The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-07-29

an assistant to War Mobilization Director James F. Byrnes, and Di- rector of the Budget Harold D.. Smith. There are other secondary lights, fair-haired boys such as Edward F. Prichard, in the office of Economic Stabilization Dire ctor Fred M. Vinson, and Economist Richard V. Gilbert of OPA, who probably don't cut much ice. There are also number of other pres idential administrative assistants Lowell Mellett of the defunct Office of Government Reports, Mc- Mutt protege Wayne Coy, who is now Smiths assistant in the Budget Bureau; Jonathan Daniels, son of JosephuS. Their names are not so frequently mentioned as being of the Palace Guard, but they must be listed on any muster roll of the passionately anonymous official first family.
 The top names on the list are the ones that are hated. In any political battle there must be somebody to hate. If you don't have an oppon- ent, or any enemy, there isn't any issue. The plot in this instance runs that the top names on this list, in some mysterious manner, constitute super government which is above the cabinet and seeks to override Congress, overthrow the government and establish gosh knoWeth what. Maybe the Fourth Internationale, Maybe so. The plot is that the Ures- ident is so busy running the war he lets these people run the coun- try.
 SOME WRITE SPEECHES
 There are, however, no known facts on this plot, if any. There are lot of humors and surmiSes, guesses and accusations. It is note worthy that there are no denials. It is known that these people have the ear of the President. Some of them write the early drafts of his messages and speeches. Others draft in official language the executive orders that he signs. Others are his messenger boys. Others his eyes and his reporters and they come back and tell him what they see and find and think and feel
 A president may be no better or no worse than his advisers. At any rate, president, vulnerable in all things, is particularly vulnerable if his official family is open to criti- cism either personally or politically. This gang is that way. Hopkins. it is said, shouldn't live at the White House, a Supreme Court justice should be above monkeying with politics, a New York state justice shouldn't be spending so much time in Washington and who's paying his expenses. none of the others was ever elected to public office, and who ever heard of them before, anyway? NEVER AN EVEN BREAK
 The rule in politics is that you never give an opponent an even break. An appointive official is never given credit for having the same sincerity or public interest as an elected one, and vice versa. Any thing about which there is any mystery or uncertainty is assumed to be crooked.
 The trouble with the Palace Guard is that it doesn't work in goldfish bowl. If it did, lot of the suspicion might be removed. If 1t were re- moved, lot of the glamour would be gone and these characters might be revealed as just average citizens, maybe smarter than most but still too dumb - or would it be more polite to say-still not smart enough to put over any second American revolution or communistic coups d'etat.
 On the other hand, Hitler and jobless Mussolini aren't as smart as they thought they were, and look how much trouble they've caused.