The Wilmington morning star., 1947-10-17
AS Pegler Sees 1t
RY WESTBROOK PEGLER
~ VITA Eoo%,roe Curd

NEW YORK, - In the years before 1857
we reach much moralistic political htera-
ture about the sordid bosses OF the republ-
can machines. need not call the roll to
those who were then able to sit up ana
take notice of political affairs and 1t would
not interest new citizens OF the generatlol
which had to fight the war who were only
children then. One of them was boss Pen
rose. whose like would never walk the
earth again if the party of Roosevelt, the
new deal, were given a chance to Destroy
evil and purify the beautiful democratlc
process. And there were the ONO gang
who had nominated Warren U. HARDING IN
a smoke-filled room, frustrating the Will OF
the people, although the people elected
Harding and Coolidge and rejected COX an
Roosevelt a few months later.
The contrast between the pretenses and
the actual morals of these democrats IS SO
terrible that it stuns. l doubt that the peo-
nile of TODAY realize what awful cynlcs
these were who came appealing to them
as crusaders and reformers. Without know
ing it. we are dazed by many blows tha1
have benumbed our sense OF rlght ana
wrong. VII.
The memoirs are still accommodating. We
have had jim Farley's and Ed Flynn S,
Ed Kelly, who quietly plcked up my na t
and left politics by a side door into the
allev after he had wrought great harm TO
the American peoples confidence in self
government. has told us his story IN a
hastv, superficial series in the Chicago
Herald : American. He withheld much:
But, even so, his mere recountal OF
the nomination of Henry Wallace IN l94o
and Of Harry Truman IN 1914 IS a chap1er
in degradation.
7 NAV be naive in believing that the
people matter; that it is important that
their confidence in self = government be
maintained. But, if the people, too, grow
cynical and all of them come to THINK OF
politics as a dirty racket, the men VINO
disillusioned them will be finally respon-
sible for a calamity much worse IMAM tne
loss of any mere election and the graft
and the gaudy power to tear up taillc
tickets. ~,
We have had the stories of Farley, Rel
w Ed Flvnn. Madam Perkins and Elliott,
and now Morgenthau is running ser1al!y
and about to be released IN a book. IT is
a terrible confession, taken all together.
Even Mrs. Perkins, who processes to pc
an idealist, seems to be so tar gone IN the
cvnicism of the new deal that she never
even questioned in her mind the right OF
Roosevelt to name Wallace vice president
of the country. By the time she wrote her
hook she surely must have known about
Wallace's strange involvement IN an orlen-
tai cult of fools who worshipped as their
god a Russian a%dventurer in high standing
with the Kremlin. She knew all this I'M
doubtedly and yet it did not occur TO MIS-.
Perkins to comment on Roosevelts appoint
ment Of this strange man to be the next
vice president in an off hand way by
telephone from the White House to her IN
Chicago. Our people think they elect wee
presidents; Mrs. Perkins gives no lndlca-
ton that she shares this delusion, and yet
she is, according to the new deal rehglon.
a consecrated person, a SORT ,,ol
holy woman, devoted to democracy.
Farley's memories were depresslng; II
was absurd of him to believe that he had
anv qualifications for the presidency, but
we do hold that every schoolboy mas a
RIGHT to aspire to the White House and to
be foolish. But Jim condemned hlmseH IN
explaining why he did not tear into Hoose-
welt and try to destroy him alter l94o'
when he might nave served his
His personal feelings are unlmportant TO
the people. Convinced as he was Oh MS
| old friends perfidy, Farley had a greater
duty to the people than to his own sensl-
tive interest. He had been more respon-
sible than any other individual TOR Roose-
velt's rise to this power and he now was
in a position to expose him.
Ed Flynn's story is only a little less oe-
messing than Elliott RooseveltS luVenlie
! habbline about drunken orgies at winch MS
tQfhP1 0eClueu " lloIlo WV
and eastern Europe to Soviet Russia. flynh
tells without a qualm, of giving money 10
one of his county leaders with Whlch TO
INV votes at 81 rs each. raising the ante
on the republicans, who were paying 9l,9o.
He SAYS he learned a lesson "heh ule
democrat lost and showed up IN a new
car but it was only the sort OF lesson that
y man learns when he engages to buy a
Mound of cocaine intending to peddle II,
and the cocaine turns out to be blcarbo-
nate of soda and epson salts. We are lett
to believe that he saw nothing wrong IN his
! conduct. It was bad judgment but not I'M
moral.
FLYNN also tells us that for many years
Nathan Straus, ST., and since his death,
Nathan Straus. Jr.. nave donated 1000 a
YEAR to the New York democratic organlza-
fion. He saws frankly that the elder Mr..
and Mrs. Straus called on the late boss
Charlie Murphy and asked him pleadlng-
bv to name their son-in-laW, irving Len
man. to the Court of Appeals of the State
of New York. This is the highest court IN
the state. mind you, and mind you further,
Murphy and Flynn had nc right to give
such an appointment, still less to- sell it:
Nevertheless, Flynn says, he and
Murphy "were Irish and highly emotion
al and Murphy turned to him near to
tears'' when the old couple had gone and
say, chow could anyone refuse that sweet
old coupler"
Accordingly, Lehman got the job.
And on top of this confession comes a
challenge from Robert Moses, who
loathes corruption in politics and hates a
liar.
ED, of course knew" Mr.. Moses said,
and SO did many of his readers, that
the fine old couple brought a check for
$25, 900 with them, that being the current
quotation for a judicial nomination. My
authorities are Governor Smith and the
judge, himself, who, by the way, turned
of our judicial system"
This was the quality of the man whom
roosevelt cherished so well that he wanted