Evening star., 1938-12-17

the discussion in
political-minded Washington turns
on whether the appointments will
be construed as turn on the part
of the administration toward the
left or the right.
Such speculation is unwarranted.
Both appointments undoubtedly will
be personal. They will represent the
Presidents conception of reward for
faithful service. That's what has
always been true, except that usu-
ally the reward is for party or polit-
ical service, whereas in the present
instances it doubtless will be a case
of reward for official service per-
formed by some of his associates in
the New Deal during the last five
years.
Certainly that will be the case If
Harry Hopkins is made Secretary
of Commerce The job of w. P. A.
administrator has been thankless
one. 1t has required continuous
work under the most trying circum-
stances. Public criticism of the
w. P. A. for becoming intermingled
In politics should by no means be
centered on Mr.. Hopkins alone.
Senate Invited Politics.
The day the Senate refused to
accede to President Roosevelt's re-
quest that the State w. P. A. ad-
ministrators should be free from
politics and insisted instead on re-
ouiring that the selections be con-
firmed by the Senate, politics en-
tered into the problem by the front
door. Many Senator had a voice
In selecting the w. P. A. director for
his State, and politics crept into the
W. P A. quite naturally after that.
This is not saying that Mr.. Hop
kins' comments on the Iowa political
situation, for example, were justi-
fed, but it does mean that Mr.. Hop
kinS' qualifications for Secretary of
Commerce have nothing to do with
the controversy over the way the
w. P. A. should be reorganized. 1t
doubtless is going to be recon-
structed.
AS for the Department of Com
merce or any other post in the rabi-
net, Presidents can and often do ap-
point prominent political leaders.
Some of them make excellent cabi-
net secretaries. Cordell Hull, the
popular and able Secretary of State,
was for many years chairman of
the Democratic National Commit
tee.
Might Aid Businessmen.
If Mr.. Hopkins should be made
Secretary of Commerce, as is cur
rently reported, the business world
will doubtless at first impression
think that this is a radical or at
least unfriendly act toward busi-
ness, which would like naturally to
see a man from the active business
ranks appointed. But it is an er-
roneous assumption to declare that
Mr.. Roosevelt in this particular ap-
pointment would be acting toward
business in any friendly or unfriend-
ly way. The truth is he likes Harry
Hopkins and has unbounded conf
dence in him. If, therefore. he
chooses to give the Department of
Commerce post to Mr.. Hopkins, it
may easily mean that businessmen
and the business viewpoint will have
q better conduit of expression of
their views than they have had be-
fore.
Clearly if the Business Advisory
Council, for example, which is at
tached to the Department of Com
merce, should now formulate pro-
posals, and if Harry Hopkins con-
ours in them, the business group
will find better and more vigorous
champion at the White House than
they have ever had. Unhappily one
of the complaints about Secretary
Roper's regime was that he did not
have the confidence of the left wing
in the New Deal and hence was not
as powerful in administration pol
icy as he should have been or as
Mr.. Hopkins would be.
Mr.. Hopkins has had an unusual
administrative experience in the
Government. To administer the
w. P. A. is task comparing with
many of the wartime jobs, both in
the intensity of the work and the
novelty of the problems. 1t is said
that if the appointment is made,
the President will wish to give
Harry Hopkins a chance to demon
strate his administrative capacity
In some work other than public
spending.
May Bind Two Wings.
Everybody hereabouts recognizes
that the biggest job of the next 18
months is to get the economic re-
covery machine going. This means
q meshing of business and Govern
ment action. If Harry Hopkins
makes success of it, and the busi-
nessmen feel he has accomplished
something affirmative in the oft
talked about but little realized Gov
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES cooperation
policy, it will be because the man
now being suggested for the De-
partment of Commerce portfolio
will have brought left and right
wings together lii a practical way.
The appointment of Harry Hopkins
to be Secretary of Commerce, there
fore, may be the Presidents way of
bringing business and government
together in manner that will carry
confidence with the left wing in his
party, and insure at the same time
some of the revisions of existing leg
iSlation which businessmen feel are
absolutely essential and prerequisite
to economic recovery. Correction
of the New Deal laws by friends
rather than enemies but correction,
nevertheless, may be confidently an
ticipated as the theme of the coming
session Of Congress