The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-01-16

isn't the point. The point is that 1t
should be considered unpatriotic not
to applaud. That is certainly new
idea. Wholly aside from the fact that
we are not yet at war, and that there
were both Democrats and Republicans
who listened to Mr.. Roosevelt who did
not agree with what he said, and
therefore applause from them would
have been hypocritical-aside from
that, it is slightly ridiculous to con-
slider that support of Mr.. Roosevelt's
foreign policy carries with it an obi
cation to cheer him.
$50
The truth is, there are, in and out
of Congress, a great many persons,
Democrats and Republicans, who
strongly indorse Mr.. Roosevelt's for
eign policy and will support him on
that to the limit, but who, neverthe-
less, heartily wish the direction of the
nation were in other hands, and have
neither admiration for him personally
nor confidence in his capacity. They
are with him on this issue not be-
cause he is President and not because
they think him the best-equipped man
to follow, but because he is right and
in the position of leadership. Inciden-
tally, he would not be nearly so right
had it not been for the pressure of
anti-New Deal individuals, commit
tees and newspapers.
*&*
The tone of his recent utterances
has been fine and, in my judgment,
they deserve applause. But it is alb
surd to regard it as unpatriotic not to
applaud. If that idea is to be accepted,
who can tell how it may be expanded
We may be told later that it is I'M
patriotic not to cheer all the members
of the Roosevelt family on sight. 1t
may be necessary to cheer Mr.. Hop
kins and Mr.. Ickes, too. There is nc
limit to which this absurdity, once
accepted, could be stretched. Ger
tainly it would preclude critical COM
ment upon the most recent reorgani-
cation by Mr.. Roosevelt of his De-
tense Commission, made the day after
his speech. If that fits in with his
words, then two and two no longer
make four.
Briefly, what he has done is to re.
shuttle his concededly unavoidable
Defense Commission, create another
to be called the Office Of Production
Management, and name not one chief
but two with equal power and author
ity-Mr. Knudsen, the industrialist
and Mr.. Hillman, the labor leader. II
other words, he has rejected not only
the lesson of the last war but the
counsel of the most experienced mel
around him. And he has yielded to thu
demands of the radical element in the
New Deal Instead of making one
boss, he has made two. Instead o,
establishing one-man control and re
sponsibility, he has set up dual con
troll and divided responsibility. 1t ma!
work. Everybody hopes it will; but i
is immensely awkward and the posi-
bilities of friction are clear.
It's effectiveness depends upon tn
ingenuity of its personnel to organic
and of the two bosses to agree will
each other. No one would think O
trying to run big business with tw,
bosses. No one would think of trying
to run a nation with two Presidents
This job of defense more plainly call
for one-man direction than any other
Until that was given in the last wa
things were in the same kind o
muddle they are now. Once it wa
given, the wheels really began t
move. All of this has been urged upol
Mr. Roosevelt. He chooses to disre
; gard it. Perhaps Mrs. Roosevelt
thinks it unpatriotic not to cheer tina
; and unkind to mention it.
To some who view this two-heade
setup with distrust, there is on
phase of the Roosevelt action tina
seems more deplorable than the dus
management. That is his insistenc
upon separating labor and capital; hi
persistent attitude that one must b
offset by the other; or that one mus
watch the other; that an industrialis
cannot be trusted to do the job unles
there is labor leader to balance hi
authority. This is no way to unity
nation. This is no way to inspire me
who, at great sacrifice, are here t
serve their country. 1t isn't right t
regard Mr.. Knudsen as representa-
capital and take the view that it
necessary to balance him with labc
=. boss. Mr.. Knudsen ought to be re
garded as representing productio
and neither capital nor labor.
4 ~
8 In the last war President Wilso
| named Mr. Baruch boss, and no or
Y regarded him as capital" though h
e had made great fortune in Wa
a Street. Mr.. Wilson did not put labc
leader on as co-boss to balance B,
S ruch. He named Mr.. Samuel Gomper
? a bigger labor leader than Mr.. Hill