Evening star., 1938-03-26

biggest majority N
iiieJoi poi mas David Lawrence.
ever had and with
Mr. Roosevelt so much the dominant
personality in what Congress does and
does not, there is ground for real con-
cern if 1t be true that Congress would
not make a fair" inquiry of the
whole T. " A. 1t would be significant
that Congress had changed its ways
and now is suddenly to be unfair about
its manner and method of conducting
Investigations.
Seriously speaking, one may ask
when Congress has been fair and
when it has been unfair and if wit
nesses whose presence was demanded
those who we're summoned to give
testimony, but not invited to give ad-
vice, as sometimes is the case-were
consulted, the answers would be
rather uniformly to the effect that
congressional committees are more
unfair than fair.
Seems Rather Precedent
When the President cries out in ad-
vance that he wants fair" inquiry
and when his lieutenants in Congress
try to fix things up so that those who
have been prosecuting the T. v. A. in
public debate should not be members
of the investigating committee, 1t is
indeed establishing precedent.
Unfortunately, the mud-slinging
type Of committee does exist in Con-
gress and Mr.. Roosevelt probably
knows what such committee can do.
When his opponents are on the stand,
as has often been the case before con-
gressional committees these last five
years, Mr.. Roosevelt has not been
known to cry out at all about impair
tiality. In fact. he has enjoyed and
chuckled over the committees adven-
lures and disregard of constitutional
rights. 1t might be noted in passing
that a Circuit Court of Appeals of the
District of Columbia denounced the
illegal seizure of kilograms in the case
OF the Senate Lobby Committee, but
Mr.. Roosevelt thought so highly of
the chairman of that committee which
disregarded constitutional rights that
he promoted him from the Senate to
the Supreme Court of the United
States.
The T. v. A. inquiry will begin
shortly 1t will be interesting to note
how the membership of the joint
committee is picked Will Speaker
Bankhead consult the White House
about the prospective members, or
will the President send word by one
on his numerous emissaries to make
sure that there is a membership on
the investigating committee which |
will insure fair" inquiry? What |
also will Vice President Garner do |
about selecting the Senate members?
Here Is chance for a real public |
service and for suppression of the |
intrigue which sometimes surrounds |
the appointment of members of in
vestigating committees No doubt |
two viewpoints will arise within the
committee-those who feel that Chair
man Morgan's charges should be
thoroughly investigated in a judicial |
manner and those who will feel that |
to allow anything into the record
that casts reflection on his fellow |
directors of the T. v. A. would be a
slap in the Presidents face.
Might BIemish His Record.
Unfortunately, Mr.. Roosevelt has
taken sides already. He allowed a
simple refusal on the part of Chair
man Morgan to give information in
presidential trial to influence him.
He made no other investigation of
the charges. If the evidence should
subetantiate Chairman Morgan's
charges against the T. v. A. employees
of lack of integrity or misfeasance
or other wrongdoing, it will be a
most unhappy moment for the Pres
ident and blemish on his record. To
save the Presidents face politically
1t will, of course, be the purpose of
his henchmen to smear DIR. Morgan
and to drag all sorts of smoke screens
across the hearing. but maybe the
chairman of the T. v. A. will present
his case in the same impressive way
that he handled himself before the
President of the United States.
Few men in public life have stood
before the Chief Magistrate with his
threat of decapitation and stood their
ground so bravely. Some day when
the whole story of T. ". A. with its
wastefulness, its inefficiency and its
intrigue and inner political scheming
is revealed to the naked eye, DR..
Morgan will stand forth as a man
who had the courage to insist that
the constitutional principle of a
check by the legislative branch on
the executive branch was, after all,
. wise old rule on the part of the
founders Of the Republic.
copyright, 193sD