Evening star., 1945-02-07

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Import Bank and then prohibit the
President from transferring any
other loan agencies to the Com
merce Department., The CIO lobby
of course, will fight furiously against
these amendments and it is said now
there is slight chance of their adop-
ton.
Nevertheless, they are entirely
logical and consistent. In enacting
the George bill the Senate expressed
the conviction that Mr.. Wallace
was untitled by temperament and
training to handle these loan
agencies. And 1t made it clear that
If control over them were given
him it would reject his nomination
promptly. The proposed House
amendments would merely make
this expression more emphatic.
Wallace Supporters Enraged.
But the Wallace supporters scream
with rage over the idea. For they
realize that If it should prevail two
questions at once are raised: "a
Would the President veto the
amended bill? % If he did not veto
it, would Mr.. Wallace accept the
job? So far as Mr.. Roosevelt is con-
cerned, though he does not like it,
he has said he would sign the George
bill as it passed the Senate. He
would like even less to sign an
amended George bill.
In effect, that would again say to
him: I'VE think the appointment,
made for avowedly political reasons,
is bad one. However, regarding it
as personal selection, we are will
ing to let you put Mr.. Wallace in your
cabinet but only If all power for
handling public funds is taken from
him." This would be a pretty bad
dose for the President, but consider
ing his avowal as to why he is ap-
pointing Mr.. Wallace, the Congress
seems justified in administering it.
The only Roosevelt alternative to
swallowing it would be to veto and
that would make the rejection of
Mr.. Wallace certain. Thus, the
relationship between the President
and the Senate would become very
bad just at the time when the need
for it to be good was particularly
urgent. So, Notwithstanding the
blatant declarations of some of the
CIO senatorial spokesmen, the feel
ing is that the President would sign
the amended bill. 1t would be ex-
ceedingly difficult for him to do
anything else.
But, whether the bill is further
amended or not, in what a position
Mr.. Wallace is left! He: will have
to decide whether to accept after
Congress has unequivocally told
him it does not think him fit for
the post; after it has taken away
nearly everything save the title and
salary; after the body over which
ne has presided for four years has
testified to. its complete lack of con-
fldence in MIN; after it has made it
impossible for him to do anything
toward putting into execution his
grandiose and widely advertised
postwar economic plans.
A sensitive man could hardly take
the job under such circumstances.
Nevertheless, amended or not, belief
is that he will take it. 1t is argued
that he wants the job, he wants the
salary and he wants the sounding
board. That is the way all of his op-
ponents and some of his friends feel.
Williams Smaller Wallace"
Tn tho tho
Of Aubrey Williams is about to be
considered by the Senate for the i'm
portant position of rural electridca-
tion administrator. AS such he would
have control over large funds, an
important lending agency and a
great many jobholders.
Mr. Williams is a smaller Wallace,
supported by the same groups and
afflicted with the same expansive
ideas concerning the expenditure of
public money. A social welfare
worker, he early became assistant to
Harry Hopkins in the old WPA and
later head of the National Youth
Administration. Since the liquida-
ton of the NYA he has been off the
Government payroll.
Now it is proposed to put him back
In a big way. All of his affiliations
are with the extreme left-wingers.
Hfs support comes solely from the
radicals. The strongest of the farm
organizations oppose his appoint
ment. He has been denounced as
one of the great wasters of public
money. The same objections apply
to him as apply to Mr.. Wallace. He
is New Deal political hack, to
whom the President has promised
place.
There are as sound reasons for op-
posing Mr.. Williams confirmation as
for opposing Mr.. Wallace,s. The
only difference Is that Mr.. Williams