Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-17
Congressman
Get Tangled
In Their AIibis
Dependents Pay Polls
Keep Them Hopping
BY PAUL MALLON

" Unanimously the House has
repealed its restriction delaying
payment OF five months arrears
allowances TO wives, parents and
children of fighting men until
November !, two days before
the election.
The repeater comes up in the
Senate on Monday and il no
doubt will be adopted there, al
though the Senate is less amen
able TO correcting its mistakes, .
as only one-third Of its member
ship is up for reelection this
year. whereas all the House IS
facing the voters.
Thus the injustice, brought 10
the attention of the public by
this column, as published In
newspapers Of July Is. July y
and August IL, is likely 10 be
fully rectified -but not without
some interesting qualifications.
EOR time il appeared Moth
L ing would be done. When
Rep. John Rankin CD OF Missls-
Sippi, officially proposed cor
rection in the House. he actually
ran into opposition from the
war department Policy there
was being guided by Col. Thurs
ton Hughes, administrative Off
Ger, handling the law.
An official announcement of
the departments position was
made. in an obvious effort 10
stop the Rankin movement.
DUT letters started coming in
- from those wives and par
ents in need, who did not know
how they would buy food and
pay the rent until two days be-
fore election.
Down in Kentucky. Chairman
Andrew May of the House mill
tary affairs committee. heard
of the Rankin movement, which
correspondent TO what he wanted
TO do in the first place with the
original law. He came back from
his vacation. incidentally. his
Job, handling army legislation,
has been among the most oner-
Gus in Congress, and entitled
him to one.)
May went to the war depart
ment and argued. also to the
navy, trying to get the official
stopper withdrawn. The army
weakened, only slightly, but
enough. The navy wholeheart-
eddy endorsed the correction.
TT IS a remarkable matter when
L the government openly cor
reefs a mistake. and all who had
part in this correction deserve
reSounding cheers.
The easier pattern OF Official
behavior in such matters is TO
insist that there was no mistake,
and 10 concoct all the excuses
and arguments which lawyers
can devise TO justify blunder.
Acting Secretary Of War Pat,
terson, a brilliant New York
Judge and attorney, for example.
wrote letter, also dated Au-
gust 5, TO the House speaker.
making two pleas. which con-
tradicted each other, in substan-
tiation Of the position which
Colonel Hughes had led him
into
Mr.. Patterson said it would be
discrimination against our sol
diers overseas, who cannot get
the necessary blanks quickly, If
he paid the dependents of SOL
dierS in this country first
This. of course. is matter OF
hunger and rent paying. Judge
Patterson's argument would
have you believe that, when
faced with hundreds OF thou
sands Of hungry women and chill
dren. il is discrimination 10
feed any of them first.
THIS other point denied his
Il first one. IT was that large
force of reasonably well-tralned
persons. many typewriters. and
the necessary desks and filing
equipment and forms would be
required perhaps 5000 persons
10 look over 100000 forms.
He said il would. therefore, be
physically impossible 10 get out
all the checks even on Novem-
Der / so he intended TO practice
some of the discrimination he
DEGREES. He only thinks it a sin
10 do so before November !.
OF course this is no excuse for
delaying every one, but he used
II and thereby uninientionally
suggested that if the second
front is 10 be opened on the
same basis. perhaps this country
needs a Swifter assistant secre-
tary of war as well as swIfter
army financial department.
DUT the pretticSt OF all ex-
ID cuScS was advanced by Sen
ator Thomas Cd Of Utah
Che rs not up for reelection this
year,. who opposed the Rankin
correction because. ne said, it
was dishonest 10 hold out hopes
10 dependents that they might
boz paid before November |, be-
cause il could not be done.