Evening star., 1933-07-02
Government Goes to People
Administration Makes

Professional politicians either distrust
Raymond Moley, r. G. Tugwell and
A. A. Berle, with their associates, OF
openly detest them. Certain captains
Of industry are disquieted that Their
advice goes unheard or unheeded.
Yet the inner group Is not wal
about the President, out q filter Of ideas
and suggestions as well as q fertile
source Of remedies and devices From
this group sprang the bright idea OF
persuading Congress to delegate to the
President powers which otherwise, un-
der the Constitution, he could not exer-
else. From it sprang the notions en-
bodied In the farm relief bill and the
rider thereto opening the way to infia-
ton: from 1t came the plans for rail-
road and industrial regulation and con-
troll, which the President prefers to cal
partnership with government; from
1t came the Muscle Shoals Tennessee
Valley scheme; from it came the sug-
gestion that Mr. Roosevelt ask congress
sional advice" about war debts and
tariffs before asking senatorial "con-
sent" The boldness and fertility Of the
brain trust" may be guessed at from
these illustrations.
All members Of the inner group are
highly articulate, and they are versed ir
the uses Of publicity. They have theil
chiefs permission to write for news
papers and magazines; they know how
to regiment public opinion; they are
artful in persuasion. And they evil
IDENTIFY are able to distinguish between
the kind of propaganda which is otter
a public menace and the kind of pub
licity which can be made public serv-
ice. Never has government been wholly
divorced from propaganda in the United
States; George Washington profited BY
the activities Of an obscure printer, ano
Thomas Jefferson set up the first semi
official organ Of an administration.
France, for that matter, has appropri-
ated more than 81 900, 900 to win over
sentiment here, and we have our
spokesmen, whether or not they be off,
cial. In every world capital.
Held Congress In Line.
BY the canny expedient of withhold
ing patronage until Congress had fallen
into line, the Preident established for
himself a position comparable with the
status Of a prime minister in European
parliamentary systems, Of originating
legislation. The ancient warfare be-
tween the White House and the Cap
itol was abated and at the end OF
Pennsylvania avenue truce prevailed.
Congress has abdicated," alarmists
shouted; this was not true, but the
surrender of certain obstructionist
powers was necessary to a government
by publicity. Mr.. Roosevelt did not
have to crack his whip; publicity
rather than patronage, was employed
to keep Congress obedient and atiptoe
On every desk in the House and Senate
were messages from constituents which
sprang from an unmistakable interest;
these kilograms and letters were not
the stereotypes inspired by propa-
gandist organizations.
Nor has the President, am assured,
received such masses of mail from
distant and obscure correspondents as
has Mr.. Roosevelt. These messages
voice hopes, opinions and criticisms
Mr.. Roosevelt calls them his bed
time stories" and reads them, after his
secretaries have sorted them, before
he falls asleep or when he wakes. II
is clear that he is as anxious to hear
the electorate as to reach it. To say
that he took Office at a propitious
juncture Of public alarm and public
demand for a change of leadership
any changes greatly to understate
the matter. Unprecedented powers
have been conferred upon him, as upon
Solon, not by passive assent, but by
popular acclaim And his invitation tc
every man to participate in govern
ment has been accepted wholesale
With the uncanny sixth sense, which
makes a successful politician, he has
apprehended new national mood and
he has not only encouraged it, but
expressed it.
In the corridors and cloak rooms OF
the Capitol. in the streets and the ante
rooms of Government departments and
bureaus, there are such throngs daily
as Washington never before saw In
peace time. Washington, like ancient
Athens, has become a national focus
and a radiant center of ideas, de-
partures, innovations. There is newly
aroused public animation about Uncle
Sans policy. Transmitting that i'm
petus to the Hill, Mr.. Roosevelt clearly
Is endeavoring, to an extent hitherto
unknown in our history, to make the
national will effective In the executive
and legislative branches. He has re-
discovered and expanded the higher
reaches of publicity. In the only way
possible 10 modern ruler, he has
undertaken to make democracy, the
functioning Of organized self-control,
workable and actual.