The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-12-18
1t
Seems
to
Me
By Haywood Broun :


at wasn't" said Judge j. v.
Gatty, "a desire to administer JUS
tice or prevent a recurrence OF
Warmers crime which sent the
mob against the jail. 1t was hate
the same passion which engen-
ders any murder. When you find
the real leaders you will find men
of not much higher moral standard
than the man they murdered. If
you had been there that night
doubt that you could have picked
twelve men from the mob who
would have had the courage to
convict and hang Warner as mem
bers of jury in court of justice.
Their action was murder in its
most despicable form and an as
sadlt on the institutions you pay
for and charge to administer JUS
tice. Women are no safer in st.
Joseph today by reason OF that
murder.
But, of course, J. v. Gatty is only
q hick Judge down in the sticks
and not a member of the nouveau
rabble.
CTILL, we we're talking about
- Washington and politics. A
posse is forming. Congressman
are crawling out from the cracks,
and they want a lynching. They
carry clippings. Patriotic pub
fishers have supplied them with
the ammunition. The locks Of
Samson have been shOrn, and the
Philistines are ready with their
ropes.
To put it more bluntly, the
rumor is about that the days of
General Hugh S. Johnson are
numbered. And this time 1 think
rumor is right. Way back in the
autumn of 1888 General Johnson
was my hero. He isn't now. Things
moye rapidly under the new deal.
The general has made many eco
nomic and political mistakes.
Although he learned rapidly, he
could not quite keep up with the
trend of the times. He began with
the curious notion that such words
as "non-union" or ''unOrganized"
were synonymous for "stalwart"
and t'independent" And so his
picture of the American labor
situation was always little
muddled.
But his constitutional difficulties
cut even deeper. General Johnson
is the best ballyhoo man Wash
ington has ever known. Without
him there would be no MIRA. And
if he remains much longer the
same thing is true. He is man Of
phrases and not a man of action.
TN the beginning it was necessary
Il to. arouse the country. First
come the bagpipes and then the
fighters. Hugh S. Johnson had
the ability to arouse everybody to
action except himself. He could
crack down in a speech and fail
when it came to reduce the prin-
ciple to the definite language of a
code. He is, as the old saying goes,
the sort of gladiator who tends to
leave his fight in the gymnasium.
Always General Johnson saw the
world of affairs through the eyes
of the artist. One of the master
rough-and tumble phrase makers
of our time, he became a bit con-
fused as to what he had said and
what he had done. America
thought of him as the tough guy
of the legends. But in reality he
was never Paul Bunyan. He was
John. For him the task always
would be the preparation of the
way.
AS between him and the rabble
I'm all for Hugh S. Johnson-a
grand fellow. But he's just about
as much an administrator as 1 am.
Still, if he drops out this side of
the promised land he will be in
good company. He can reach out
and shake hands with Moses. Hugh
and Moses were like that-swell
starters, but not the boys to finish
up the job. The vision of both
was a bit beyond their reach.
Once in a conference a big in
duStrialiSt sat and made no COM
ment, but whenever anything was
said about wages or hours he did
not like he would shake his head
violently. After this had happened
two or three times the general
turned to him and said, IF you
keep on shaking that head of yours
you'll find pretty soon that it will
be twisted off,
NOBODY has ever expressed the
IN present situation of big bust
ness more neatly. But Johnson
could only say it, He was inhibited
against performance. don't mind
a little irony now and then. but it
seems to me that this world in
which We live produces it in excess
Sive quantities. Perhaps nothing
is more fantastic than the pre-
valent picture of General Hugh S.
johnson. did my small part in
contributing to it, He looked like
Captain Flagg. and how was I to
know that here was another in
decisive Hamlet in disguise? In
fact. he fooled everybody, with one
exception.
General Johnson couldn't fool
himself. He always knew that at
bottom he was a bluff. Just the
same, it was a magnificent pose.
One night in a New York ring I
saw Frank Moran fighting Bob
Martin, the A. E. F. champion.
Moran was all through, and Mar
tin was one of the finest looking
fighters have ever seen. For eight
rounds the veteran scared the life
out Of him by drawing back his
right hand and pretending that he
was about to cut loose. He never
did, because there was nothing to
cut.
This has been the technique of
the general. And now it looks as