Evening star., 1934-09-11
Douglas Applauded by Press
For His Battle for Economy

With few exceptions the press re-
grets the elimination of Lewis W.
Douglas, who resigned as director OF
the budget in disagreement with
President Roosevelt over the admins
tration fiscal policies.
In his going" says the Phila-
delphia Evening Bulletin, there is
lost almost the last conservative in
f1uence in the inner circle of the Fed
eral administration. and perhaps the
only one sufficiently sound in prin-
ciple to be assertive when occasion re-
quired. That is more to be regretted
than the loss of an efficient director
Of the budget"
His resignation means" according
to the Roanoke World-News, that the
administration is not greatly inter-
ested in balanced budget, and that
1t regards that section of the Demo-
cratic platform which called for a
Is per cent reduction in expenditures
as definitely dead as the section call
ing for a sound currency to be main
tained at all hazards" The Seattle
Times declares: That he took the Job
seriously was proved in a number of
instances during the earlier stages of
the New Deal, when he tried to hold
some Of the other dealers down to
earth"
ut would SEEM" concludes the st.
Paul Pioneer Press, the most logical
conclusion, therefore, that the break
now Is over future budget policies.
More of this will be learned as the
new budget for the fiscal year starting
next July / takes shape. Mr.. Douglas
has been an advocate of balancing
the budget sooner rather than later
and probably was largely responsible
for the policy announced last Winter
that next year Federal expenditures
would be brought within income. It
would appear that President Roose-
velt has decided the spending program
must continue at least another year.
But until more definite disclosure of
policies Is made, this remains in the
field of conjecture"
The Kansas City Times finds "the
implications of the situation are far
from reassuring," and appreciation of
Mr.. Douglas fight for economy and a
balanced budget are expressed by such
papers as the Boston Transcript, New
York Times, Providence Journal, In
dianapolis News, Buffalo Evening
News, Hartford Times, New Haven
Journal al-Courier, Columbia Is. c.
Record, Manchester IN. H) Union
and many others.
Undoubtedly Douglas steps out of
the picture with vast sense of re-
lief" suggests the Cheyenne Wyoming
State Tribune, and that paper adds:
What administration circles regard
as his old-fashioned ideas concern
ing the multiplication table, subtrac-
ton, addition and division have had
the effect during the last year of
making him hardly more than q
figurehead-he had q job to do under
the law, but was not permitted to
do it."
'"The resignation" remarks the
Charleston wv. Va Daily Mail, "re-
wives the question of whether a Presi-
dent should have as his subordinate
officials and advisers only men who
will agree with him in his policies
and support his plans without ques-
ton or men with independent ideas
and with the courage to urge these
upon the Executive when they feel
that the President is headed in the
wrong direction. Mr. Douglas was of
the latter kind. It is easy for Presi-
dent to find Yes men as his ad-
visers."
To the Miami (Fla.) Herald II
seems quite natural and inevitable
that Douglas should pass out Of the