Evening star., 1936-11-20
The Brain Trust Passes.

The Roosevelt brain trust" to which
have been ascribed many of the New
Deal experiments, has passed on. None
OF the original half dozen of brain
trusters" who joined the President dur
ing his first campaign and later came
to Washington to help him draft his
legislative program is still on the job.
DR.. Rexford G. Tugwell, recognized as
No. brain truSter after the retirement
of Prof. Raymond Moley, is leaving the
Department of Agriculture to go into
the molasses business. He is going into
the same company In which two others
of the little group of Roosevelt advisers
have preceded him, Adolph A. Berle and
Charles william Taussig, the latter
being the president of the molasses COM
pany. DR.. Tugwell is to be vice presi-
dent.
The influx of college professors, near
professors and others of the intelligentsia
into Washington to join in shaping the
economic policies of the New Deal ad-
ministration was remarkable. Many
other men were characterized as men,
bers of the brain trust. The President,
when he was ridiculed because of his
''brain trust" smilingly replied that he
preferred to trust brains" The savage
attack of Al Smith upon the men he said
were treating the American people as so
many guinea pigs, making experiments,
had no more effect upon the President
and the brain trusters than water on a
ducks back. Many of these professors
have left Washington. But none others
had the name for influence with the
President that was attributed, rightly or
not, to Prof. Moley and to DR.. Tugwell,
who was a professor of economics at
Columbia University.
Has the President parted with these
brain trusters reluctantly, or have the
brain trusters been reluctant to stay
with the administration? To many of
the critics this is of little moment COM
pared to the satisfaction they derive
from the dissolution of the brain trust.
What assurance, however, have these
critics that the President will not build
himself another brain trust? They have
none. And yet the final withdrawal OF
Tugwell from the administration may
be indicative of new phase in the
Roosevelt rule.
When Moley retired from the Office Of
Assistant Secretary of State he became
editor of a weekly magazine published
by Vincent Astor, wealthy friend of the
President He has been frank but
friendly critic, at times, of the Roose-
welt administration. The entrance of
Or. Tugwell into the field of business
comes, perhaps, with slight shock. If
he had gone to writing or to teaching
again, there would have been no sur
prise. But his decision to go into the
business of producing and disposing OF
imolasses makes one wonder. 1t has been
said in explanation of Tugwell's resig-
nation that he wishes to make money.
II the brain trusters are to become
economic royalists," then indeed the
world is turned upside down.
Molasses is an admirable product, even
II it is sticky. 1t has many uses. That
It should have attracted three members
Of the Presidents original brain trust
Is something of a tribute. There are
those, to be sure, who maintain that
Dr.. Tugwell has left the Department Of
Agriculture because he and Secretary
Wallace stumbled over one another too
often. If that be true, the differences
were well concealed. No ripple marred
the surface of the administrative waters
Until something more definite is devel-
eped, molasses must continue to be given
the credit for weaving DR.. Tugwell from
the administration.