Imperial Valley press., 1943-08-22
BY PETER EDISON

Nothing that Secretary of the In
terror Harold L. Ickes has said in
long time has been so miscon-
strucd. according to his public rela-
tionS department, as his recent
speech before the Sales Executives
Club in New York. This was the
speech titled Taking Look at the
Oddities" in which the secretary
tried to conduct his audience on a
30-minute tour of the capital so as
to get the proper perspective on the
loyal, underpaid civil servants
whom the public has taken to
maligning as b,Teaucrats.
But according to the secretary's
public relations department, some
of the newspapers and press as
sociations plucked certain pages out
of context in such way as to make
it appear that he was blasting busi-
neSSmen."
Well, there can be no doubt about
that. National Association of
Manufacturers has just compiled
broadside labeled what editors
think about ICKES and business
men" on which are reproduced
about six square feet of clippings
of editorials. all of which take Ickes
to task for his alleged remarks.
In short, this speech bounced,
and the secretary would now like
to suck it back or correct whatever
false impression it may have given.
LOOK AT THE TEXT
To be perfectly fair about these
things, all you have to do is go
back and look at the text to see
what Mr.. Ickes really said. Follow
ing is one of the paragraphs on
which he was so unjustly panned:
"It isn't the New Dealers who
have been running this war. |
challenge anyone to name names
and fix responsibilities. II / know
anything about Washington it is
that the dollar-a-year men have
teen running the War-men like
Knudsen. Nelson. Stettinius, and
many others whom I might men
ton. These are the men to whom
the President has given vast pow
erS."
Toward the end of his speech.
IckeS touched on this subject again
TO drive home his point, saying;
Il would remind you that as an
indication of its intention to con-
vert Cthe government to war; as
quickly and as noiselessly as posi-
bic, the President did not turn the
! Job of conversion over to New
Dealer bureaucrat' such as myself,
He summoned to Washington some
of the greatest names in industry
and put the owners of them to
work l have sometimes ventured
! TO think-all by myself of course
! that this sudden and great influx
of men who, while highly com
petent in their own fields. we're in
experienced and unframed in and
unSympathetic with government
procedures. was not as well-advlSed
as it appeared to be-
Well, there's the evidence. Was
Harold taking the businessmen for
q ride, or was he, in his inimitable
llld'iilti, DIdlolllS biiClli "ioi i"i''o
damns? And who should eat whose
words?-the editors or Mr.. Ickes?
SECRETARY'S SARCASM
BACKFIRES
But why all the anxiety to suck
back on this speech?
True, Ickes has couple of grade
A tycoons working for him in
Ralph K Davies, of Standard Oil,
now deputy petroleum admins
traitor for war; and Carl F.. New
ton of G. g. o. railroad, now deputy
coal mines administrator. If this
type of appointment has not turned
out as we'll advised as it appeared to
be. then Secretary 1Ckes as q good
outstanding bureaucrat should be
the first to remedy the situation by
removing his two Subordinates from
business and appointing in their
places other bureaucrats like him
self. He ist likely to do anything
of the kind, and that of course is
the best proof of the point that he
thinks businessmen are okay.
If that's what Secretary Ickef
intended to say in the first place
| the ensuing arpIlment ran op1,y he