mr. Roosevelt just a few of the things that have been happening outside | the White House of which every now and then he pleads ignorance, it may | be of transcendent value to the country as & whole. With six assistants it is incon- ceivable that anybody will shove some blank sheets of paper before Mr. Roosevelt and ask him to sign on the dotted line without telling him that | the autographs are to be made a part of & campaign book racket. It is inconceivable also that with six as- sistants some of the memoranda of a partisan or prejudiced character which come to Mr. Roosevelt from | heads of departments or agencies will | be accepted as 100 per cent right | NAVY PLANS SUMMER TRAINING FOR YOUTHS Six-Week Course Will Be Pro- vided if Congress Makes Funds Available. By the Associated Press. ‘The Navy will provide six weeks of Summer Naval Reserve training for college and high school youths. be- ginning next July, if Congress makes funds available for this purpose. Youths from 16 to 18 would receive primary training, designed to fit them for possible naval service in the event of war or other natienal emergency, at the Newport, R. I.; Hampton Roads, Va.; Great Lakes, Ill, and San Diego, Calif,, training stations. Preliminary training of necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s eflort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. We, the People Roosevelt, Popular Champion, Deliberately Betrayed on Court Issue by His Lieutenants, Observer Says, BY JAY FRANKLIN. F PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S fight for his judiciary reform bill was a comedy of errors, its de- feat was a tragedy of betrayals. Overshadowing all else, of course, was the Senate's colossal betrayal of the American people through their refusal to follow the election returns in the great popular mandate of 1936 which gave the New Dealers their third consecutive victory on the basis of “trust Roosevelt!" While there is solemn talk of the stern beauty of a system of “checks and balances,” I notice that this sys- tem is applauded by the Tories only when it operates to thwart the will of the people as expressed in elections and that what is denounced as “rub- ber-stampism’ becomes a patriotic virtue whenever the conservatives are in control. For this faithlessness to the election returns there is only one cure—the future election returns. Autopsy on Court Bill, A political autopsy on the corpse of judicial reform legislation shows that, in the final agony, three factors were decisive: The death of Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas, the return of Vice President John Nance Garner of Texas and the lethal letter of Gov. Herbert Lehman of New York to Senator Wagner. Until the resignation of Justice Van Devanter created a vacancy on the Supreme Court, over and above the proposed new places (to vote for which would disqualify a Senator from fill- ing one, under the law), Joe Robin- son was not active in the battle for Judicial reform. He had long been in bad health and was content to let the issue be fumbled between Attor- ney General Cummings and Chair- man Ashurst of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Van Devanter va- cancy, however, offered the late ma- Jority leader his longed-for chance to join the Supreme Court. He took over the leadership of the fight from Roosevelt, who was then willing to accept the proffered com- promise on two additional justices and lined up 51 Senators for a knock- down decision in favor of an increase of five justices, one a year. The Ar- kansan was a one-man parliamentary machine. He had every Senator taped and carried it all in his head. He needed no organization and worked without active aides or written records. When he died it was as though a candle had guttered out. His 51 Sen- ators were “sure” only with Robin- son as leader. Without Joe they rabbited. It is a magnificent tribute to his personal influence that on the vote to recommit the President's re- form bill there were 20 Senators who stood for court reform on principle, €ven though the administration had caved in. The other 31 represented Robinson’s individual skill and mag- netism. Reported Baruch Suggestion. On his death, then, all this was lost and, reportedly at the suggestion of Mr. Bernard M. Baruch, Vice Presi- dent Garner was recalled from Uvalde, Texas. Mr. Garner had been sent into rustication as punishment for his supposed sabotage activities ear- ller in the session. His return coin- cided with the effort of the Baruch crowd to leap into the New Deal saddle. The remonstrance, followed by a misleading interview on the White House steps, staged by four “freshman” Senators, was attributed to Garner by local political gossip. The subsequent meeting of the eight “uncommitted” Senators, led by Herring of Towa, was also regarded as the work of “Cactus Jack.” The final desperate drive to make Pat Harrison the Senate majority leader reinforced these efforts. The final stroke was dealt by Gov. Lehman of New York, whom Presi- dent Roosevelt had once described as his “right arm.” The Tory headline which read: ‘“‘Right Arm’ Stabs Roosevelt in Back” was the perfect comment on Lehman's public letter urging Senator Wagner to vote against reform. From the realistic standpoint, Robinson’s death and Garner's ‘‘com- promise” activities had already killed the court bill when Lehman plunged his little hatchet into Roosevelt's cherry tree. The damage done ‘s, therefore, rather to the Lehman po- litical hopes for the Presidency (ima- gine!) and to his reputation for po- litical loyalty, than to & reform which had already been blinded and stran- gled in the homicidal wilderness of Washington politics. Liberals and progressives may well remember these two men—Garner and Lehman—along with the sena- torial scalping party headed by Burke of Nebraska, Wheeler of Montana, Van Nuys of Indiana and the South- ern Bourbons. A popular champion has been deliberately betrayed by his own lieutenants, betrayed by the men who were elected as recently as last | year to help him to do the job the | people need to have done. If there 15 any merit in democracy, the politi- cal traftors will be snuffed out of public life in the next four years— by defeat at the polis (Copyright, 1937.) {GARBAGE STRIKE - HERE IS WITHHELD Sultan Promises Collectors an Investigation of Grievances. District garbage collectors withheld & threatened atrike todav on the prom- ise of Engineer Commissioner Dan I. Sultan to investigate their grievances. James Kimbro, business agent for the Hod Carriers' Union, said 104 members had asked for an inquiry into the suspension of two collectors. The | collectors allegedly were suspended for | using abusive language in the presence of a housekeeper, Kimbro said, but | the woman denied this. | 3. B. Gordon, sanitary engineering director, said the men were suspended a week for insubordination because they refused to obey a truck driver college | when he ordered them to collect some sophomores and juniors to provide a | overlooked garbage. reservoir of potential naval officers also is being worked out. when a little bit of checking will Dalil show the President that perhaps there are two sides to the issue and that | possibly something is to be said for the other side. The new bill has passed the House and it is probable | the Senate will go along and create the new positions which are to rele- gate the cabinet to a lesser and lesser role as merely an institution to satisfy political expediency. The real brain trust of Mr. Roosevelt and future Presidents is expected to be a non- political affair, and socially speaking, of no importance unless some day some alert hostess of these social precincts introduces the title of “Ase sistant President.” (Copyright, 1937.) RAIL HEARING SET Sweringen Reorganizing Plan Senate Topic. The Senate Railway Financing In- vestigating Committee will begin hear- ings Monday on the proposed plan for reorganizing the chief holding companies of the 23,000-mile Van Sweringen transportation system. Van MEMBER FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION PINEAPPLE x When pure cream us. At all our dealers in bulk SAVINGS i Col. Sultan planned to confer with & committee of the garbage collectors. LABOR BOARD TO STUDY SECURITY BOARD CASE Two Former Employes Assert They Were Discharged Dues to Union Activities. The National Labor Relations Board decided yesterday to investigate | the charges of two former workers of the Social Security Board that they | were discharged because of union ac- | tivities. The complaining employes | are William Stumpf and William | Schultz, both of whom were econ- nected with the Baltimore office of the board. The N. L. R. B. designated William | Savin, director of the Family Service Association. as independent arbitrator to decide if the complaint is justifiable, Stumpf and Schultz belonged to a unit of the United Federal Workers of America, C. I. O. Government union. The hearing on the charges will be This Changing World Chiang’s Position Difficult, With Japan Virtually Sure to Win in Conflict. BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. /~F\WO big war fires are burning, one in Spain and the other in Northern China. They are in far separated parts of the world. Yet there 18 ever-growing danger that they may spread from east to west and from west to east until all nations become involved. The struggle between the Japanese and the Chinese i3 worrying European statesmen. None of the Western powers can do more than admonish the belligerents to patch up their quarrels peacefully. None of the Western powers can show the big stick in a situation like the present one because the policy of the big stick is over. ‘The action of the Japanese in Northern China has been well planned in advance. The set-backs suffered by their troops in Peiping and Tientsin in the first days of the clashes have served the good purpose of inflaming the nationalistic spirit of the people at home. Many Japanese were luke- warm regarding the new adventure decided by the military and the big industrial interests. * ko % There seems to be little doubt as to the outcome of the conflict. The Japanese are almost certain to win, regardless of how stubborn the Chinese resistance may be. As In 1932, at Shanghal, when the 19th Route Army had the Japanese defeated, Chiang Kai-shek will not allow his well-trained troops to meet their Japanese opponents. He will talk, protest, argue and threaten, but will not risk his German-trained reg 'S, The position of the Chinese dictator is a difficult one. On the one hand he has his “Popular Front” in Nanking. Its members, students and white-collar workers are demanding action. He risks serious political set-back if he remains inactive. And this he can- --not aflord. Hence his saber rattling at given moments. On the other hand he is a realist who knows that his modern divisions, well trained and well equipped as they are, can be no match for Japan’s mil- itary machinery. And he is not going to sacrifice these men for a mere ges- ture. He hopes eventually to have an army which will throw the Japanese into the sea, but it will take a few more years before such an army is ready. The Japanese know the situation and decided to control Northern China before Chiang was in a position to tell them to get out. Manchuria has been a disappointment to them from the point of view of natural resources. North China has cotton and large quantities of coal. The Japanese industrialists and bankers dream of establishing large fac- tories in that section and compete from there with the Western manu- facturers with more than a 5 to 1 chance of success. x ok ox % The United States Government is in a difficult situation. The bets are that the President will not find it as easy as in the Italian-Ethiopian conflict to proclaim that a state of war existed between the two countries as soon as the Italian troops crossed into Ethiopian territory. And this for two reasons. First, the Japanese army is in Peiping and in Tientsin by virtue of the Boxer treaty of 1901. A conflict, regardless as to how bloody it may be, between the Chinese forces stationed in that region and the Japanese does not necessarily mean that there is a state of war between the Chinese republic and Japan. The situation would change materially if the Nanking government declared war on Japan; that, how- ever, seems to be out of the question for the time being. J On the other hand, a proclamation such as provided in the neutrality act would require the placing of an embargo on all arms and ammunitions going to China and Japan, and that would hurt the Chinese more than it hurts their opponents. The fact that applying further sanctions on the belligerents, embargoes on raw materials used by the Japanese, will hurt American commerce does not come into consideration. When the neutrality bill was passed such a loss had been taken into consideration and Congress decided that our exporters could take that loss for the sake of peace. But difficulty of deciding when a war in the Far East is really a war and the general feeling in the country not to handicap the Chinese who have suffered aggression after aggression at the hands of the Japanese, will delay the presidential proclamation which would automatically enforce an arms embargo. U. S. WORKERS CHIDED FOR “YES SIR” HABIT MEXICAN ART DISPLAY An exhibit of Mexican works of art, made by pupils in the Mexican Barlow. Federal Employes Told Only Col- | lective Bargaining Can 8olve Problems. Arthur Goldschmidt, vice chairman | of the United Federal Workers of America, told the Washington Com- mittee of the American Civil Liberties Union yesterday that Government | | workers are too much in the habit of | Sir"” to the bosses. -to-day problems of Fed- eral workers can be solved only by collective bargaining,” he said. “The | workers must be & part of the labor movement.” . Headline Folk and What They Do. Inventor Barlow Often Has Tangled With Official Washington. BY LEMUEL F. PARTON, EW YORK, July 30.—A Cone necticut Yankee in King Franklin's Court tells the King to go to hell. Scheduled for a news follow today is the threat of the M. L. R. B. to take action against Lester P. Barlow, tempera- mental Stamford inventer, and incie dentally heaver, of depth bombs, g who left a board meeting with this message: “You can tell the Presi« dent of the United States for me to go to hell!” Mr. Barlow is ase sociated with the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co.. appearing be= fore the board in a labor case. He " prefaced his mes- sage to the Presie dent with a declaration that the pro- cedure was a “racket” and the board members were Reds. The Government was said to have used about $300,000,000 worth of Mr, Barlow’s weapons in the World War, In suits over royalties and in advance ing new devices, he has tangled with Congress and Washington officials many times in post-war years and usually makes himself quite clear about the opposition, as above. In 1932 he revealed to President Hoover his new invention, which would ene able the operator to wipe out a big city, at a range of hundreds of miles, just by a bit of button pressing and dialing. Frazier Backed Inventor. This. he insisted, meant the end of war. If it were revealed to all nae tions, none would ever dare to fight again. Senator Frazier of North Da- kota backed him in placing his idea before Congress. He wanted the U. S. A. to place it before the League of Nations, as a device which would “make all other weapons silly and useless.” The League could then po- lice the world and end war. He said he didn't want a cent out of it: stope ping war was all he cared about. Although Serator Frazier gave him enthusiastic support, nothing came of the plan. He went to Russia. trying to interest the Soviets in making war a too-dangerous pastime, but without success Diverted by “Whisky Trust.” | The machinations of the “whisky trust” diverted his attention from public schools and sponsored by the world peace, and he got into some hot minister of education of that country, T€uments with Congressmen over his “foolproof whisky bottle.” which was will be held Monday at 3 pm. in the | 1o gt the trust back on its heels and foyer of the Natural History Building | save the country $200.000.000 a year, of the National Museum. | Invitations to attend the ehibit are | being issued by the charge d'affaires| of the Mexican Embassy. The exhibit, it was announced, will be displayed at | the Greater Texas and Pan-American Exposition at Dallas, Tex, this year, - Man Collapses Near White House. | A man giving the name of Thomas | Congress again was indifferent.. In February, 1936, he was in Washington again with blueprints of a shock-abe sorbing battleship. It was an 85,000« ton boat, with a resilient non-metal casing. Mr. Barlow was a political associate of the late Huey Long and backed Dr. Townsend in the fourth Connecticut congressional district. He hit his stride as an inventor with the Marlin Goldschmidt argued that Govern- | Woodbridge, 27, of Newport News, Va., | Airplane Factory at Los Angeles in ment employes should be allowed to strike and to picket. Government unions must be more than pressure groupe, he said. He spoke at a lunch- eon at 708 K street. | collapsed on the sidewalk in front of the White House late yesterday. He was taken by a secret service man to Emergency Hospital, where he was treated for malnutrition. 1915. He has been a consulting engi- neer for the American Locomotive Co., the McCord Radiator Co. and other big corporations. (Copyright. 1837.) 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