Evening star., 1939-01-08

a reporter for the Detroit NeUs ,Dho
for many gears "copered" Mr.. Mur-
phys career as Judge. Mayor and
Gopernor.)
Frank Murphy, new Attorney General
of the United States, is a man whose
passion is making democracy work, and
making 1t work SO well there can be no
danger from extremists, either to tho
right or to the left.
In essence, he is q career man. He
decided upon public career when no
was student at the University of Mich
igan. 1t was at the same time that he
formed the habits of abstinence from
smoking and drink that have given an
ascetic cast to his adult life, though he
is no ascetic in the sense of being q
hermit or reproving tut-tutter at the
banquet feast.
It was also while a student that Mr..
Murphy decided that "the best politics
is no politics" He has followed that
principle with remarkable consistency.
1t is the principle that, if man is
Jealous enough and sincere enough in
the cause of good government for all of
the people, the people will be sufficiently
appreciative to make political machines,
spoils and the usual concomitants of
politics unnecessary.
Appointees Usually Qualified.
Mr.. Murphy has never been in a cam
paign when he had more than the luke
warm support Of party organizations. He
has never held an administrative or ex-
ecutive position without being roundly
damned by the party organization for
his appointments-app which
even political enemies concede have been
on the basis of fitness for the job rather
than party affiliation.
His genius as an administrator has
been, partly, in surrounding himself with
the most capable men he could find, and
holding the answering and sometimes
almost fanatical loyalty of these men.
Mr.. Murphy's approach to a job is the
approach of clergyman to ministry
a fact, incidentally, entirely apart from
his devout Catholicism. His fundamental
philosophy is this:
A man is placed in this world for q
purpose. That purpose is to use his
talents to help the weak, tighten the
burdens Of the distressed and help man
to develop his inherent instincts for
decency and the humanities.
He has a passion for public service,
and he is an apostle Of government as
an instrumentality for the public service,
especially in so far as it can help amelio-
rate the lot of the common man. He
is social-service public servant, and
political evangel.
Never Learned to Dissemble.
1t may be that, to some in Washing
ton, he will be an enigma.
How long he will be an enigma de-
pends on how long 1t takes the skeptics
to discover his statements and acts
have no angles; that he has never
learned the art Of descending, and that
he does not fit into any kind of familiar
political mold.
Mr.. Murphy never boasts, but he has
an abiding faith in his own capabilities
and his own destiny. Some of his friends
mention him occasionally as possible
= ASoA$ASAS Va VIC OA11tCO oUdGCS.
1t is a statement he deprecates, yet
it would be strange if the thought had
not occurred to him. For Mr.. Murphy
is intensely imbued with the idea of q
special destiny and of being in this
world on special mission.
He does not bluster and in his asso-
Citations with men is extremely mild
hammered. It would be a mistake. how.
ever, to believe he does not have cour.
age, physical or intellectual.
In college his mild manners and ner.
sonal habits made him the butt of the
campus bully-until late one night when
Mr. Murphy gave the bully q sound
thrashing, with only his roommate as q
witness.
His manners and mannerisms mask
q resoluteness of will, and an intransi-
gence of spirit.
He is a red-headed Irishman, whose
hair is thinning slightly, but who is in
excellent physical condition from box
Ing, riding and other bodybuilding
sports.
Keeping in trim is part and parcel of
ms amoltlon 10 be the best possible
public servant my limitations will per-
nit"
The same thing prompted him to abb
stain from alcohol or tobacco. If these
things were bad for an athlete. he
concluded, they would be bad for a
man who intended to use every ounce of
energy in another field.
Grew Up in Small Town.
He is to some extent a product of
his background. He was born As years
ago at Harbor Beach, Mich, and grew
up In a small-town atmosphere. His
father, a country lawyer" was a
Democrat active in the party. Political
discussions in the home were frequent.
His mother was idealistic and deeply
religious After the death of her hus-
band, she guided Frank Murphy into
the law and taught him the precepts of
Service he has rreserved