Evening star., 1945-07-16

Carolina for a long time. Since
1899 he has been an aspirant for
the vice presidential nomination
then a justice of the Supreme
Court, then War Mobilization Di-
rector, then again an aSpirant for
the vice presidency, then for a
short time a private citizen and
now Secretary of State.
Take, then, Mr.. Vinson over much
the same period. He has gone from
a Kentucky seat of the House, to
a Federal judgeship, then to the
Job of Economic Sterilization Di-
rector, then to Federal Loan Ad-
ministrator, then to War Mobiliza-
ton Director, and a week or SO age
he was designated Secretary of the
Treasury.
These cases constitute a record
It fairly can be said that in the
last three years these two men
have held more Federal offices for
a shorter length of time than any
others ever known.
Shifts Unexpected
N1OOU VI GIlC1l Sl11lJo A4dfC bCC1l
wholly unexpected. Few of their
jobs have had any relation to each
other. AS soon as a vacancy occurs
in the higher official levels the bet
ting odds are heavy that either
Mr.. VinSon or Mr.. Byrnes will be
named to fill it.
The mystery of why this should
be so is not diminished by the
obvious fact that they are get
ting nearer the top all the time.
Mr.. ByrneS is a little nearer now
than Mr.. Vinson, and his jobs, right
along, have been step or two
above the Vinson level. But, re-
Gently, Mr.. Vinson has beaten Mr..
ByrneS in the number of shifts.
In the last six months he has
shifted three times to Mr.. Byrnes'
once and now is just one degree
lower in prestige and Importance.
In four months, Mr.. Vinson has
shifted from Economic Stabilizer
to Federal Loan Administrator, to
Mobilization Director to Secretary
Of the Treasury, which gives him
an average of less than two months
In each of three jobs. 1t is not
enough. And it is not surprising
that in Congress, and outside, there
should be some unfavorable COM
ment.
The fact is the comment would be
very much more unfavorable were it
not that Mr.. Vinson is a former
member of Congress and a very lik-
able individual personally, though
slightly oversolemn. Also, Mr.. Tru-
man is a new President with whom
nearly everybody wants to "go
along" Combine these things and
perhaps it is not hard to understand
why the extraordinary shifting of
Mr.. Vinson four times to four posts
in four months has not aroused
more public concern.
1t is perfectly clear that neither
Mr.. Vinson nor Mr.. Byrnes has had
an opportunity in the numerous i'm
portant jobs they have held in the
last four years, really to prove their
competence in any of them. They
have not been left in one long
enough to make really good or a
really bad record. This is not said
in disparagement but as a simple
statement of fact.
Hardly in Drivers Seat.
Consider Mr.. Wilson's stay Of a
few months as War Mobilization
Director and his few months as Fed
eral Loan Administrator. Clearly
he did not have a chance in either
one of these jobs to more than get
the drivers seat warm. He could
not more than have begun to know
what they were about, much less
make himself competent admins
traitor.
And now he has been made Secre-
tary of the Treasury to succeed Mr.
Morgenthau at a period when the
problems of the Treasury are greater
than ever before. This would seem
the time when the best fiscal brains
and experience in the Nation were
needed as the Treasury head. Nc
one will claim that in Mr.. Vinson
these are combined.
On the contrary, his total equip
ment for his present post seems
to be his service as a member OF
the Ways and Means Committee OF
the House, which originates the tax
bills. Beyond that his financial
experience and knowledge seem on
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