The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1940-08-15
It Backfred
Washington, Aug. 10.


with his views on the subject OF the
Hatch Act and campaign contribu-
tions deserves more notice than 1t
got. He not only gave a splendid,
spirited and entirely voluntary in
depreciation of the act but advocated
amendments calculated to perfect and
strengthen it.
Ordinarily, this would seem to call
for commentator rather than criti-
cism. So it would this time but for
the fact that-in a minor way, OF
course it belongs in the same class
as the shoddy hypocrisy of the third
term draft" which was so degrad-
ingly obvious at Chicago. Personally,
Mr.. Jackson is so attractive man
that it is a pity he permits himself to
be pushed into this particular kind Of
partisanship. Let alone, certainly he
would not put himself in so vulnera-
BILE position. 1t detracts from the dig
nifty of his office and does not enhance
his reputation as man.
***
In the first place, his sudden anxiety
about the Hatch Act is little absurd
when the truth is that the full weight
of the Administration, of which he is
so important part, was used in the
attempt to scuttle the bill in Congress.
Administration leaders in closest
White House touch did their best to
emasculate it in the Senate and
smother it in the House. Endorsement
of the Hatch Act came from the
President only after it's passage had
become assured. Everybody knew of
his distaste for the proposal.
n&*
In the second place, Mr.. Jackson has
been more distinguished for his resist
ance than for his Willingness to fur
nish opinions either as to the validity
of legislative enactments or the viola5-
ton thereof. Though the House COM
mittee investigating the National La
Dor Relations Board made repeated
and insistent requests for an opinion
as to whether members of the NLRB
had violated the law against lobbying,
it was utterly unable to extract from
Mr.. Jackson any opinion whatever.
Nor could the committee get Mr..
Jackson to act, although it presented
concrete evidence of the lobbying. All
it got from Mr.. Jackson was a letter
alleging that it was not his function to
supply opinions to Congressional COM
mittees and the suggestion that the
committee confer with the District
Attorney.
1t seems that Mr.. Jackson's change
of heart as to his functions was
occasioned by what the New Deal
politicians thought was an opportu
nifty to score off Mr.. Willkie as present
ed in the published view of Mr.. Henry
Fletcher, counsel of the Republican
Committee. Just who asked Mr.. Flet-
cher for his opinion no one seems to
know, but he did come out with one
in which he showed legal way by
which the Hatch Act limiting cam
paign contributions to $4,000 could be
evaded. There was, he pointed out,
nothing in the law to prevent man
who gives $4,000 to the National Com
mittee from duplicating his gift to d
State Committee, a city committee
or an independent committee. In brief,
as one writer put it, he equipped
the Hatch Act with revolving doors.
Although Mr.. Willkie promptly
brushed aside the Fletcher opinion and
Ieaffirmed his insistence upon his cam
paign contributors and campaign com
mittee living wholly up to the spirit
of the law, the chance to make point
against him was one the New Deal
strategists just could not overlook, and
partment disapproved of "any such
plan to avoid the limitations of the
Hatch Act" was as purely political as
though written by the Democratic
publicity director. For two days it was
regarded as pretty smart piece of
politics, but, like a good many such
things, it backfired. Today it is likely
Mr.. Jackson wishes he had adhered to
his original position that it is not the
function of the Attorney General to
give opinions to members of Congress,
even on request.
For one thing, it enabled the Re-
publicans to smack back at Mr.. Jack
son with charges that the 1910 Demo-
cratic campaign book, estimated to
carry advertising in excess of $780,
900, again has violated the Federal
Corrupt Practices Act as well as the
Hatch Act. They asked Mr. Jackson
why he does not take action about
actual violations of the law instead of
getting excited about violations that
not only have not occurred but i. e.
not contemplated To this Mr.. Jack
son somewhat belatedly replied sug-
costing other changes in the Hatch
Act dnciUpad to non a 1i1o tbo ca1Ior