The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-30
By Dre1C Pearson

about Franco The day before according to the Associated Press. "the State Department took another crack at Spains Generalissimo Franco T. Assistant Secretaries Dean Acheson and Archibald MacLeish said that the Neutrality Act of 1886 was never popular" in America. The general conclusion of these outstanding spokesmen was that It had not been realized until recently how strongly American opinion is and opposed to Franco and to the role played in Spain by Hitler and Mussolini.'
 had been wanting to say this sort of thing for a good many years.
 If were really Drew Pearson instead of a poor Imitation I would give at least half brass ring to Acheson and MacLeish It would have been good thing for the State Department and for the country if these two straight-thinking young gentlemen had been responsible officers of the Department long be- fore they became such. Then what they said about Franco would not have been so tardy.
 People in the federal service are prohibited from engaging in controversies" But what IS "contro- versy?" should say that more oranges are produced in Maine than in any state in the Union as under stand the rules and regulations under which we oper ate not even the Secretary of Agriculture could tell the world that had nutty flavor. denial of even an obvious msstatement becomes controversy and therefore is forbidden Smart is the man who antic- pating issue. takes public position with respect to it. thus putting chip on his shoulder that no one else may knock off.
 For instance take the subject of coal. have said, and it has not been denied: that many people not only in Europe but here will be chilly if not cold next winter It is not that there is not enough coal in the world The trouble is that it is not being produced in large enough quantities. This much can say without getting into trouble. But when go further and declare that there enough coal miners to produce the required amount of coal, Il stepping on thin ice. If tell where those men are and demand that they be put to the digging of coal, then accused of engaging in public 'con- troversy"
 Therefore, in order to write something that even the most sensitive contemporary cannot even imagine to be controversial" will thumb back through the pages of American history until I come to the en- gazing subject of Benjamin Franklin. He ought to be safe enough and, so far as know he has no direct descendants Or has he?
 B. Franklin of Pennsylvania was at least a three drnensional manor four could be claimed for him if one cares to give any credit to his alleged amorous accomplishments Here man who was living refutation of the bright aphorism which had not even been coined in his day. that the female of the species is more deadly than the male"
 Franklin as statesman has stood head ana shoulders above most Americans in that category. I am confident that, such he will continue down the long stretch of time to be colossus among colossi In addition he scientist of originality and power who still ranks not far from the top He was writer of parts and as publisher and editor, venture to say that if he were contemporary in- stead of ancient he would be able to hold his own today with the best of them all.
 I will not be regarded as induging in what any, one might properly regard controversy" in dip ping briefly into the life of man who was great American during his lifetime and an increasingly great American since his death. According to James Parton, one of Franklns biographers Tt was his boast that his own newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette during existence of nearly 60 years under
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