Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1935-09-19
Dispelling The Fog
(By Charles Michelson)

People generally are willing to
assume that the men who are con-
Quoting the affairs of United States
Steel, or General Motors or The
Red Cross, or one of our big news
papers, are better qualified for the
job than the average innocent by
stander. But it is different about
government. Almost anybody feels
sure he knows more of political
economy, public welfare, and legis-
lation than do the executives and
congressman elected to the jobs,
even though majority of these
have spent a lifetime wrestling with
the problems of public service.
I have particularly in mind the
newspaper writer's, who boldly take
positions on national questions, and
deliver opinions with as much
solemnity and implied authority as
the supreme court. Now l know
these men. Through many years
worked beside them. They are able,
Industrious, and, in those days
when we of the craft thought our
job was to gather news and in
terpret it, they were adopts in that
particular line. Now nearly all of
them assume to be experts in con-
stitutional law and the science of
government.
/ am not referring particularly to
criticism of the Roosevelt policies
by my propaganda competitors.
That is to be expected from Repub-
lican sources. The chief difference
between us is that this column is
issued frankly from the Democratic
national committee, while Mr..
Frank Kent, Mr.. Mark Sullivan, Mr..
David Lawrence and some others
affect to fly neutral flag while
keeping up constant lombard
ment on the Democratic administra-
tion.
With these gentlemen the Presi-
dent is never right. When congress
passed law according more or less
to one of his recommendations, he
was dictator, scheming to ham,
string business. When congress
failed to accept his recommends
tion, he was a repudiated leader,
whose influence had waned. When
he signed bill favored by labor,
he was seeking to cripple industry,
and when in the course of CORES
pondence he wrote that the emer-
gency was about over and the legis-
lative program practically COM
plete, they said he did not mean it.
One might think that even a Demo-
cratic President might do something
not altogether sinister, if only by
accident in the course Of his term,
but it does not work out that way
if these talented columnists are on
the level.
A little different species of Re-
publican propagandists is James
Paul Warburg, delightful and
muehly accomplished young banker |
who is now furnishing the anti
Roosevelt press with a book in SER
ial form devoted to the shortcom-
ings and mistakes of the admins
tration. He was one of the finan-
cial advisers of our delegation to |
the World Economic Conference at |
London. 1t appears that his advice I
was not taken. He favored a cur
rency stabilization accord with |
Great Britain at a period when the !
dollar was far down in relation to |
the British pound, which did not fit !
in with the Presidents plans, then |
just under way to increase COM
modify prices as part of the recoy-
cry program. England had beaten |
us off the gold standard by more |
than two years and had reaped a
commercial harvest, and we were
just beginning to catch up.
/ do not pretend to know all
about the money question, though 1
have listened admiringly to the
words on the subject
that dropped from the lips of this
eminent young financier who has
been and still is connected with
more banks and securities corpora
tions than man has fingers and