The Wilmington morning star., 1945-03-24
Siege OF Ne1u York
BY ARTHUR KROCK

in Washington, where he has long been con
New Deals general of irregulars. The remarks
range from suggestions that the Mayor has
taken New York City out of the Union OF
'out of the war; to charges that, in adding
an hour to the night life Of the metropolis, he
has threatened a breakdown of that ''volun
tary" system Of wartime compliances in which
the President has taken such pride. Most o.
this of course, is uttered in private: the issue
raised is still too delicate for official blasts
that may be forthcoming
Although the stated and implied war pow
ers of the Presidency, carried over from the
past have been added to since this war be.
gan by statute and by court and administra.
tive Interpretation, it has been high policy to
get many things done by request" The cen.
sorship code of the press and radio, except for
direct powers of the military to suppress or
proceed against certain publicatio informa.
tory Of the enemy, is voluntary" The ban
on horse-racing is in the same category. And
when Administrator Byrnes Of OWMR imposed
the midnight curfew he put 1t in the form OF
a request.
But now Mayor LaGuardia has withdrawn
his acceptance Of that request, and today the
Administration pondered for hours what to
do about it. The immediate decision was to
meet it with psychological warfare. That was
the method employed by Mr.. Byrnes in his
statement today. And it was implicit also in
the comment of some Mayors Of their large
cities whose political alliance with the Admin
Iistration is close and of long standing. Their
comment critical Of New York City's official
position was being repeated here today with
what suggested pride of authorship.
It may be the Administration will find that
it must defend voluntary compliance by strong
er measures, should noncompliance spread by
example and the European war continue to
confound the prophets OF an early finish. II
may be the Administration will continue pas.
sively to sit out the situation. For New York
problem is in a sense unique among all the
cities of the United States: it is the largest
port of embarkation and debarkation, its work
ers are more numerous and more dependent
on all-night transport; and the immediate i'm
preston here is that the bulk Of its citizenry
supports the Mayor
But developments might force on the Admin
istraton an ultimate choice between two al
ternatives: relax the curfew to the same de-
gree Mr. LaGuardia has relaxed it; or pro-
coed variously under the Presidents war pow
ers to abolish or nullify the relaxation.
The decision OF the United States District
Court in Chicago in the Montgomery Ward case
indicates that attempt to substitute Fed
eral for local powers over the curfew would
have to be carried to the Supreme Court,
through the two inferior tribunals, before the
Administration could hope to have sus-
tanned such an exercise Of Federal powers.
by that tim observance of the cur
few might have broken down in many cities
and legal victory do more harm than good
Al -.
United States attorneys could quote lot OF
law in favor Of enforced compliance with the
curfew; the President is empowered, for ex-
ample to place restrictions on trade and in
dustry (Which could be the denial of sup
plies, heat light power and manpower)
But, as Administrator Byrnes conceded to-
day, these are indirect sanctions" which can
not be successfully invoked without the full
cooperation Of local authorities unless the
Government forms it's own enforcement divi-
sion, which, he said, the Government is I'm
willing to do Therefore, il his statement re-
mains policy, neither of the alternatives listed
above will be chosen. The Administration
will rely on the effects OF psychological war
fare, hoping that-in such instances as that OF
New York City-local public opinion will force
the authorities to re-comply, or the end Of the
war in Europe will come in time to prevent
a protracted period of noncompliance any
where.
ThisSis probably the wisest course the Pres
ident and Mr.. Byrnes could take, and certainly
it is the most prudent. Also it is typical Of the
OWMR Administrators methods in Govern
ment until very recently when complaints be-
gan to arise that he is an "autocrat." He has
always preferred persuasion to force, con-
Citation to attack and example the precept.
And he has never believed that the American
people can be driven very successfully. The
statement Mr.. Byrnes issued today, in which
the Presidents approval was explicitly stated,
was reminiscent of others he has made in
difficult situations.
The statement of policy was prudent for
| another reason and this arises from the grow
ing disturbance in Congress and among the
public over food shortages and prophecles OF
worse to come. If responsible OPINION were
unanimous that these shortages are part OF the
cost of war fought under as good domestic
as military. management, the threat tne Ad-
ministration fears they may represent TO In
ternational cooperation would not be troubling
| it so much. But many informed ana respon-
sible authorities are charging mlsmanage-
ment and waste, and Congress Is moving to-
ward vigorous investigation
With such prospect, an attemp! 10 force
curfew compliance on the largest Guy IN the
nation might be harmful far beyond the local
orbit. = New York Times