Evening star., 1938-11-07

Listening to the radio address of
President Roosevelt the other night,
L 1elt deep sympathy with his
Well-phrased and restrained state
ment. 1t seemed to me he was right
when he asked the public to dis
tlnguiSh between liberals and con-
servatives and yet the average voter
could not so distinguish when
being told by local machines that
the Democratic party chieftain
really wanted vote for the straight
Democratic ticket.
To me the issue is only partly
conservatism and liberalism. These
two PHILOSOPHERS each have their
merits and were this the only thing
at stake it would not be hard to
choose between them. But some
thing bigger has arisen. Even Mr.
Roosevelt is only vaguely aware of
it. if indeed he is conscious of it
at all. 1t is that a man of noble
purposes like himself does not or
cannot pick associates to carry out
his program in the fair and square
way it ought to be carried out.
Only Partly Right.
When the President chides his op-
position for saying they like his
objectives, but differ with him as
to the manner Of carrying out those
objectiVes, he is only partly right
in his sarcasm. There are it should
be admitted, Republicans who want
to sabotage a liberal program, but
the President either does not know
Or cannot know that in his own
party, Immediately surrounding him
in the Government. are appolntees
who are sabotaging liberal objectives
under his very eyes.
Out of this misuse of power by
subordinates, out of this arbitrary
action and coercive tactics such as
are being used this very day at
South Bend, Ind. by the so-called
Department of Justice comes the
evidence of why it is important to
rebuke any Senator or Representa-
tive who admits he is 100 per-
center" BY that is meant one who
will vote for anything or everything
the President wants and who he will
not exercise his independent judg-
ment in protecting the people
against abuse Of power by a group
of subordinates in Washington-the
new Tories-whose philosophy of ad-
ministration is that political might
makes right, that honest success
must be penalized and business i'm
paired even if it creates more and
more unemployment.
1t would not be so bad if the De-
partment of Justice enforced all
the laws on the statute books and
put in Jail those who deserve to go
there. But that department an
nounceS boldly its belief that citi-
zens are guilty even though no de-
fense has been presented on their
behalf and demands at the point
of a gun, figuratively speaking, that
the accused sign on the dotted line
an agreement to refrain from doing
things which admittedly no Con-
gress bylaw restrains them from
doing.
Episode Held Typical.
But this episode is typical of why
independent voting in Congress is
necessary. The presidency is too
big a job to be administered by one
man. Mr.. Roosevelt cannot possibly
have approved the tactics of virtual
blaCkmail-for that's what they are
being adopted by some of his sub
Ordinates who sit in governmental
departments exercising official power
not as trustees but as ZealotS and
COercioniStS
Nor would zeal to make new laws
and rules for business in a govern
mental department rather than in
Congress be so difficult to check If
the same Department of Justice en-
forced the laws already on the
statute books The administration
proclaimS loudly against the Richard
Whitney practices after he has gone
to jail. having been put there by a
Republican prosecutor who is run
ming for Governor of New York. but
not word Of condemnation nor an
act of prosecution has taken place
with respect to the Federal Corrupt
Practice Act which has been plainly
violated by high Democratic officials
here.
These things happen because
too many discretionary powers are
vested in bureaucrats. Members Of
Congress of the rubber stamp"
variety allow themselves to be stam-
peded into giving to the President
almost unlimited power of spending
and wide discretion in exercising
regulatory power. But the President
himself doesn't exercise it and can't
because the job is too big.
Honest Congress Is Cure.
The only cure for this is an
honest Congress which will not pass
the &buck but will write the laws
itself and specify to the citizen what
can or cannot be done. 1t doesn't
much matter whether the voter picks
Republicans or Democrats tomorrow.
The choice is no longer between par
ties but between faithful public
servants and those who take their
$4,000 salaries under false pretenses
When a man agrees to accept any
piece of legislation handed him by
the White House he is not represent
Ing lIle people VI tiIlleI Ills QlSlTlCL
or his State. So the issue is not
Roosevelt or Roosevelt. 1t is
an issue between independence and
Subservience
The American form of Govern
ment depends for its effectiveness on
the system of checks and balances.
Congress checks the President. And
the President by veto power checks
the Congress. But in the making
of laws to govern them the people
must exercise a check against the
Congress and that's why it's impor-
tant to pick and choose the inde-
pendent candidates at the polls.
tcopyrisht 1e3s.)