Evening star., 1940-05-31

eS u ho's. against all polit-
lcal precedent and undertakes the
leVylng OF new and onerous taxes in
an election year.
On the heels of his first emergency
oefense budget-that of Nav I6-
comes request from the President
Tor a supplemental appropriation of
more than billion dollars Two
more weeks of the war in Europe
nave shown the inadequacy of the
nrst proposal. More money is need
ed Tor the modern tools of war. Like
the earlier sums requested by the
President, 1t will be voted. The total
Will run to we'll over four billion dol
lars-the greatest total for defense
IN any peacetime year of our history,
Spending Plans Go Forward
While Congress is voting the
money and taking steps to increase
the debt limit and impose new taxes.
plans go forward for spending the
money. The President meets with
his newly created seven-member
National Defense Commission. mod
eled on the defense council that
tunctioned during the World War,
They announce themselves ready
for work.
So at both ends of the Avenue an
urgent need is beginning to be met.
1t remains to be seen, of course,
how effectively the Presidents de-
tense commission will operate.
Even the sharpest critics of the
President have found but little fault
with its personnel. Very little fault
can properly be found. The objec-
tons which have been raised aginst
Sidney Hillman are singularly un-
enlightened. He is a labor leader
OF the highest intelligence and
characterize best man ir the
country for the job to which the
President has assigned him. Per-
sonnet aside, the question is whether
or not the board will be given
enough power to do an efficient piece
of work.
No Stooges, They.
Critics of the setup have pro-
1essed to see in the board nothing
more than a snowy bit of window
dressing. On that point it would
be falrer to suspend judgment until
we see the board in operation. On
the face of things, the complaint
that it will have no real power but
will be subordinated to the cabinet
appears to the writer to be unwar-
ranted. 1t doesn't seem plausible.
Whatever one may think about the
New Deal members of the commits.
sion, that Me-srs. Stettinius, Knud-
sen and Buca are going to allow
themselves to become stooges to the
cabinet.
Though the President did not
fully settle the question at his press
conference yesterday he gave the
impression that the board will have
far broader authority than has
been predicted for it by the viewers
Wlth-alarm. The board will report
directly to him and not to members
OF the cabinet. We shall soon know
whether it is subject to hamstring-
ing by cabinet or other officers.
Meantime, it ought to be given the
benefit of the doubt. What evidence
we have had is reassuring rather
than otherwise.
Summers Views.
To return for a moment to the
legislative branch.
There was a speech the other dav
by Representative Summers. Demo-
crat, OF Texas that is worth motto.
ing. He generally thinks down un-
derneath the surface aspects of an
issue, and he did on this occasion.
He called attention to the hearten-
Ing unity between the parties on ma
tlonal defense, spoke of the re.
sponsibility resting upon Congress.
and went on:
This emergency is going to do
a great thing for America. =. We
have gotten mighty soft. We have
taken our liberties and blessings as
matter of course, without graft
tude and without responsibility -.
This Is a day of preparation in
America-not oply preparation to
defend ourselves against attack, but
preparation to live This is one of
the times when nations and civiliza-
tions stand at the bar of Judgment
and must answer for their right to
live.
I'VE have rough going ahead Of
us. Before we get through. our
muscles are going to be harder and
we are going to be filter to live than
we were when we started"