Evening star., 1946-04-05

sI IOIlS SuCCeSSlOlt VI HooioeaiAo oS>
taries and Undersecretarles came
and went. Although the men who
know most about the Treasury prob
lens live in New York, extremely
few of Mr.. Morgenthau's assistants
came from there-and those VINO
did lasted not very long.
In the opinion of detached and
qualified judges, this was the basic
reason for the low level of COM
potency during the Morgenthau re-
gime. Testimony of his aides was
that the mere words Wall Street"
frightened Mr.. Morgenthau. His
feeling on this subject was the rea-
son he had SO few really able ad-
visers during his term Of office,
which was a pity, because few Sec
retaries needed able advisers more.
Considering these things, his at
tack upon Mr.. Douglas was entirely
in character. He not only wrote to
the President, but personally went
to the White House to warn him of
the dire consequences OF naming
Mr.. Douglas. Mr.. Douglas, he de-
clared, is a Wall Street Man" Also
he is a "big businessman" and is
tied in" with international finan-
ciers." He is personally fond" OF
Mr.. Douglas and does not question
his Integrity" but to elect him
head of the World Bank would be
"by the stroke of a pen" to hand
back control of international finance
to Wall Street" This was the gist
of his declaration.
All of which, of course, is nonsense.
It is true Mr.. Douglas IS president
of a great New York life insurance
company, but it is doubtful whether
any one ever thought of him as
wall Street man." and the sugges-
ton that he is tied in" with the
international fnanciers" or voices
their point of view seems ridiculous
to his friends.
Salient Points Ignored.
It is typical of Mr.. Morgenthau
that he should magnify and exag-
gerate Mr.. Douglas New York flnan-
cial connections and ignore the
salient facts of his career.
For example, that he was gall
liant soldier in the First World War;
that afterward he was elected to
Congress as a Democrat from Ari-
Zona, where he was born; that he
was one of the most competent and
popular members of the House; that
Mr.. Roosevelt drafted him for the
job of Director of the Budget; that
after his resignation he became
president of the McGill University
of Montreal; that for the four years
of World War II he was deputy ad-
ministrator of the United States
Maritime Commission, where, with
Vice Admiral Emory S. Land, he did
an extremely vital war job in an
outstanding way.
The truth is that Mr.. Douglas has
spent more of his life since he left
Amherst, where he was an instruc-
tor in mathematics, in the public
service than in private life. And 1t
is in the former that he made his
enviable reputation for ability, char
acter and public spirit.
- Differed With Chief.
at is absurd to call him a "Wall
Street man" So far from being
cepsured for supporting Mr.. Doug
las, President Truman should be
congratulated. If he can induce
him to accept this important post
for which he has been proposed, the
country should be congratulated He
would be an ideal choice. Mr.. Nor
genthau's dread apprehensions make
one think of Father Charles E.
Coughlin and the late William Jen-
nings Bryan.
Of course. the inherent Morgen-
thau fears in this case are some
what stimulated by his conviction
that it was wicked of any man at
any time on anything to have diff
fered with his late chief.
Mr.. Douglas did differ with the
Roosevelt fiscal policies so strongly
that he resigned as budget director
and, along with many other good
Democrats. supported Mr. Willkie In