Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1946-07-09
Gestapo Methods

Habits Of the War Department
and other government agencies of
making prescriptions OF convcrSa-
. items between congressman and brI-
rraliCratIc authorities has aroused
Capitol Hill Ia white heat anger.
and rightly so. The practice smacks
, al geStdpo methods employed III
Hitler Germany and other dictator
countries and IS vicious and con-
temptIble wherever employed.
The practice was revealed III con-
nectiun with the muddle into wirch
Representative May of Kentucky
has found himself and, regardless
! OF Mr.. Mays conduct, the War De-
| pal;Ment has rssortUd ~ cii.rr9ou;-
! able tactics in this procedure. These
records of Conversations are mad"
and are kept, presumably. az a Sor;
oi big stick over the k0adS II cor
gressmcn tn whip them into line III
doing the bidding of this fourth
branch If government. which essay
Ia slkc unto itself greater powers
than conferred and Ia operate va
GIallv as il plcaScs. Congress has
condemned tins type of wirc-tap-
ping for purposes al criminal pro-
ScCutIon. yet these departmental
boiled shirts continue Ia do IT ami
get away with it.
Congressman are talking of an in
VcStlga'ion, but unless steps are
taken la end the practice such an
inquiry wall be of no avail. What
ama2eS us is that law-makaS. III
whom. next {" the sovereign pcu-
pie. rests final authority III RUNNING
this country. submit to such high
handed tactics and dHtaiiOn from
bureaucratic agencies the laIy-maie-
crS have themselves created and set
up in authority. In sense. Congress
has only itself Ia blame. 1t was fool
Ish ever 10 delegate such powers
and should have known at the out
: set that high offiCe-hOldorS, given
an inch, will take mile. The
chickens are coming home 10 roost
1 as they always do. and in this in
stance Congress is itself being made
the goat. Yet Legislators supinciy
submit and complain that they can
do nothing about it.
Actually, they can do plenty. And
unless they do Will deserve and pro.
badly will get little or no sympathy
! from the people. American citizens
, for a dozen years and more have
J been defied and intimidated by tho
very agencies which now arc reach
ing their long fingers out in the
direction Of congressman themselves.
| Perhaps it is as well that this should
! be, on the one condition that il Will
/ rouse Capitol Hill from its slumbcr
! and indifference and spur it toward
rccdpturing again control Of the
! government in the name Of the peo-
pie Of the nation.
Mr.. May. in this instance, may
nave exceeded the prophecies. but
we imagine there are few congress-
men who have not at one time or
another made legitimate requests Of
various government departments in
behalf Of their constituents. Their
is nothing wrong with that, so long
as il is only service TO constituents
and not accompanied with mer-
cenary considerations.
The American democracy is no
place for gestapo methods. We
fought a war TO abolish such things.
And while II was being fought and
won. at so friehtful price. this
same dietatorisl octopus was fasten.
ing its death grip upon the people
of this country. It is time and long
past time that bureaucratic agencie,
be shown their place, put In 1t and
made 70 stay there. q