Imperial Valley press., 1944-06-12
DN "ItNOIIL u " NTEfLNTE
Distributed by United Press

Inc RepublCan party in its be-
ginning arose from the peoples urre
to build strong national govern
ment to offset the disruptivc
weakening influence Cf the states
rights doctrine of the Democratic
party. paradoXiCally, now. in 1914
that same Republican party is urged
to dedicate itself to the doctrine of
states rights.
In the days Of the party's found
ing. a strong central government
was necessary to prevent disruption
of our political union. Today, a
! strong central government is neces-
Sary to prevent disruption of our
economic and social structure by a
variety of conflicting authorities and
/ and interests. In that early day.
/ the federal power was necessary to
make us in fact a nation. Today,
federal power is necessary to en-
able the United States to live and
/ lead in the family of nations.
RECURRING DEBATE
The debate concerning the con-
centration of power in Washington
is a recurring one. 1t arises to
some extent in every presidential
campaign and becomes particularly
violent during war periods. But the
sincerity and vigor Of the present
protest has been occaSioned by
causes beyond the normal maneu-
verS of politics or the dislocationS
created by the federal assumption
of necessary war powers. 1t arises
from more far-reaching causes.
The spectacle of the present ad
ministration'S arbitrary use of vast
authority: the caprices of a gov
ernment of men grown bold and
| reckless with the use of power, Ia
yoring first one economic group and
| then another. while Subjccting IN
| dividuals and their rights TO the
/ Judgment of whims and theories;
the manifold evidences to every
citizen, even in his own community
of the inetficiencies and reckless
cxtravagances of federal agents -
all these abuses have aroused dis
satisfactions among the people
which have naturally formed an
issue for the opposition party. But
we must not be confusCd as to
what the issue is or where the
solution lies.
It is not the worn-out issue OF
states rights yercus strong federal
government. That is not an issue;
that is a relic.
| PROUD OF COP
The states have the proper tunc-
! ticns and Republicans can be PROUD
that in the administrations CT Inc
Twenty-Five Republican governors
we have an outstanding example To-
dav of competent state government.
Rut ever since the adoption ot
the constitution, with the expansion
of the country and the growth OF
its concerns. there has been trend
towards stronger central govern
ment 1t was firmly established IN
tho civil war. and became increas-
inglv marked after World war l
President Hoover'S committee on
recent social trends, published
report in 1888, that noted the
growth of federal functions during
the three preceding Republican ad-
ministratiCnS and concluded:
The shifts from state to lederal
authority thus reflect the lncapac-
itv of the several states to deal WIN
nroblems of transportation, COM
m1nication, merchandising, labor
capital relations and other vital as
poets of social and eccncmlc ne
II could hardly be put better.
MUST USE VAST POWERS
ANY national administration III a
modern complex industrial ioCleCy
must exercise vast powers. llle
limited States cannot be divided INTO
az separate economic units we
cannot. for instance, have 40 dll-
ferent minimum wage laws; nor can
we have a variety Cf state pollcleS
if we hope to protect the farmer
against the precipitate doWnWaio
spiral of postwar agrlcuiIufdi
prices. Business national IN scope,
social and economic problems that
affect all our people alike can ohlY
be dealth with on a national bas@'
The number and character CT such
problemc increases steadily with
every step i'll our industrial grown
and expansion. And the more we
move, into the affairs OF the world,
the more this will be true For We
will be living and functionlng and
trading in a world where otaer
peoples have granted to Their gov
ernments the pcwer and the an-
thority to act for them.
No, the issue today is not the
issue of ,tates rights versus 1cdera'
power. The issue Is government
administered under law. For If
economic and social regulations In
our modern industrial age must be
national in scope to be effective, 50
their administration must be by law
and rule if the citizen Is to remain
free
CITES ARGUMENT
The solution lies not in weak
ened central government it lies
in assuring the proper ugc OF TIE
power VIC have deemed 1t wise and
necessary to grant to the federal
government. That means a sen,c
Of responsibility in administration.
II means - and this IS important
- local administration of numer-
GUS federal functions in their local
application. And it means primarily
the e1lbsttution of government by
law for government by caprice and
unlimited discrctions. Under such
exercise of federal power every citi-
! zon ,-icb or Moor labor leader ar