The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1918-05-02

dVOCdIlOH, IL you ClOOSc- WHdt
has any man in this body who.
while protesting loyalty out loud,
has been engaged in putting
secretly dagger under the fifth
rib of the Executive; what has
been your chief charge? 1t was
that there was too much red
tape" The President comes to
you and asks you. For Gods
sake let me cut the red tape; let
me do away with the little tech
nical requirements that prevent
me from putting Jones in Smiths
place when Jones can do the
work of Smith and Smith can
not do it, and | have found out
that Smith cannot do it, and the
only recourse | have is to remove
Smith, who might do very we'll
somewhere else, and when | can
not even appoint Jones to Smiths
place, because of rules and regu-
lations
Some of you have been here
talking long time-I refer not
to any man personally, except
the man who rises to confess that
he has been talking about the
inefficiency of the executive de-
partments; the inefficiency of all
the work that we have been do
ing; the red tape that keeps us
back; the man in the department
who, when anybody goes to him
and says Il have got something
here that can hurt the enemy;
| have something here that can
help the American Republic, Z"
passes the buck" to the next
fellow. After all that, the Presi-
dent of the United States comes
in and says, Il want to stop pass
ing the buck; | want to cut the
red tape; | want to put a square
peg in a square hole; | want to
put a round peg in a round hole;
| want author ty to carry on this
wa efficiently as far as the exec
utive department. constitutionally
nominally under my control, is
concerned" and you say NAY,
nay Pauline!"
Go back to history a while and
see the crowd of Senators and
Representatives that daily, mi
ght say hourly, under the Fede-
raj government criticized Lin coin
and Stanton ana Welles-Welles.
the greatest of them all, so far
as mere efficiency went. Go into
the history OF the country on the
other side of the Ohio and the
Potomac rivers and find fellows
who were always crilicizing jeff
Davis, because Jeff Davis would
Keep Robert E. Lee and Stone
wall Jackson and Albert Sidney
Johnston in command of the arm
les. Why, these wiseacres, in the
rear legislators, without any in
formation, thought that certain
distinguished politicians in their
respective states ought to have
command of the army. Go back
and study it all up. Above all
things. Mr.. President, let Sena-
tors study-oh, the almost divine
art of passing the buck" Ship
ping Board? Yes. Airplane
Board? Yes. War Department?
Yes. One or another bureau of
the department? Yes. Whom
shall / see?" Smith. Smith
passes the buck to Jones, and
Jones passes the buck to Williams
and Williams passes the buck to
Robinson, and Robinson passes
the buck to Knox; and so we go.
The President is asking you
to relieve him of the necessity of
passing the buck. He is asking
you, for Gods sake to give more
elasticity of action, harmony of
policy, unity of purpose, and
make him, so far as the execu-
tive departments of this Gov
eminent are concerned. during
the war dictator, if you please
yes; at least military dictator. If
you do not give to the Executive
sufficient authority whereby at
least the executive department
of the government not the legis-
lative, not the judicial, but at
least the executive department
of the government-can be har-
monized with It's self. can be
unified in purpose, can avoid
duplication, can vol q
passing the buck then this
war may be won, but it will be
won:by the grace Of God in Eu-
rope without our help. It may be
won, and it will be won, because
God is our chief ally; not the
gods of the Vandals and the
Goths-Thor and Wooden Frey