Evening star., 1935-05-05
BY ]. A. FOX.

~HE polltlcdl goCS must nave
chuckled the day John Ray
mond McCarl of a Nebraska
crossroads was named by
Warren Harding for the new
ly created post of controller general
of the United States.
On its face the appointment was
an innocuouS one. With his not
impressive background as senatorial
aide, and latterly. as secretary of the
Republican Congressional Committee,
there was nothing to indicate that
McCarl was other than just good
Republican" who was being rewarded
with a $4,000 job for helping along
the return to normalcy."
The fact that q principal sponsor
was Senator George w. Norris, on
whose staff McCarl had come to the
Capital, could have served as warn
ing Of what might be expected. It
didn't. A recognized mouthpiece of
the administration disposed of the
appointment in three paragraphs,
part Of which was given over to re-
counting the disappointment in some
quarters that President Harding's
choice hadn't fallen elsewhere, and
the rest, to explaining that McCarl
would be sort of glorified bookkeeper.
Babe Ruth and Man O. War didn't
get much advance notice, either.
Dominates Office.
A differently constituted individual
than McCarl could have maintained
the controller generalship on q plane
where it would have been just another
Federal of1ce. But that wasn't his
way. In fact, from the very outset,
in this instance; the man. rather than
his official position, has been the
dominant factor. Invariably, the
General Accounting Office, which he
heads, Is spoken Of as "McCarps
ONCE" When the budget and ac-
counting act set up this establish
ment McCarl took hold with the idea
that his duty was to see that every
cent Of appropriated moneys was
spent legally. He has adhered stead
fastly to that principle and questions
a 20-cent item as quickly as one tor
SIC, 1000, 900.
Over the span Of IA years-save
for the Supreme Court itself-his has
been the most potent voice in the
Government. He's stirred up lot of
il1-will, but that has not caused him
to back track. Political label meant
nothing. He was just as tough" in
proportion to the importance of the
issues involved, in the Republican era,
as the Democrats have found him
since March, 1888.
It is this unwavering attitude that
has caused the stocky Nebraskan to
be so often at loggerheads with men,
bers Of the Roosevelt official family,
although the cause goes deeper, for
the trouble, primarily, has been the
growing tendency of the executive
branch Of the Government to assume
legislative functions under the broad
grant Of authority of the national re-
covery act, ignoring in the process,
general statutes. In addition, there
has been disposition to interpret toe
literally Gin McCarl's opinion) other
New Deal legislation, and he has
never hesitated to step In with q dis
sent when he thought the occasion
required it. Naturally, there have been
some toes stepped on, from White
House down, for he hasn't hand
picked his opposition.
Pet Projects Included.
Among other things, the controller
general has ruled out $25,000, 600
Canada a-to-the-Gu tree belt prof.
ect fostered by the President as a
drought curb; tossed back into the
lap Of Public Works Administrator
1ckeS an ambitious 500, ,000, 900 slum
clearance plan; refused to allow Sec
retary Wallace to buy up surplus
lambs with drought funds, and boxed
official ears at the War Department
while forcing new bids for the $10,-
000, 900 Army motorization program
on the ground that the first bids were