Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1938-04-07
Z
Il An! Sf6SR {

TO nave look at the real WOOD,
they will get some facts that hither-
to have been concealed or hushed
up. That is, these things will come
out for an airing unless the presi-
dental lash whips enough commit
teemen into line to develop white
wash.
Aside from the tragedy of having
Arthur Morgan's name smeared,
the IVA row and
Good tor the White House
the Country investigation prob.
ably will be good
for the country. Anybody who knows
Arthur Morgan's record, must agree
that it is one of which. any man
could be proud. 1t is too bad, there
fore. that he has to be the goat in.
the case. But I repeat that the af-
fair will result in considerable good
if the whole IVA record can be
brought into the open and the 60
ings-on of public ownership advo-
Gates can be exposed for once in
solar as IVA is concerned.
There is, however, something
much more significant, much deep
err, in this situation than just justice
or injustice to one man.. In this I
refer to the use of authority by the
President to make an independent
official do the bidding of the Chief
Executive. 1t is a case comparable
in many respects. to the removal of
IN ~c
a member of the federal trade COM
mission. That was done, President
Roosevelt said at the time, because
Mr.. Humphreys failed ."to see eye
to eye" with the Chief Executive. It
is to be remembered, too, that the
Supreme Court of the United States
held unanimously that Mr.. Roose-
welt did not have the power to re-
move Mr.. Humphreys. Thus, there
is again a legal question whether
the President had the power, al
though Homer S. Cummings, the at
torney general, advised Mr.. Roose-
welt that such power was vested
|, in him as President. Undoubtedly,
Arthur Morgan will try out the mat
ter in court.
The disturbing thing is, however,
that if President Roosevelt has that
much authority now, how much
more authority will he have to do
that sort of thing, and many, many
others, if given authority to, reor-
ganize the government agencies as
he sought in the original govern
ment reorganization bill. Of course,
much of his demanded authority has
been shorn from the bill, but be-
lieve. there is ground for alarm at
what remains. Whether Mr.. Roose-
welt continues to be sPresident in
definitely or whether, some other
man is President, I think congress
has no right to give away such
power.
But to get, back to the case of
Arthur Morgan, and his 'contuma-
cy" The meaning Of the word is
clear. Arthur Morgan, according to
people who's Know him intimately,
was trying to do the best job he,
knew how to do. He read the law
one way; the President read it an
other. see no legitimate reason
for removal of the man on the
grounds of contumacy. That is no
crime. Discipline Mr.. Morgan? Yes,
if the President wanted to do so.
Suspend him until the facts have
been brought to light by congress
sional inquiry, mode Of procedure
which congress reserved to-. itself.
But removal seems to be rather
foolish, and the action certainly has
reacted adversely, to- the President
among his own partisans.
The White House inquiry failed to
adduce any story about the opera
tons of Harcourt
Bldmes Morgan and Mr..
Lilienthdl Lilienthal. I hear
4 in many quarters
that Mr.. Lilienthal is the man who
really started the trouble in the be-.
ginning. He is the same man who
was connected with the Wisconsin
utilities commission and wrote an
order directing a reduction in tele-
phone rates before holding hear
ing to give interested parties a
chance to have their day in court.
If current reports be true, Mr.. Lii
enthal actually signed the order re-
ducing rates several days before
the so-called public hearing was
held. The court called his action
arbitrary and delivered itself of
quite tongue-lashing about such
unwarranted and despotic action.
That opinion was rendered late in
February. Whether Mr.. LilienthaI
has been guilty of the same kind of
despotism in iva, have no means
of knowing; but, this much surely
can be said: if he attempted any
thing of the kind, Arthur Morgan
would be the first to object.
Mr.. Lilienthaps operations in
IVA, as far as they are visible from
Washington, have the appearance
and the results naturally to be ex-
pected of an extremist. Arthur Nor
gan is self-willed, too, but the rec
ords of the two men as far as they
are known publicly assuredly shows
him to understand human nature.