The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-02-21

failure OF all his efforts TO reduce sub
stantIally the number of unemployed.
So that any scheme, which. without
doing too much violence to his reform
ideas, promises stimulation OF private
employment. is very appealing indeed.
And will continue so.
Whereas any proposed handlcaps on
business which might result In a de-
crease of employment have TO be
mighty important to his reform pro-
gram to make any appeal at the mo-
ment.
Jars President ~
This attitude on the part OF the Pres
ident has reached new peak, In way.
in the last few days. That vote In
the senate appropriations committee,
(which almost upset the apple cart SO
far as his big work relief program Is
concerned, was bigger Jar to the
President than the vote on the World
court. Far worse. And the vote was
SO close because some of the senator's
voting against the White House were
anxious to hold down the total debt of
the government. They were worried
about the governments credit
The President has not been much
worried about that. He Is convinced
1t is all right. So Is Secretary Nor
genthau. But he is very much worried
over such an attitude developing on
Capitol Hill. 1t may rise to bother
him In any number of ways before this
congress is over.
So that the problem has been made
more difficult. 1t was: could the gov
eminent spend its way back to prosper
ity before the danger point Of spending
was reached. Now 1t Is: can the gov
eminent spend Its way back to pros
perity before congress thinks the dam
ger point has been reached. 1t Is
very different question, and one to
cause grief not only to the President,
but Public Works Administrator Ickes.
Relief Director Hopkins, Housing d.
rector Moffett, and last but not least,
Jesse Jones.
So much has been intimated about
government opposition to this and that
in business, proposed new taxes, harsh
treatment for holding companies. ETC.,
that 1t was thought very good idea to
indicate that In at least one important
governmental unit, dealing with some
pretty Important lines OF business, the
government should take on conserv-
alive tinge.
Work Relief Cash
New Deal officials, questioned by
senate and house committees as to
what would be done with the $780,
100000 lump sum being asked by Pres
ident Roosevelt for work relief, have
been compared by critics to Haupt-
mann witnesses In their vagueness and
contradictions of testimony.
But the answer Is very simple. Put
ting man under oath and grilling him
with great solemnlty does not add any
thing to his information. II he really
does not know, 1t Is pretty hard for
the shrewdest oss-examiner to find
out.
The thing Is complicated by a factor
as old as tribal government, but which
has led to newspapers getting things
wrong In their stories ever since the
early Romans chiseled bulletins on
stone. This Is the human desire on the
part of officials not to admit that they
really do not know what they are going
to be told to do-that they are not real
ly on the inside.
In this particular case there Is no
inslde-so far. MIR. Roosevelt himself
does not know what he is going to do
with the money. He admits it frank
~, but the boys on Capitol Hill do not
believe 1t They think he knows, but
Is not willing to tell them lest they
hamstring him by earmarking too much
OF the money.
But there Is that curious human
tendency on the part Of many of his
lieutenants not to admit they do not
know perfectly well what is going to
be done. Especially after one OF their
number has given the implication, by
his apparent evasion, that he really
knows all about 1t, but cannot be
forced to tell. For the next fellow
then to admit that he did not know
would be to give the public the idea
that the first witness was really on tile
Inside, but the second did not know
what was going on, was no longer be-
ing consulted by the President, and
had generally lost his place In the sun.
Remember Wilson Era
Old Washington correspondents re-
member the era OF Woodrow Wilson
and Joseph z. Tumulty In the White
House, In the days after Joes contacts
with his chief had begun to wane.
Old friends In the newspaper bust
ness would ask Tumulty what the
President would do on some important
matter. Tumulty would reply that he
could not discuss that. Which was
literally and actually true. Then the
correspondents, by shrewd leading OF
the conversation around a circle and
bringing Ii back, would find ont what