Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-02-07

lie indicates it is going forward
fciently and well and with general
pular approval. When you stop
consider that what we are dealing
It'll here is outright CONSUMPTION
|pposed to be in direct conflict with
Anglo-American traditions of
Emocracy and personal freedom,
is condition speaks volumes for
e excellence with which the job
rs been handled. This is a cause
understandable satisfaction to
is writer, because the whole sys-
I'M follows without many impor-
nj changes the plans and policies
orked out by trial and error dur
e the World war.
The biggest single causes Of dis
atisfaction are army medical rejec-
ons after draft boards acceptance
nd the lack of uniformity among
he thousands of local boards in TAX
be- or deferring married men. In
his respect the law leaves Mr..
bykstra with less discretion than we
lad. The fact of actual dependency
wives and children rather than
he fact of marriage is made the
eciding circumstance The ques-
Ion of dependency is one of the rela-
i've degree to which a family is
dependent on its head. The law
butts that up to the local boards and
ot to the director.
Where the wife and husband both
ave Jobs, is she dependent?
Where the wife and husband have
nipple income apart from his work,
5 that dependency? Where the hus-
band is a no-good bum who never
(ook the trouble to support his fam
)ly, should he escape service on the
ground that he is married?
II the answer to such questions
Is left entirely to the local boards,
there is bound to be very wide
difference in result. This created
The toughest problem in the World
war draft also. It makes more
noise than the facts warrant. Then
there were 4.8 million married reg
istrants. About AGO. 900, or 80 per
cent, were deferred. Many OF those
not deferred had no claim filed for
them either by themselves or their
wives. In hundreds of cases, a wife
would drag some worthless loafer in
and demand that he be taken. In
some of these cases the demand was
recanted on the ground that the
threat of service had made a per-
feet husband.
The net result of that experience
was gradual and continuous re-
Taxation of the rule in favor of not
breaking up families wherever 1t
could be possibly and justly avoided.
LOOSE-END' BILL
Two apparent absurdities attend
the arguments for the Morgenthau
'loose-end' bill, now being SO holly
debated.
One is the insistence Of certain
sincere congressional advocates that
the bill does not surrender to the
executive the constitutional safe
guards against dictatorship-the IA
nous congressional power OF the
purse"
In our own and English expert
ence, it is the strongest weapon OF
democracy. Our Constitution gives
congress alone the power to declare
war and to ''raise and support
armies" To this latter highly i'm
portant grant the Constitution at
laches a condition, but no appro-
priation of money to that use shall
De for a longer term than two
years."
Under the "loose-end" bill, the
President is given authority to
to another nation any de
'ense article" he desires. The words
defense article" are defined to
mean any conceivable military or
naval resource which the United
States owns or may hereafter &C.
Iuire. When this is attacked as a
surrender by congress to the execu-
i've of its power Of the purse IN
var, the answer is made that the
dill appropriates no money and
renee, that congress. through It's
,ower to appropriate. still controls
action under the bill.
Right off the bat, it is apparent
hat NJ to the many billions OF dol
ara worth of military and naval
that this country now
,as, the answer simply Is not true.
The bill gives the President author
" to transfer It with no further aP-
whatever.
Neither n it necessarily true as to
tits Il new equipment. It is true.
.nder the bill, that before he could.
Or example, order . new battleship
,uiit, expressly announced n = gift
3 CHM, he w~iId have TO 20 to
,oneress for authority. But there
. 8 Ioopho2s that II u broad - 4
an door. In this crisis. congress
- rafnssA. No apprupriatioa to
M armament Tor tie United
)tatse ard Il , - sure = snnrtse
4 - - t3AA fHn4lNp0