Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-28
on MAKING US UNEASY

/ of Arkansas, to Representative John.
son, Of South Dakota, Twill make the
country uneasy Mr.. johnson. suddenly
contrte. sat down. The text of the debate
was a rumor, a typical Washington rumor,
Of counterfeiting in the Bureau of Engrav.
ing and Printing and efforts in some of the
Cabinet Offices to suppress and conceal the
scandal.
Mr.. Johnson was clamoring for informa.
ton. Since 1t was assumed to be unpleas.
ant information, the House thirsted for it.
There does seem to be more than one post
war scandal Immediately under the surface
of Washington. Increasing cOmmotion is
under the political crust; upheavals from
below, that no one seems able to still, grow
more violent. We have been cheering our.
selves with the assertion that the country
got through the war without q scandal
reminiscent of the embalmed beef of 1898.
Maybe we have been mistaken.
An official of the Department of Justice,
who must be credited with energy at least.
enjoys the distinction Of having been fred
twice, once in Mr.. Wilson's time and again,
recently, by Attorney General Daugherty,
for insisting that everything wasn't right in
the department from which Government
bonds, money and stamps are issued. This
official, Major o. o. Watts, offended Mr.
Daugherty by giving important information
to members Of the lower house of Con.
gress. Such a proceeding was intolcrable to
the Attorney General. He said SO. And
quite automatically everybody remembered
hushed reports OF sympathy said to exist
between one Or two members Of the Cabinet
and business firms that Jared not wisely but
too well with war contracts now under in
vestigation.
This is all very interesting. But Mr..
.stx ~
Neither Mr.. Daugherty nor Mr.. johnson
nor any one else In Washington can make
the country uneasy.
The fine thing about the people of this
country is that 800 out of every 1000 of
them are without the time. the inclination
or the peculiar talents necessary to cOun-
terfeiters, contract swindlers, official hush
hushcrs, bucket shoppers, poseurs, lobby
lists, graftcrs, shiftcrs or the elected prophets
of evil who roar by the clock every after.
noon at the seat of government. The con.
fdent and quiet way in which the people
who are the people 60 about their work,
whether they labor for days wages or run
big O. little businesses, Is heartening in
times Of political uproar. It is significant
and broadly revealing.
The American people know that they can
take care Of themselves. in spite of Wash
ington, if need be. Theirs is the greatest
patience and theirs Is the last word. And
so. though men who bilked and cheated the
Government in war time still 90 about in fat
limOus.nes, while West Virginia miners who
demonstrated too strenuOusly for better
wages are standing trial for treason, the
end is not yet.
Bootleggers. Lobbyists, pay-as-y0u enter
politicians and little men accidentally in big
jobs make most OF the noise and get often
est into the newspapers, which is fortunate
for those who have to keep watch on them
| They reckon, OF course, without thinking Of
| what is behind the Nations patient silence,
of forces that gather inevitably for their
! annhilation. They are handful of the
| population.
Why, then. does Mr.. Wmgo talk of IN.
easlness? No matter what happens in
| Washington. the country will not be uneasy.
| 1t may be cnraged. II may be indignant.
| But indignation Is a wholesome thing 1t
| is the best sort Of political medicine. We
need more of it, not less. 1t is constructive
and cleansing. This is knowledge that Mr..
! Wingo ought to spread in the ways and
| byways OF Washington, and in a Congress
| that seems sometimes to forget that it Is
supposed to work for the people of the
! United States.
When the explosions come-and news
about Federal oil reserves. Muscle Shoals.
| the Federal printing shops, the bonus and
| such matters indicate that some loud ones
| are about due-the country will be relieved.
| Uneasiness will be for the people who didn [
| and couldn't get by with Il.