The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-02-27
IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO YOU

AId, 1Ioh w Washing IOHI u ", over LIE
Columbia Broadcasting System, Feb
ruary 20, 1885, at 10:45 p. M:
washington is a long way from
most of you who are listening in.
And while you hear great deal about
the actions of Congress and the big
speeches of big men who are in Of
flee or who would like to be in Office,
you don't hear so much about how the
wheels of Government are grinding.
1t isn't easy for you to find out wheth-
er they are grindly smoothly or wheth-
er or not you are getting a dollars
worth of service from your Govern
ment for every tax dollar you pay.
"And whether you are or not makes
a difference to you.
SIN the past the American people
haven't cared so very much about
whether the Government at Washing
ton was producing dollars worth of
service for every dollar spent, or only
the worth of lead nickel or thin
dime.
"If you could show that public ser
want had stolen thousand dollars, you
got all the public attention you wanted.
But if you showed that public SER
want had wasted million dollars, that
left the American people cold. They
were too busy with their own affairs to
get excited over little thing like
that.
"They didn't seem to see that it
was their million that was wasted.
They didn't realize that it came out
of their pockets, and that it was their
work that didn't get done because of
the waste. So they just didn't care.
"Them was the happy days, if you
like, when the average man could af-
ford to be careless about what became
of his taxes. He didn't feel the pinch,
then.
"But it's different today. Today, for
the first time in my experience, people
are really taking an interest in how
their affairs-their Government af-
fairs-are managed. They and you
are getting convinced that whether or
not your Government gives you dol
lars worth of service for every dollar
spent makes a difference differ
ence that you can feel.
"When Theodore Roosevelt was in
Washington, the Government of the
United States ran like a well-oiled
machine-like an automobile in its
first ten thousand miles. 1t was Model
1910, up to the minute, full of pep,
and it gave the biggest mileage ever
known for every gallon that went into
the tank.
Every public servant knew just
where he was headed and just what
he was expected to do. And if he
couldn't do it, or wouldn't do it, some
body that could and would deliver the
goods was put in his place.
To-day, when Franklin D. Roosevelt
is at the head of the Government,
every nut is loose land that goes
double), every joint squeaks, the steer
ing wheel is out of killer, the brakes
are on the bum, the front wheels are
wobbly, the whole machine rattles like
a truckload of milk cans, and the
mileage per dollar is simply disgrace
full.
Because the man in charge is a
poor mechanic, the Government at
Washington is mess. And that fact
makes a difference to you.
"Why? Because you and I and
the rest of US have to pay for the
mess. We have put up too much mon
ey-more money than it ought to take
to make the wheels go around.
"And another reason: There was
a time when the Federal Government
didn't have so much to do with all of
us, and very much less with each of
us. But that time has gone by.
"Today the Federal Government is
in your kitchen raising the cost of
food, in your closet boosting the cost
of clothes, in your factory, in your
field, in your business. You can't get
away from it, day or night.
with every cent you spend, you
help to pay for the Government in
Washington. If you go to movie, if
you travel on bus or train, if you
post a letter or call up friend, if
you do anything that costs a cent or
a million, from the time you get up
in the morning till you go to bed at
night, you pay. The tax is there,
whether you see it or not.
Every Government undertaking,
good or bad, wise or unwise, costs you
money. The bonus for the soldiers,
whether you are for it or against it;
old age pensions, whether you believe
in them or not; relief for the unem-
ployed, which must be given, whether
you like it or whether you don't; and
thousand other Government matters
which concern you in one way or an
n.