Detroit evening times., 1945-01-30
FAIR
ENOUGH
By Westbrook
PeeIer

THE incident of Elliott Roose-
Il velt's dog is a good occa-
sion TO teach some generals
their proper place in relation TO
the civil authority.
mo comment" says the head
quarters of the Army Transport
Command when asked who au-
thorized an "A" travel priority
on an army plane for the dog.
travelling as private property,
which bumped three service
men off the ship at Memphis.
What do you mean, no COM
ment? ?"
The thing to do now is to call
up Gen. Harold l.. George, of
this command. make him click
his heels before committee of
Congress, stand at attention
and answer questions.
TilS is no mere unfortunate
Il incident" but an expression
of dangerous attitude of su-
periofity by military men over
the civil population. In France,
recently, enlisted soldiers have
been sentenced TO long terms in
prison for black market opera
tions comparable in principle TO
the episode of Elliott Roose-
velt's dog.
Like the government cigarets
which those soldiers sold for
their profit. this plane was the
property of the American peo-
pie, not of any general or Presi-
dent Roosevelt's family. And,
like the cigarets, the accommo-
dations allotted to this dog were
misappropriated TO private use.
And, while the subject is
warm. there is occasion also TO
check the priorities on CONNER
cial transports which have been
practically monopolized by the
government with civilians OUT
side the privileged class ini-
posed on with delays, expense
and hardship.
IT is no justification 10 say
L that civilians should not
travel unnecessarily. The law is
that they have as much right
TO travel as Mrs. Eleanor Roose.
welt, the Hollywood Communists
who went 10 Washington TO
celebrate their fourth term VIC
tory or the 300 members of the
LOCO Club whose trip consumed
the equivalent Of a 14-car Pull
man train TO and from the
capital for the formal exercises
They are no less entitled to
go to conventions. whether Of
antique dealers or the sons and
daughters Of / Will Arise, than
Mrs. Roosevelt, Sidney ffiiinlan
and a thousand others were
occupy train space to Chicago
for the purely political conven-
tion of the CIO OR WILLIAM
GREEN, DAN TOBIN, JOE
PADWAY AND THE MISCEL-
LANEOUS HIGH BINDERS
AND RACKETEERS WERE
TO GO TO THE CONVEN-
TlON OF THE AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF LABOR IN
NEW ORLEANS.
Pressure on the rest of the
nation to stay home, applied
through hardship, threats of de-
lay, hunger, sleepleSS nights,
cold and opprobrium are plain
expressions of that arrogance
toward the masses" which now
dictates the conduct of those
who have come to regard them
selves as the rulers" of the re-
public.
WHEN an "a priority can be
w had for a dog occupying
three seats in an army trans
port plane. it may be suspected
that this was not the first
abuse but merely the ulti-
mate outrage, perpetrated by
men emboldened to excess by
earlier impositlons.
There IS no reason to antici-
pate that the characteristic
Snobbery and sense of privilege
of the ruling household will be
abated or embarrassed by the
findings of a congressional in
quiry, however, scandalous.
From the time when accom-
modations became a problem
before Pearl Harbor and since.
Mrs. -Roosevelt's mileage has
exceeded by thousands of miles,
within the United States alone,
that of the most itinerant non
professional wanderer.
Nowadays she still commutes
between Washington and New
York on trolley-car schedule,
10 make speeches of no impera-
tive Importance and take a few
young friends TO the play.
IF THESE be legitimate mis-
L sions. remembering that Mrs.
Roosevelt usually travels double
with her secretary, if her trips
by plane long after under
privileged civilians were being
bumped" at way stations were
justified, then any army wife
following her hu b and, any
mother bound for the embarka-
ton port. any aimless member
of the little people" has the
same justification.
Again. the sense of special
class and Importance makes
itself felt among the public
whose travels might have been
voluntarily restricted by per-
cOpaI daricip, 10 c,oh ~ 80,