The Fort Peck press., 1937-01-28

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. AS%MM$$MMMNM%N$M&S
The Presidential reorganization
program was sweeping in charac-
ter and that is the
Reorganization reason why it has
PROGRAM run into obstacles.
For example, the
| plan calls for placing the interstate
| commerce commission, the general
accounting office, the federal trade
commission and the civil service
commission largely inside of old
established departments over which
cabinet officers preside. Now, a
cabinet officer is and always has
been in the past a political ap-
pointee, an individual who had been
active in promotion of a party cam
paign and usually one who has
made important contributions of
money to his party's campaign
fund. So, it becomes plainly evil
dent, l believe, that to place such
agencies as those l have named in
regular departments, is to place
them completely under political
domination.
Where it is good, therefore, to
place strictly administrative agen-
cies under cabinet control, it be-
comes equally dangerous to place
under political domination such
Quasi-judicial agencies as the ICC
and the general accounting Office
There can be no doubt of that fact.
That is the crux Of the disturb
ance among the legislators under
the reorganization proposal.
Those Of US who have had long
experience as writer's and observ-
ers in Washington have seen evi-
dence in almost every admins
tration of attempts of politicians to
get their fingers into the pie of rail
road rate making. They have adopt
ed all sorts of tricks; they have used
subterfuges and they have en-
ployed strong political pressure
time after time to gain control OF
railroad rate making. Through all
of these years since the ICC was
established, there has always been
enough sane minds in congress who,
with White House backing, could
resist this political move Natur-
ally, therefore, it is matter of
some question why President Roose-
welt should attempt to toss the in
terstate commerce commission and
its rate making power straight in
to the laps Of the politicians
OF course, the Presidential mes
sage on this point appears on its
face to provide against the end that
| have mentioned but old timers in
congress point out how this wedge,
driven only a little further, will
bring about political domination of
the ICC.
1t is hardly necessary here to set
down all Of the potential dangers
that can emanate
f0tSHt'oi from political con |
Dangers troll of such vast |
structure as the |
railroads of the United States. 1t |
is unlimited in its possibilities. Dan |
gers are inherent in any program |
of that kind with which the politi- |
clans are identified and it appears !
to be circumstance in which con- !
gress, if it is going to serve the
people properly, should call a halt
AS to the general accounting Of
flee and the plant to include it in
the Treasury again under the rule
of an auditor general, the reorgani-
zatlon scheme simply will set con-
troll of public expenditures back a
quarter Of a century. One of the
earlier Presidents made no effort
to conceal the use that could be
made of the auditing unit of the gov
arnment when he said, on an occa-
sion where the chief auditor ruled
an expenditure illegal, that if it
we're not possible to change the
ruling under the law, it still was
possible to change the chief auditor.
l am not making a charge that
he present administration desires
o spend congressional appropria-
ions illegally; but one cannot dodge
he conversations that are taking
olace around the Capitol in which
legislators recall how President
Roosevelt criticized John r. Nc Carl
When he was comptroller general
or decision that prevented use
If public money in a manner de-
sired by the President To sum up
his particular phase of the stu
(cODtin1ed on maze threel