Evening star., 1938-09-12

Maryland pri-
mary election is n..;. ,
one that each
person will no doubt wish to make
for himself when the facts are pre-
sented. Here are the facts:
The P. w. A. is supposed to be
non-political institution. Graft in
favoring this or that contractor is
tabooed. Favors are not supposed to
be dispensed on any political basis
but on merit alone If the people
of State want bridge, the decision
is not supposed to be made on wheth-
er the voters are pro or anti-admin-
istration, but on whether the project
is sound from an engineering stand
point and Is truly in the public in
terest.
If Chairman Farley Of the Demo-
cratic National Committee were to
saw to the P. w. A. administrator,
Il want you to put so and so in
charge Of this project or I want you
to approve spending program OF
several millions in this particular
State" Mr.. Ickes is supposed. under
a truly ethical regime, to tell genial
Jim that politics has no place in the
P. w. A. and that public office Is
public trust.
Office Flooded BY Requests.
The P. w. A. is flooded with re-
quests for construction projects. They
must 70 through certain routine
before they are approved. Competent
persons presumably are employed in
the regional Offices of the P. w. A.
who are not supposed to allow political
emergencies to influence their judg-
ment in handling office business. Yet
out of the pile Of hundreds OF bridge
projects throughout the country.
Secretary Ickes chooses two in Mary
land to push ahead of the rest on
the very eve of the primary election In
Maryland in which he and the Pres
ident have publicly declared them
selves as partisans OF particular
candidate.
Up to now charges have been made
that the administration has used Fed
eral employees on the w. P. A. and
Federal officeholders generally for
vote-getting purposes, but as for the
P. w. A. the trail of political scandal
has not been dragged so conspicuously
before across the fine reputation OF
Secretary Harold Ickes.
Mr.. Ickes was liberal Repub-
lican" before he lapsed into New
Dealism. He has been rightly nick
named Honest Harold" because no
body can justly point finger of crit
icism or improperly or personal profit
against him in all these years that
he has handled billions of dollars OF
public funds. But he has succumbed
finally to the wiles Of the politicians.
If he were still liberal Republican"
possessed of the same fiery passion for
true liberalism That he used to have,
he would today be outside the admin
istration denouncing the exploitation
of the electorate by the use of public
funds. He would be condemning it as
unworthy of free people. He would
be using up all the invectives in the
vocabulary Of satire and ridicule.
Maybe His Hand Was Forced.
The friends and admirers of Mr..
Ickes, among whom this correspond
ent counts himself, will be loath to be-
lieve that Mr.. Ickes has of his own
accord adopted the Tammany type of
political strategy. The text of his
statement would seem to indicate that
maybe somebody higher up" forced
his hand. The announcement about
the Maryland bridges was in the form
of telegram from MIR Ickes to Col
Maurice Gilmore, the P. W. A. re-
gional director in New York, which
said:
THE President has sent me a
memorandum from New York, di-
recting that prompt attention be
paid to the applications for the
bridges at Havre de Grace, across
the Susquehanna River and over
the Potomac near Morgantown.
understand that these applications,
with accompanying dockes, are
still in regional Office. Please give
them right of way as to examina-
ton and forward with your rec
concentrations at your earliest con-
venience"
It may be asked what is the mat
ter with Col. Gilmore? Didn't he
know that President Roosevelt him.
self made a speech last week at the
site Of the Morgantown bridge and
referred to it as a measure of ma
tional defense? Doesn't he realize
there's a political emergency in Mary
land and papers like this must be
given right of way? Perhaps the P.
W. A. subordinates don't know that
national defnese and political defense
may be synonymous in a contest in
volving the election Of candidate
for the United States Senate. Mr.
Roosevelt spoke last week in that
part of Maryland where opposition
to the ADMINISTRATORS man is strong
and where promises of large spend
ing programs presumably will make
the Democratic voters in that section
Of Maryland responsive.
Presumably also the contractors
who are to supply the raw materials
and get the profits from the construc-
ton work, the local stores and the
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