Evening star., 1943-07-06
Time for q Showdown

Vice President Wallace, speaking OF
Secretary of Commerce Jones: HIS
effort to misrepresent the facts :. {.
has continued" His statement con-
cerned certain inaccuracies" THE
actual facts are at variance with the
information given" The false i'm
preston which Mr.. Jones created
1T is time to prevent further harm
full Misrepresentation" He has
instead done much to harass the
administrative employees" The OBJ
structionist tactics Mr.. Jones has
employed" The RFC failed dis
mally." Delays to our work Tor
which we felt Mr.. Jones was re-
sponsible." He had delayed the
foreign rubber program" .. his
stalling in the gathering OF wild
rubber" He and his personnel down
the line have thrown great many
obstacles in the way" Some OF
these obstructionist tactics have
been of major consequence Etc,
etc.
Secretary of Commerce Jones,
speaking of Vice President Wallace:
His TRADE is filled with malice,
lnnuendo, truths, and no truths
at ALL" His unscrupulous tactics
This is a falsehood out OF the
whole cloth" There is no truth
in this" %. is as silly and rldlc-
ulous as it is false" 1T is our belief
that those hundred men (sent to
Brazil by BEW) hastily recruited
as they were have done little
more than get in each others way,
and substitute confusion for order.
That program would be in better
shape today If most of these hundred
men had stayed at home The
statements made by Mr.. Wallace and
Mr.. Perkins :. were at that time
shown to be unjustified and some OF
them untrue Etc, etc.
This language, of course, conveys
far more than any mere disagree
ment over policies. 1t breathes
mutual contempt, If not hatred. 1t
does not rest with the challenging
of facts. 1t attributes, on both sides,
deliberate Misrepresentation with
motive. It is no result of quick
temper, induced by the heat or the
war. It is deliberate provocation, on
the one hand, and slashing retalia-
ton on the other. And as the futile
peacemaker, Mr.. ByrneS, soon must
have realized, this is no feud between
"a couple of administrators" to be
ended by stern rebuke from the
Commander in Chief. 1t is grim
battle to the end.
If Mr.. Wallace is correct in his
statement, prepared for him by the
Board OF Economic Warfare, then Mr..
Jones has manufactured a lot OF
evidence to refute the charges. II
Mr.. Jones is correct in his reply, Mr..
Wallace gave his name and support
to misrepresentation through sup
preston of pertinent fact. The his
tory of the preparation and sustain
Ing data of the Wallace statement
should be examined, along with the
evidence in reply offered by Mr..
Jones. But that, after all, is minor
consideration.
The point, made abundantly clear
in this exchange OF charges, is that
the Board of Economic Warfare, un-
der Mr.. Wallace and Milo Perkins,
no longer can function with the RFC,
under Mr.. Jones. The people having
elected Mr.. Wallace to be Vice Presi-
dent of the United States, it may be
that he should confine his efforts to
the duties of that Office and leave
acquisition of critical materials to
somebody else. The BEW, which Is
discharging functions properly as
sociated with the Nations commerce,
perhaps should be absorbed by the
Department Of Commerce. And if
the Secretary of Commerce is in
competent, he should be replaced.
But judgment as to his competency,
of course, will not be left to the BEW.
If it is the purpose of Mr.. Wallace
and Mr.. Perkins to demand action
by the President, their demand
should be granted without delay.