Imperial Valley press., 1943-02-11
I Rise
TO
Remark
BY Congressman John Phillips


Since this column Just about hits
Iincoln'S birthday in its appear
ance. it might be well to use two
Quotations from that President. He
had his troubles, and he had his
bureaucratS and his generals, and
his Sunday morning quarterback
advisers. Il is Christening to con-
template how little the world real
/. does change. Perhaps it IS also
encouraging. for we may have con-
fidence that even present condl-
tiCns will pass, leaving us the Re-
public of Lincoln and Franklin, OF
washington and jefferson, and OF
i cleveland and of Roosevelt, anc
/ that history will let the dust ac-
cumulate deeply on boondoggling
and on graduated experts
and on 109 billion dollar budgets,
IS compared with England's Il BILL
lions translated into dollarS); Rus
sias Is billions: Canadas billions
or Japans billions.
LINCOLN SAID:
So | now rise to remind the pa
tient readers of this column that,
about the same time comparably
in his war, Lincoln said, II we do
not make common cause TO save
the GOOD old ship of the Union on
this voyage, nobody will have
chance To pilot her on another voy-
age.
The first problem is that OF VIM
nino n war which is not yet won.
II is a lob for men who are experts
in that field, not for amateurs nor
for politicians. The job OF a Con-
erass is TO see that this program Is
carried out. without handicap. Time
is the critical element.
Supplies OF war materials, OF OIL
and gasoline. or 1000, as well as oil
men. must be in the far corners OF
the world. where Americans now
fight, when they are needed, not
few days or a few hours later. Inc
failure to plant or produce, due TO
some bureaucratic regulation which
could be adjusted today, just as
we'll as two weeks from today, Is
lust Us serious a matter as the fall
ure TO produce an extra plane, or
an extra ship, or more rifles or
bullets. because of any labor argu-
ment at all, or absenteeSm' or
loafing, or just cutting the CLOCK
a few minutes. 1t is not that kind OF
a war.
FOOD DUNKIRK
We face a 'foou Dunkirk. Please
write that in your mental notes.
Remember what l wrote montnS
ago about milk and butter, and
more recently about meat. The
meat situation is as yet unsettled.
1t would be helpful if, on successive
meetings, we could at least talk to
the same experts on the same
subject.
II is the duty of Congress to see
that these conditions are corrected.
The papers have already told you
that we went to our first votes on
the floor last Friday, and that every
amendment reducing the approprl-
alton Before US carried, together
with an amendment barring, by
name, one known SubyerSlve- thinker
from the pay roll 1t was a signifi-
cant demonstration of the strength
of the people through Congress.
ECHO COMMENTS
so while I agree with Lincoln
about the Ship of State, I rise to
remark that I do not echo his COM
ments in a letter written October
% 1876, shortly after his election
to Congress: Being elected to Con-
greSs though l am very grateful to
our friends for having done it, has
not pleased me as much as I eX-
pectCd."
Perhaps he found the same cus-
toms and procedures we find here
now, only then they were sixty
years old: today they are one hun
dred and fifty years old, and un-
doubtedly still the same!