Evening star., 1942-02-06
Clear the Decks

Millions of American wage earners
are digging deep to buy Defense
bonds and savings stamps. In few
weeks they will dig deeper to pay
income taxes. When they do they
think of MacArthur's little army,
hemmed in by the seas and the Japs,
gloriously maintaining one tiny front
in this far-fung war. Or they think
of furnishing our aviators with the
bombers, the fighters and the guns
they need. Or of building the ships
to carry more soldiers across the
seven seas to fight for those who
stay at home.
What is going to happen to this
spirit, this willingness to give until
1t hurts, when these Americans real
ize that $4,000 paid for bonds and
stamps and income tax is required
for the salary Of a lady dancer in
charge of children's activities in the
Division of Physical Fitness of the
Office of Civilian Defense; that $4,000
more is needed to pay the salary
(when he is here of a Hollywood
glamor boy who thought up the idea
of an arts council, with payroll Of
four assistants to begin with; that
another publicity office, added to the
legions which already flourish in
Washington, is being set up with
funds that might be used to buy
fighter planes?
A wave Of good-natured ridicule OF
Congressional pensions has swept
the country with spontaneity that
should carry a rather sinister warn
Ing. It can quickly become dan
gerous tidal wave, rejecting the
peoples disillusionment and their
disgust at the continued shenani-
gans carried on in Washington in
the name of civilian defense, and the
profigate and pointless waste OF tax
money and bond money so evident
on every hand.
For what is happening at o. C. D.
Is not an isolated case. 1t is too
typical to be good-naturedly over
looked as another war phenomenon.
When somebody decides that some
thing must be done nobody asks
Why for the children in civilian de-
fense, it is evidently out Of the ques-
ton to utilize the skill and expert
ence of the Children's Bureau, long
since established. No. Hire lady
dancer at $4,000 year. Give her an
office. Hire more secretaries. Get a
research expert. Make survey. Put
them all on the payroll. When
somebody else thinks it would be a
fine idea to have an arts council 1t
Is justified by the thought of the
activities already underway by hun
dreds of other Government pub
licity experts, stumbling over them
selves In the fields of art, music,
moving pictures, radio and press. To
"co-ordinate" such activities we must
hire another Hollywood headliner,
give him offices in Washington and
Hollywood, give him secretaries and
give him assistants. This is the sort
of thing, repeated over and over
again, that is producing chaos In
Washington instead of a war ma
chine and creating the congestion,
the inefficiency, the incompetency,
the confusion and the waste.
Congress should put a stop to 1t.
Two things are needed now. One is
q fine tooth going-over of the activ-
tiles in Washington parading unde.
the name of war activities and a
separation of the genuine from the
fakes. Another is more intelligent
use, in the war effort, of existing per-
sonnel in non-defense agencies.
Mere numbers Of people on the Gov
ernment payroll will not win this
war. The decks in Washington
should be cleared for action.