The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-10-07
Politics in Public Works
Chicago Tribune)

There are recovery theorists who
regard the public works program as
the phalanx Of the administration at
tack upon depression. Other activi-
ties they regard as auxiliaries. Mr..
1ckes, secretary Of the interior, ad-
ministering the public works section
Of the national recovery act, has
available three billion three hundred
million dollars. It would not be easy
to find in politics man to whom
this fund could be more safely in
trusted. The secretary Of the inte-
rior realizes his responsibilities and
his dangers. He may be relied upon
to do the best he can to keep fraud
and futility from utterly destroying
the purpose Of the program. The
danger Is that 1t Is beyond the power
o. any one man or set of men to con-
troll the influence which will deter
mine that q public works program
shall be wasteful and Intellectual.
The money to be used is not the
gift of fairy godfather. When the
reckoning comes 1t must be paid out
OF private pockets. The reckoning
may be delayed, but the debt will
come due. It will be assessable
against private enterprise. Whatever
any administration Of public works
may try to do, the disposition Of the
money must be political. There can
be no exceptions to this. Safeguards
may be erected. but the rule Of poll
tics Is almost completely q contra
diction Of the rule Of private bust
ness. In politics 1t Is permitted to
make an investment Of money which
would be regarded a. scandalous in
private affairs. Tradition permits it
and there Is no public verdict against
It. A Transaction will be permitted
In the political use Of money which a
private administrator Of conscience
would regard as criminal.
Conscientious private use of invest
ments Is governed by requirements of
profit and safe return. These are
definite facts ascertainable in ac-
counting. There is no such test of a
political investment. One highly adj
vantageous to the politicians who
control It may be q sheer waste so
far as the public is concerned. Even
under the conscientious Mr.. Ickes it
- already to be seen that In the APP
porti0nment of public funds the i'm
portant political states are being IA
yored regardless OF the national good
involved. These are California and
New York, the latter being the home
state Of the president and the former
the state Of that very competent pol
itician. Hiram johnson. to whose in
fluence Mr.. 1ckes owes a great deal.
The public works fund must, when
the accounting is made, come from
private enterprise. and it cannot be
used ~ It would be uJed by the citi-
xens from whom II Is taken. What
ever the intentions Of administrators
may be, the public money will flow
into the least useful and least pro-
ductive enterprises Of the country. It
will 80 into the backwaters Of the
Tennessee valley. It will build dams
and will be spent on waste lands. It
WILL go into 0verextended government
plants and into projects where it will
be frozen, with no possibility Of pro-
ductivity. It may afford temporary
employment, but there will be no
return on the investment when the
work has been done. Maintenance
costs will be increased and commune
ties will have white elephants on
their hands.
Politicians will be sAtisfied when
they have brought excessive bounties
into their districts and when they
havA n6at1v yAnnss,sAar%s ~ ro,,o,.,, {
ment folly standing - reminders that
politics Is wAsteful business. Tn.
thinking people may believe they
heve been benefited by completed
project tor which they have no use
and for which they viii have 70 pay.
But the sum total Of the whole I'd.
venture will b tho waste Of resources,
contributing nothing to the wealth Of
the nation and gaining little on the
credit aide even Il Ia the waste Of
the money there were some tempo.
rary pay rolls.