Evening star., 1938-06-28


word-the deputy ''' Lawrence
administrator. who stands at the right
hand of Harry Hopkins, made a cam
paign speech to the delegates.
Mr.. Williams is quoted as having
directly appealed for political support
at the polls. After outlining the work
OF the w. P. A. and the P. w. A., the
deputy administrator remarked
The men who stand for these
things will win elections"
In addition to this comment. Mr..
Williams is represented as having said
that change" in the present ad-
ministration might undo" all that had
been done for the jobless He urged
his listeners thus: Keep your friends
in power. Judge your friends by the
crowd they run with. You will know
them when they come to you for sup
port
Mr.. Williams, of course, is a subor-
dinate Of Harry Hopkins. Little blame
can attach to the deputy admins
traitor for talking politics when the
head of the Federal agency openly
does so and receives the full appro-
baton of the President of the United
States.
Made to L. S. Workers.
1t may be. of course, that Mr.. Roose-
welt, when approving of what Mr. Hop
kins said, was not talking as President
but as head Of the Democratic party"
a distinction outlined so ingeniously
In the last fireside chat Possibly Mr..
Williams wasn't talking as Federal
oflcial at all. but just as citizen dis
cussing politics in the abstract. But
1t cannot. on the other hand. be over
looked that the persons to whom the
speech was made received checks from
the Government. and public funds are
not supposed to be distributed with
any political strings or implied obli-
cations of a political sort.
The administration has consistently
refused to permit any investigation Of
the way relief funds are used for
political purposes. At the session of
Congress recently adjourned three
separate votes were taken in the
Senate on proposal to write into
the statutes specific measure to pro-
hibit Federal officials from mixing
relief and politics. but the Democratic
administrations supporters succeeded
in defeating the proposal on each
occasion
Misuse of Power.
Thus the administration has used
Its votes in Congress to hide the truth
and squelch an inquiry-possibly
there has been no more fragrant and
brazen example of misuse of govern
mental power since the scandals of
Teapot Dome under Republican ad-
ministration. For in the Teapot Dome
cases the Government got back the
oil lands which Federal official tried
to pass on to private interests, but in
this case there is no way to recover
the loss of respect which will be sus-
tanned by the institutions of free gov
eminent when an administration
openly uses Government money and
Government authority to influence
elections.
The President is responsible for the
appointment of these heads of
agencies. He alone can say whether
the proprieties are being observed.
But Mr.. Roosevelt, by his radio speech,
has entered the political arena him.
self in undertaking to dictate candi-
dacies in the party primaries. He is
about to travel across the continent
to make some campaign speeches here
and there in the States and districts
OF various members of Congress.
Chairman Hamilton of the Republi-
can National Committee has been so
shocked by the behavior of the Presi-
dent that he has openly demanded
to know whether the Democratic Ma
tional Committee is to pay the travel
expenses Of Mr.. Roosevelt as head
OF the Democratic party" on the
forthcoming tour, or whether it is
to come out of the travel fund pro-
vided for the President of the United
States
Doesn't Make 1t Right.
Presidents no doubt have made DO
litical speeches on their tours before
and the Government has paid their
expenses, but this doesn't make it right
or ethical. The American people, how
ever, are not going to be much stirred
up over the question of these travel
expenses when the real issue is wheth-
er billions of dollars of taxpayers
money is to be disbursed by Federal
officials who openly make speeches
asking for support at the polls by
reason of, or in return for, the checks
sent out to the unfortunate jobless
from the Treasury.
If the w. P. A. thinks the money
for relief was supplied only by Demo-
Gratis and New Dealers, then maybe
one CT these days the taxpayers will
go on strike and refuse TO pay any
more taxes to a Federal administra-
ton which so far forgets fairness and
its obligation to society as to attempt
by Immoral methods to distribute the
taxpayers money. Democracy cannot
thrive under conditions Of fundamen-
tai dishonesty and immortality in gov
ernment.
tCopyright, 1881