The Washington times., 1936-05-04
GOSSIP IS BUSY
0NSUCCESSOR
T0M'CARL
BY EARL GOODWIN

S@-~N
President Roosevelt will not APP
point q successor to Comptroller
General John r. McCarl. whose
14-year term Of office expires
June 80, until after election, and
that in the interim Assistant
Comptroller General Richard N.
Elliott will serve as acting comp
troller. Close observers OF the
Presidents routine are convinced
that this course will be followed
and there is considerable founda-
ton for their belief.
The President is known to be
averse to making any appoint
ment he can avoid until after
the election, November 8. He has
held off appointment Of an AS
sistant Secretary Of the Navy to
fill the place made vacant by
the death of Henry Latrobe
Roosevelt, and there are other
vacancies in the Government.
The reason is that high appoint
ments generally make more en-
emieS than friends in politics.
Hence the political advisers OF
the President want to escape any
enmitieS-for the time being.
Officials Considered
President Roosevelt is quoted by
one Of his friends as saying that
he would like to name Comptroller
General McCarl'S successor from
the service, and thus be sure Of
avoiding an appointment with q
political tinge. It is understood
that several experienced officials
are being scrutinized for the NC
carl job. In the meantime, the
law provides that in the absence
of the Comptroller General the
assistant must be the acting chief.
At present it is understood the
Administration believes the word
ing Of the law is sufficient auto
matically to retain Elliott as act
ing head Of the General Account
ing Office.
The change comes at the end
of the fiscal year, and it is a ne
cessity that someone be on the Jon
in the General Accounting Office
It the beginning of the fiscal year.
Admired by President
The matter Of the appointment
of a successor to doughty John
McCarl brings up the fact that.
although the Comptroller Genera!
has been looked on as hardboiled
by Administration officials, there
has developed strong admiration
between the President and the one
man in the Government that can
come close to vetoing the Presl'
dent himself. The post Of Comp
troller General was created by
CONGRESS and the man fll1ng the
Job reports to Congress and not
to the White House.
Earlier in this Administration
there were plain signs OF irrlta-
ton at the White House. Some
of the emergency measures were
not getting the GO" sign down
at Fifth and F Streets, Northwest.
The matter was at white heat one
night when the White House tried
to calm down both General NC
Carl and a New Deal official who
was on the rampage against some
of the McCarl vetoes. The White
House practically locked the two
men in a room and babe them
settle their differences ere the
the doors would be opened. 1t
was 3 a. m. when they walked out
and neither would admit defeat.
Praised by Roosevelt
Later, when the President was
groaning over the delays in the
Public Works program, he had
three personal conferences with
General McCarl; and at least one
weekend with him. The result
was entirely satisfactory to the
White House because General Nc
Carl exhibited a burst of speed
in rushing the various contracts
through his office with the least
possible delay. This was matter
of public recognition by the Pres
ident, who spoke of it at his press