The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-02-27

|
no longer the smooth-running engine
for your service for which you pay
and to which you have a right. The
Government at Washington is mess.
And no wonder.
"Instead of practical men who know
their way around, young men with
plenty of theory and no practice are
put in charge of important public en-
terprises where experience counts far
more than book learning. No business
man would put such tenderfeet in
charge Of anything.
"The result is that every day in
every way the cost of Government
keeps going up-and that makes a
difference to you.
81 don't know how you feel about
it, but 1 have a definite opinion as to
spending your money and mine to send
fan dancers to CCC camps. I have
definite opinion about boondoggling,
and about the loafing on public works
that so many of US have noticed.
~ don't so much blame the men who
who do the loafng. Men who won't
loaf when they get the chance are
not exactly rare. But I do blame the
directing heads who dribble your
money away for lack of practical ca
pacity, or a practical plan.
Instead of one clear plan, Wash
ington has sort of blizzard of plans.
The air of Washington is cloudy with
Commissions, each buzzing in its own
vacuum. You pay for every one.
at would take all your fingers and
toes to count the organizations which
are dealing with the one subject of
housing. You pay for every one. And
get practically no housing in return.
"The protection or destruction of
wild life is scattered among many Gov
eminent organizations. So is the con-
servation of our Government grazing
land. And so on, and so on.
"Home owners loans are mess. Re-
lief is a mess. Work relief is worse
it is a political mess. Men are refused
work relief unless they will change
their politics from Republican to Dem
ocratic. Relief workers are assessed
for political contributions. Other re-
lief workers are voted at elections in
blocks by their foreman.
"In my State of Pennsylvania the
cheapest type of political heller is put
in charge of the vast enterprise of
work relief. Notorious waste of money,
failure to furnish employment, and
a general mess are the natural re-
suit.
"And it does make d difference to
you whether you get dollars worth
of service for every dollar spent for
all these activities of the Federal Gov
eminent or whether you have to put
two dollars into the Government to
get one hundred cents in return.
"Great policies are adopted without
sufficient thought and thrown aside
without sufficient reason. Great en-
terprises which might result in great
benefit to the people are taken up
with hurrah, then dropped like hot
potatoes. Millions upon millions of
dollars have been spent on plans that
were never carried out.
Reorganization after organization,
and then more organizations, are Gre
ated, turned loose and left to spend
their energy and your money fighting
each other instead of working to-
gether intelligently in your interest.
"The work of the Government is
badly organized. Your business in
Washington is in charge of ten cabi-
net officers, each the head of great
Department, such as the Department
of Agriculture, the Department of
Commerce, the Department of Labor,
the Post Office Department. All these
the President must watch over and
keep track of. That by itself is a ire
mendous job.
"But that is only the beginning.
The New Deal has created so many
new organizations that in addition to
the ten regular Departments the Pres
ident has AZ independent corpora
tions, boards, authorities, administra-
lions, commissions, banks and insti-
tutions to look after, or, with the De-
partments, 81 in all.
"Fifty-two great organizations to
be kept in the straight and narrow
path by one manly the man who as
an executive is a wonderful radio
speaker. It can't be done. It was poor
judgment to try it. The man doesn't
live who can swing it. There amt no
such animal. And that is one great
reason for the mess at Washington.
"Then there's another great reason.
And the name of that reason is Jim
Farley.
Farley has filled Washington with
Democrats who know nothing about
Government, who care nothing about
Government, whose sole interest is to