Evening star., 1945-03-21

lelG wing daily rfAhA H. heht'
and weekly publications, for tn,
extreme planners Of the New Dea
who favor a vast postwar Govern
ment spending program and conside,
the size of the national debt nothins
to worry about-and for Mrs. Roose
welt.
If Mr.. Williams loses 1t will NEAR
victory for those who want the Gov.
ernment's business in competen
hands, who believe that the mainte'
nance of Federal fiscal equilibrium
Is vital to us all, who want private
enterprise to be encouraged rather
than further restricted. who dis.
trust the grandiose governmental
schemes of the New Dealers ano
who regard the avowed politica
alliance between the administra
ton and the labor bosses as mimi
cal to the national interests.
Question of Direction.
At bottom, the issue raised by
the williams nomination, as in the
Wallace nomination. is a question
of direction, of which way the Gov
ernment shall point for the next
four years. The personality of Mr.
Williams is relatively uninportant
So, too, are his views on racial
equality, which are identical with
those of Mrs. Roosevelt, whose
protege he Is. And 1t was, of course,
silly to lug the question of his re-
ugious beliefs into the debate.
His friends seized upon both these
In an effort to make it appear that
Mr.. Williams was being prosecuted
by ignorant and inflamed men and
that the opposition to him was
largely due to racial and religious
prejudices. This was the allegation
heatedly put out over the radio, in
the radical press and by the lobby
ing committee, organized with CIO
help. to urge the Williams confirm
alton.
But Is was largely a phony charge,
designed partly to frighten Repub-
lican Senators from voting against
him and partly to obscure the basic
reason for the Williams opposition,
which was identical with the Wal
lace opposition.
In the case of Mr.. Wallace, there
was a deep-seated conviction of his
complete unf1tness to handle the
vast public funds controlled by the
RFC. When this was coupled with
Mr.. Roosevelt's written admission
that the appointment was a political
one the Senate took away from Mr..
Wallace control over the funds and
confirmed him only on the specious
plea that the President should be
permitted to select his own cabinet.
In the case of Mr.. Williams, the
same reasons for opposition exist.
The post for which he was named
would give him control over several
billions Of public funds. There Is
nothing in his record to justify be-
lief in his capacity to exercise this
control wisely.
Views INSPIRE Distrust."
On the contrary, his close asso-
citation with the extreme radical
groups and his enthusiasm for the
early New Deal spending policies
are well calculated to inspire dis
trust. In addition, exactly the
same forces within the administra-
ton, and without, that supported
Mr.. Wallace are supporting Mr.
Williams. Neither his religious nor
his racial views have anything to
do with that
1t is their economic and labor
views that tie them together and
unity behind them the same ele-
ments. These views are those of
the extreme left wingers, inherently
hostile to private business, always
pushing toward further socialization
and greater Government control.
With Mr.. Roosevelt absorbed in
international affairs, his CIO and
other radical friends forced both
the Wallace and the Williams nomi-
nation. They got only half of what
they wanted in the Wallace fight.
That, from their standpoint, makes