Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-02-05
An ACTIVE Young Assistunl

II is not surprising that officials OF the ma
1 tional capital should have been somewhat
startled to read the remarks made by Frank
lin d. Roosevelt before the brooklyn Office
10 the general effect that i'll an effort to
overcome the unpreparedncss OF the navy
for war he had taken a position in opposi-
ton to the President that he had given an
illegal order for $40,0000OO worth Of guns
and that he had committed enough other acts
contrary 10 the law to send him to Jail for
999 years. This was indeed an astonishing
revelation.
II has been known, of. course that certain
OF the Junior officials in Washington have
been very energetic: that they have been am
bilious and that they were CALLED by tho re-
straipt put upon them. But ii was not pre-
viously known that any OF these young gen
tlemcn was audacious enough to challenge
the President, TO take the rcigns of govern
ment into his own hands and TO ignore the
TACT that higher officials were responsible
under the law for all acts and policies Of
the administration.
In this particular case VIC are led 10 won
der what the dictatorial Josephus Daniels
was doing about that time From the secre-
tary's enemies, the country had learned tha
he was the complete master of the navy; that
ne was hlsh-handed to the last degree; that
he consistently refused TO allow any decision
to be made or any policy to be fixed without
his direct approval.
sisted upon signing every piece OF mail that
required the secretarial signatures: that he
daily assemblies all his bureau chiefs With
their documents and keeps them within reach
in order To question them closely regarding
the- acts before giving approval TO such acts
All this, according to the complaints which
nave been heard during the past seven years
constitutes the cardinal fault to be found
with the country editor" who happens to
be Secretary of the Navy
AND yet, IL now comes To pass that very
young assistant TO Mr. Daniels stepped for
ward at the outset OF the war took posi-
lion in defiance of the President; gave an
order for guns costing $4,000 ,000, without
authority OF law, and committed certain
othe: illegal acts which. if they had not later
been legalized by Congress, would have ius-
tihcd Jail sentences against the Official for
nearly thousand years
In brief statement issued after he had
seen his speech in print, Mr.. Roosevelt takes
back nothing he had been quoted earlier as
saying, except that he was not opposed nv
the President. He explained that circum-
stance by saying that Mr.. Wilson had felt
mat IL would be mistake to order the mobi-
lZation OF the fleet prior TO an actual decla ra-
ton of war against Germany on the ground
that such mobilization would naturally b.,
regarded as a hostile act
Many folks will be unfavorablv immersed
by the Dragging attitude OF Mr. Roosevelt
1t is not a becoming position for him 10 oc-
cuPy. He no doubt did his part during tho
war He was the assistant to one OF the
war-makinE secretaries. but he had no ont
standing opportunity for signal service. He
luhctioncd only in so far rs Secretary
Daniels permitted him TO function. He may
have felt the impulse 10 do many history
making things, but he was merely a sub
ordinate official, with all the limitations
which such officials feel