The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-04-02

IuSlOu III lie puUllC HlHUD Tie COHIIdoC
in the Administrators attitude to-
ward Senate investigations" might
get home to the people and mean
something. Because it really is al
most too glaring to get by unnoticed
even in these days of din and drum
beating.
For example, it is clear that the
New Dealers almost to a man are in
sympathy with the course of the Black
Lobby Committee in its unconstitu-
tional seizure of private and press
kilograms, regard as patriotic the
prosecutor complex which possesses
Senator Hugo Black, it's chairman.
The reasons are easy to understand.
One is because Senator Black, person.
ally, is an ardent and violent New
Dealer, not merely perfunctory poll
teal adherent, as are certain Senate
leaders.
Another is that the organizations
Senator Black Investigates" invari-
ably turn out to be anti-New Deal. He
devotes himself so exclusively to these
and so skillfully avoids "investigat-
ing" any of the associations or fedora
lions known to be New Dealish, that it
is not strange the conviction is general
that the primary purpose of his COM
mittee is to promote the political for
tunes of Mr.. Roosevelt. This idea is
borne out by two things-one, the
fact that the type Of stuff Mr.. Black
seeks to bring out fits in with the
Administration strategy of picturing
all opponents as villains; second, the
fact that the Federal Communistic
Commission lent itself, so far as the
telegram seizure is concerned, to the
shopping activities which have been
adopted as a policy by the committee.
However, when the investigation"
takes a different turn, New Deal lead
ers throw obstacles in the way, raise
objections, resort to tricks to stall it
off. One instance occurred last week,
when Senate leaders went to ride
ulous extremes to choke off the WPA
investigation resolution, which unex-
pectedly came out of a committee
with a favorable report. After efforts
to have the report rescinded had
failed, two vacancies on the commit
tee were filled by the appointment of
Senators Pat Harrison and Key Pitt
man, which just about packs the jury
and makes the Investigation" joke.
The other instance was Admins
tration resistance to the request of
Senator Vandenberg for the names
of the larger beneficiaries under the
AAA. Mr.. Vandenberg said he did
not question the integrity of the pay
ments, but he thought the people were
entitled to know, for instance, the
name of one corn-hog farmer who, in
two years, had received $219,825 from
the AAA; one cotton farmer who drew
$168,000 in the same period, and one
wheat farmer whose checks totaled
$78,638. The size of these payments
are somewhat reminiscent of the steel
and tobacco bonuses which seemed so
shocking some time ago. Mr.. Vanden-
berg made no accusation as to their
legality, but he did introduce a reso-
luton asking the names of all farmers
who had received more than $4,000.
That seemed a reasonable request,
but will it be granted? Not if the
Administration can help it. The Com
mittee on Agriculture in the House,
where a similar resolution was offered,
has already turned it down. Mr.. c. C.
Davis, AAA director, asserted that
to compile such a report would be an
enormous" and expensive" task.
Furthermore, he saw no good pur-
pose" that would be served and, fur
ther, it would violate an established
policy of the AAA, none Of which
seem to the ordinary man sound reas-
ons for Withholding the names. How
would the Administration regard ex-
cuses like that if they came from an
anti-New Deal organization under in
vestigation? Suppose, for example,
the A. T. & T. Company should tell a
committee the job Of furnishing a list
of it's $10,000-and-over men was too
enormous" and expensive" and, any
how, against company policy. The
whoop of derision would be heard all
over the country. The New Deal press
agents would seize their typewriters;
its spokesman leap for the micro
phone. There would be an angry chorus
denouncmg the arrogance and in
iquity of these creatures of intrench-
ed greed" whose black hearts are con-
cerned solely with property rights"
IT'S q h11nnhuor world