Evening star., 1942-02-07

conference yes
terday that he
was not familiar David Lawrence.
with the text of the Flynn speech
and also stated that he thought
members loyal to the war program,
irrespective of party, should be
elected.
In fairness to Mr.. Flynn, it is i'm
portant to reproduce verbatim that
part Of his speech which dealt with
this phase of the coming campaign
He said:
II naturally feel that no misfor-
tune except a major military defeat
could befall this country to the ex-
tent involved in the election Of a
Congress hostile to the President. I
do not mean by this that the Re
publican candidates for congress
sional seats have any lack of patri-
otism, but think we will all agree
that vast confusion would inevitably
result if we had a President of one
party and a House of Representa-
tives, for example, of the opposition
party while We are carrying on the
worst war in history"
Both Parties Co operating.
What the foregoing implies, Of
course, is that Republicans would
put opposition to the President above
the voting of measures and funds
with which to win the war. Such an
innuendo is unworthy of any one
who holds the position of chairman
of the Democratic National Commit
tee. It Is an accusation that while
men are dying, the Republicans
would play politics. This has not
been true for a single minute since
Pearl Harbor happened. Both par
ties in Congress have co-operated.
If the people elected Republican
Congress, they might have the added
advantage of disinterested check
on the Executive on domestic policy,
which they cannot have through a
Democratic party that has gotten
so in the habit of rubber stamping
administration requests these past
eight years that it has not ventured
to act effectively.
There is no particular confusion in
having one party in control OF Con-
gress and another in charge Of the
executive branch Of the Government.
The only confusion might be suf-
fered by the vast army Of parasites
brought here under the New Deal
who are clogging the machinery of
Government in wartime. There
might be confusion in the ranks Of
the radicals and the left wingers
who have made up their minds to
use the war emergency to build a
system of state socialism in America.
There might be confusion among
those who believe the Government
should always own everything and
operate everything and that the pri-
vate enterprise system should be
strangled
But all this Is something the
American people will hear about
when the campaign starts. Mr..
Flynn's premise that Republican
Congress should not be elected be-
cause the legislative branch would
be Of one political party while the
executive would be OF another is
equivalent to saying that no elec-
ton should be held and that
America should go totalitarian on
the one-party idea. as have Ger
many and Italy. For II the Re-
publicans are not to be given a
chance to exercise the powers of
majority because change Is not to
be welcomed in war time, 1t means
that the United States Is not to
have the benefit Of the only check
available to the American demo-
cracy in time Of war.
Slower Check Than Britain.
Prime Minister Churchill told the
United States Senate recently that
he can be removed the moment
hostile majority appears in Parlia-
ment. Under the American sys-
TEN of rigid tenure for the Execu-
tive, the President as commander
in-chief of the United States Army
and Navy might be wholly well in
tentioned and conscientious and yet
might make a dozen major blunders
between now and January, 1945,
and there would be no way to re-
move him and put somebody else
in the executive power. In answer
to this, students of government
have said that the Constitution pro-
vides a check at least every two
years through the congressional
elections and that since Congress
possesses the purse strings and
since two-thirds of both houses can
repeal any law on the statute books
and put any new law there over
the objection Of the Executive, the
American democracy possesses an
ample check.
But now Chairman Flynn Of the
Democratic National Committee
argues that no such check would
be proper in war time and that the
Executive must be permitted to
operate as he pleases without check
of any kind through the constitu-
tionally prescribed method of bien-
NAL elections. This is neither demo-
cracy nor representative govern
government.
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