Evening star., 1940-06-26


"A. P. Wirephoto.
cans to go hungry and cold from
no fault of their own. We Or
ganized and prevented it. 1t was
a Republican administration which
first started relief for farmers.
But wholesale relief cannot 60
on for ever. No government can
carry this deficit indefinitely. We
must restore these people to SELF
support before the money fails.
These people want work. The Ma
tion needs their work. They want
their self-respect restored through
productive jobs.
That can come only through q
change OF administration.
PART v.
Morals in Government.
And that brings me to restoration
OF morals in government.
Does any one in the United States
doubt that the New Deal has built
up the most gigantic political ma
chine to control the vote ever known
in this country?
What of the abundantly proved
misuse OF relief for politics?
What OF this shady substitution
of political patronage for the merit
system?
What OF this vicious building Of
city machines through handing
them gigantic Federal funds to ex-
pend2
What Of the use of taxpayers
money for partisan propaganda
The whole business stank to an
extent that the Jef1ersonian Demo-
Gratis Joined with Republicans in
Congress in passing new laws trying
to stop this political corruption.
The effect of the new law on the
New Dear~ has probably been to
increase the use of the telephone
instead of the typewriter.
Elections Are Taken
Into Protective Custody.
Today there are three or four
hundred thousand New Deal politi-
cal officeholders who are the officers
over an army of -10,000,OO0 voters
who receive Government benefits A
modern explanation of the New
Deal method would be that cleo
tlonS have been taken into pro,ec-
tive custody.
There is no time tonight to 20
into the whole field of intellectual
and financial morals of the New
Deal. They will be amplified in
this campaign.
At the end of this debate We
ought to have an election, not an
auction.
Is all this liberalism? Liberals
fought these things for centuries.
Does not the citizen lose faith IN
moral standards when he sees such
Government dealings?
There can be no double standard
OF morals in republic. For IDEALS
must be served with clean hands.
PART vi.
Competence in Government.
Let us for a moment explore the
question of competence in govern
ment, as distinguished from philos-
ophy and morals.
There can be monstrosities in
broad policies of government be-
yond those that merely cost money
They can jeopardize the Republic,
l may mention a few samples. You
will have others.
MY flrst comment is that compe-
tence in government is not alone
laws and policies. 1t is the capable
administration of them. That means
the quality and experience of the
men and women doing the lob.
Many good objectives have gone
wrong up that alley.
For so years the American people
have fought to dig out the spoiIs
system. Our people built a great
dyke OF competence through non
political selection by merit. At one
time 30 per cent of Federal servants
were employed that way. Today
one-half of its officials have never
passed a merit examination. That
is, however, minor part of the
subject. ! cannot discuss its ma ior
because I do not wish to
deal in personalities.
Fallen Democracies
Have Currency Tombstones.
My second example of the conse-
quences Of incompetence in govern
ment relates to continued deficits
and mounting national debt in
peacetime. 1t is dull subject. And
like any chronic disease we sort of
get used to it," Deficits, debts, infla-
tlons, and their spawn of managed
currency have been the curse of the
earth ever since the last war. They
are inscribed on the tombstones of
every fallen democracy.
We are still alive and therefore
I make two mild suggestions. These
deficits are partly the natural results
of pressures that arise from stabil-
lied depression.
Therefore I suggest that we re-
lease national energies that make
productive jobs.
Thereby we would restore the ma
tional income from the present 70
billions to the 100 billions it ought
to be today. Thereby the revenues
of the Government would increase
automatically. Thereby the billions
of dollars for relief would decrease
automatically.
These deficits are partly cue 10