Evening star., 1946-10-09

dcarC Is always frank y. Aent.
ain the right place" and his intel
lectual integrity not to be questioned
has suffered reverse. Many who
had cherished. and even proclaimed,
that theory now recognize it as q
fallacy.
Entirely aside from Bernard Ba-
ruch's exposure of Mr.. Wallace's
capacity for double dealing, review
Of the Wallace record for the past
18 months makes these people won
der how they could have been so
lacking in discernment, so gullibie,
30 guileless. It seems slightly silly
now to talk of his idealism and
sincerity.
Series of Incidents.
For example, since April of last
year there have been at least four
separate Wallace incidents not one
Of which harmonizes with any de-
gree of candor, consistency or char
acter. They are all strangely at vari-
ance with the noble nature friends
Of the former Secretary of Com
rneree have insisted he possessed
and with which, through an elabo-
rate and expensive publicity ma
chine. the radical elements whose
willing tool he has been, have inn
pressed q large number of people
who should have known better.
The first of these incidents oc-
CURED when Mr.. Wallace was NOM
mated for Secretary of Commerce
by Mr.. Roosevelt. The Senate, re-
voting against an obviously unfit
appointment, moved to take from
the Secretary all control over the
immensely powerful RFC and other
Federal loan and credit agencies.
Immediately, Mr.. Wallace, in 4
New York speech to his left-wing
adherents, declared, in effect, that
If shorn of these powers his ability
to achieve his social reforms" would
be crippled and he would rather not
have the job. Despite this warning,
sthe Senate proceeded to take away
all such powers, which was dis
tinct vote of mo confidence" in Mr..
Wallace. .t 49,;
Instead of refusing the job as in
dicated in his speech and as self
respect would seem to demand, Mr..
Wallace went after it tooth and nail,
making 1t very plain he wanted it
under any conditions whatever.
Hardly any one has attempted to
reconcile his first attitude toward
this Job with his final attitude, III
+..s Auto Data, Incident. s,,.s = -.ta,
.; A second incident came. late last
year when Mr.. Wallace. released
from his department official statis-
tics which purported to show that
the automobile manufacturer could
easily afford to raise wages Is per
cent without raising prices. This
release was adroitly timed to pro-
vide the greatest possible encour-
agement. to the General Motors
strike of the automobile workers.
Later, these ofIicial statistics were
proven incorrect and misleading.
When forced to admit this, Mr.. Wal
lace laughed it of and made a most
evasive and equivocal explanation.
It Is not exactly easy to reconcile
that with a claim of idealism and
sincerity.
A third incident came last March
when Mr.. Wallace occasioned vast
party excitement by insisting that
any Democrat who failed to support
. the administration in a 'funda-
mental" policy should either vol
unfairly resign" as q Democrat or
be "forcibly expelled" This could
only be interpreted as proposal
to purge" any Democrat who did
not conform to the party line. Yet,
without apology, excuse or defense,
Mr.. Wallace, the sponsor of this
purge proposition, proceeded per-
sonally to indorse a near-C -Commu-
mist candidate for Congress In New
York who was as far from being
= In accord with fundamental ad-
nninistration policies" as well could
be. '..r.
Interesting Explanation.
The fourth incident was provided
by Mr.. Wallace himself who. after
Mr.. Truman had made it plain that
on foreign policy he supported Sec
retary of State Byrnes and not Mr..
Wallace, must have known that he
differed with the administration on
q fundamental policy" Yet, Mr..
Wallace did not voluntarily re-
sign" He waited until he was
"forcibly expelled" Well, reconcile
that with minded, sincerity.
and seh-respect.
The Baruch incident was the
fifth-and worst-in which this
man of whom 1t had become a Gu
rious journalistic habit to say that,
whatever his defects in reasoning,
he. is 'idealistic and sincere" had
shown up as neither very honest
nor wholly sincere.
q. 1t ought to be enough. It ought
to put an end to this maudlin pratt
tie about the idealistic nature of
Mr. Wallace and his inspiring pro-
bity. To maintain those things in
face of his record is to be sap.
Few, save his most ardent friends,
now proclaim it. Some have an
interesting explanation. They say
that Mr.. Wallace was man of high