Evening star., 1941-05-21


&c mentioned vet David Lawrence.
when the Senate this very week
dealt with an item far above the
Presidents own budget estimates,
not a finger was lifted by the ad-
ministration to prevent the eX-
travagance.
The public, moreover, Is entitled
to know the tactics of misrepresen-
tation by which normal expenses
are being increased under the gulse
of some vague or remote relation
ship to the defense program. The
Senate Appropriations Committee
for instance. cut S750000 from the
big appropriation which had been
made for the antitrust division
of the Department of Justice.
Senator McCarran of Nevada,
Democrat, said that even with the
cut the amount to be given to the
antitrust division was S25O,O0O
higher than last year. But the
Senate voted 35 to 81 to restore the
whole sum.
Now antitrust activities are
desirable in normal times. but when
the Attorney General announces
certain devices by means of industry
committees to avoid antitrust pro-
secutions in order quickly to line
no the production Of industry,
virtually conceding that there must
be combinations of producers In
order to allocate war orders and
hold down prices, there would seem
to be less reason for making the
antitrust division bigger tnan ever
before.
Defense Link Offered.
The antitrust division already
has the largest staff of lawyers
ever assembled in a Government
agency and unless these lawyers
who get high salaries think up
ways and means of harassing busi-
ness and industry, they probably
feel they are not justifying the big
appropriations they are receiving
from Congress.
When the Senate on Monday was
about to support the committee
cut of S75O.0O0 from the funds OF
the antitrust division, great hue
and cry was raised. Needed with
information from the antitrust
division itself, several Senators
went to bat for the bureaucrats.
The reasons they gave were amaz-
ingly naive. Knowing that to get
money, the request has to be tied
into the defense situation some
how. the old familiar charge about
the Aluminium Co. of America and
its alleged failure to provide enough
aluminium for airplanes was brought
up again. The antitrust division
must have money, 1t was argued, to
prevent these shortages" sup
posedly created by monopolies and,
as usual, a lot of unsupported and
unverifled charges were introduced
into the debate and the Senate
promptly voted to authorize the
whole appropriation.
Now the real reason why there
Is an aluminium problem today Is
something which, it so happens, the
Congress of the United States does
not dare to investigate. For the
finger of blame would come right
back to President Roosevelt and
Congress itself.
There is plenty of aluminium to-
day for military and naval needs;
In fact, a substantial surplus II
figured in terms of any require
ments offered by the War and Navy
Departments up to and as late as
January, 1941. There is certainly
more than enough aluminium as
figured in terms of the requirements
as of March, 1910. For in that
latter month when the Air Corps
of the United States Army asked
for 1000 combat planes, the House
of Representatives cut the request
to 81 and the Senate fixed it at
166. In September of the same year,
the same Congress voted for $1,000
combat planes.
Orders Slow Year Ago.
II the Congress of the United
States, six months after the second
World War began, estimated Amer
icas aluminium requirements in
terms of 166 combat planes for the
United States Army, is the ALUMNI
mum Co. of America now to be
blamed for not having rushed In to
building big plants so as to offset
Germany's production? Did the
principal customer of the Alunli-
mum Co. today-Uncle Sam-place
any substantial orders prior to a
year ago? And the record shows
the Aluminium Co. responded then
with a big increase of capacity and
q risk of s200000,000 of its own
funds. And the War and Navy
Departments will testify to the
patriotic cooperation they have
thus received.
Yet Senators stand up in the
Capitol and blame the Aluminium
co. It's the favorite stunt in democ-
racies-always to blame the other
fellow. But some day there will be
an inquiry and it will be conducted
by a fearless committee elected on
behalf of an indignant American
people who will demand to know
who in 1910 and 1941 interfered
WIFI NY NdAlAOO4ioSiAaS S'AS
failures of politicians and bureau
Gratis.
There is no need for antitrust
funds today-none except the desire
of bureaucracy to harass the in
dustrial executives of America at a
time when they should be permitted
to concentrate on defense produc-
ton. The s75O,00O item is in bill
now in conference between the
Senate and House. Will Congress
continue to ask draftees to accept
s21 a month whilst the jobholders
In Washington multiply and the
President who asks Sacrifices" con-
tinues to forget that bureaucrats
are supposed to make sacrifices too?
On the home front in America are
the same signs of moral decay
which ruined the French republic.
The politicians deliberately mislead
the people, neglect real defense and
waste public funds. Instead OF an
attitude Of spiritual sacrifice and
cooperation, Washington presents