Evening star., 1946-12-25

One does not have to set undue
store by official dignity nor place
a fictitious value on formality to
subscribe to them. Most men OF
political experience and capable OF
Judging will agree that while in
the good old days" there may have
been larger measure of pretense,
nevertheless there was more in
dependence of thought and more
robust and honest conflict of opinion
when public men were not calling
each other-and practically every
body else-by their first names all
over the place.
Insineere Letters.
It is not necessary to 'live in the
past" nor to be "reactionary old
crab in order to appreciate the
truth of this. Today, every one is
Bill" or Tom" or Jimmy" The
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
is Fred" to dozens of jobholding
friends who ought to know better
or be rebuked. His colleagues are
Hugo, Bill, Frank and Bob to
numerous politicians, newspapermen
and others.
Presidents write Dear Joe" or
"Dear Henry" about how distressed
they are he is resigning when they
are really rejoiced. They declare
that the departing one must surely
return "again to serve the Govern
ment," full well knowing they hope
never to see him again.
There is, by far, too much syn
thetic good-fellow business in i'm
portant official circles. Too many
too publicly call distinguished am
bassadors Ted" or Bruno" or
"Old Boy" to attest an intimacy
that does not exist. The whole place
reeks with spurious affection and
phony trust. Every one pretends to
cooperate" but conspires to paint
palliatives as conclusive. Everybody,
as one sardonic individual remarks,
is just too damned unanimous"
Some in Old Days.
There may have been some first
name calling on the higher levels in
former days, but not as it is now.
No one went around Washington
calling the late Chief Justice Stone
Harlan" nor his distinguished
predecessor Charlie" Certainly,
they were never referred to in print
that way. To go away back, it is
doubtful that Mr.. Lincoln called any
of his cabinet by their first name or
that any of them called him ABE.
1t is true that Theodore Roose-
velt introduced greater informality
at the White House than existed in
the Cleveland and Mckinley days
but it was a limited informality.
Of course his old friend, Senator
Lodge, was cabot" and there were
some Dear Will" letters of his old
friend, Mr.. Taft, but Secretary of
State Hay distinctly was not John"
or "Jack"-and it is doubtful that
Mr.. Hoover ever called Mr.. Mellon
ANDY" or any one ever referred to
Mr.. Hoover as Herb"
Informality Unlimited.
But now informality is unlimited;
familiarity goes to the extreme.
Nobody ever refers to any one as
"Mr." That all went out with the
New Deal-ard is still out. The
only member of the Roosevelt ad-
ministration who was ever sparing
of first names was Secretary of
State Cordell Hull. True, he was
given at times to exceedingly earthly
characterizations. He might refer
to a man as contemplate so and
so, but he nevertheless spoke OF
him as mister and not by his first
name.
Strong men are usually reserved,
do not go in for this promiscuous
first-name stuff. Nor do they have
an all-inclusive circle of intimates.
Perhaps this may be a wrong
diagnosis. Perhaps it may sound
stuffy to the go-getters, back-slap-
pers and name-callers of the true
liberalism" Perhaps dignity in high
places is. no longer desirable and
decorum has ceased to be an asset
Perhaps the lowering of the level
and the cheapening of the position
Is an essential part of real democ-
rocv IF en- up have IL