The Wilmington morning star., 1947-08-18
AS Pegler Sees It
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1917, By King Features Syndicate,
Inc.)

NEW YORK, Aug. II. 1t is useless to
look to most of our Washington journalism for
passably honest analysis of any issue involv-
ing the name of Roosevelt and the corruption
that he bequeathed to a morally immature
people who babble that it is wrong to expose
the wickedness of his regime because, there.
by, we create sympathy for the master rogue
himself and defeat our ends politically, Dam.
NIT, most OF these sodden hangers-on think
only in terms Of political and material loss or
gain. Don't expose the graft and hypocrisy,
the treachery and the continuing impositions
OF this breed of parasites because. in the
first place. the boss was a great man by the
same measures that made Hitler and Stain
great. Don't speak ill of him because he is
dead and can't talk back as though he didn't
have a hundred thousand venal hacks to write
morals. And Hitler and Mussolini, too, are
dead, but, by some special clause in the rule,
enjoy no such immunity.
This queer, depressing reaction to the ex.
posures of the conduct of Elliott Roosevelt and
Howard Hughes has been expressed in most OF
the privileged newspaper comment on the
sorry show presented by the Senate's subcom.
mittee. Granted that Senators Brewster and
Ferguson did mishandle their job and yield the
initiative to these two audacious adventurers,
is that something for American journalists to
gloat about who profess to have any concern
for decency in government? Is that any ex-
cuse to applaud these two and their success in
getting way with a defiance that should be
the sorrow of all good citizens?
AS the game has been scored to date by
this corrupted journalism so long exposed tc
the cyldcism OF the greedy opportunists of the
Roosevelt revolution, it would seem that the
Senators had been caught in some fragrant
misconduct and had convicted themselves I'm
der the clever prosecution by Elliott and a
man who frankly resorted to the hiring of
pretty young women for Interior motives.
Senator Brewster was accused of offering
to call OFT this inquiry if Hughes would agree
to the provisions OF a bill to combine the best
elements OF the big cut-throat American over.
seas Alrllnes for patriotic reasons. The object
was to concentrate their diffused strength and
enable them to compete in unison under the
American flag against subsidized Overseas Air.
lines OF other nations. Those subsidies, Incl
~dentally, are paid by the American taxpayer.
who thus plainly is substituting competition
against the American lines. The object of
Brewster's bill was to stop the hacking and
%slashlng between the Americans, and save their
strength Tor the competition with other ma.
TONS. 1t may be an unwise proposal, but to
suggest that it was a crooked scheme to put
Howard Hughes out of business for the bene.
fit of P4n-American is merely to accept
hughes own motivated, reckless and utterly
irresponsible pleading in his own interest. That
pleading was whooped up, Incidentally, as a
counter-blast to the disgusting disclosures that
his company had resorted to the practice of
backslapplng and pouring drinks for Army
officers. and apparently for others. and pro
vlding women for them, at company expense
and keeping nickel-by-nickel accounts of the
expenses.
What kind of hospitality is that. anyway?
what KIND OF man would do that dirty trick to
his guests and preserve the records so that
they could later be used to influence sensi.
tive or vulnerable members of these happy
little Corpanles? Does a decent man thrust
his guests unknowingly into the society of pro.
fesslonal young women about town and then
Tile away in the vault memoranda that this
girl got $75 and that one $1O0 and that one
yonder a $40 bill and SITS worth of nylons be-
cause she was "~charming?" Certainly nc
man or woman Of the world will overlook the
scandalous possibilities here. This Hughes is
no boy. He has been around Hollywood and the
Waldorf for years, and most of the hot New
York and Las Vegas night clubs, and he
knows plenty. He knows enough to duck when
the photographers try to take his picture with
women who might get predatory ideas.
Brewster, the poor oaf, let Hughes muddy
him up with insinuations that Brewster was
earning some pay from Sam Pryor and Juan
Trlppe OF Pan-American in offering this bill
to combine the Overseas Airlines. Brewster
bounced himself over his own ostrich-egg skull
with his own gaudy red circus bladder and
IAN PANoSiASS u IllAIl0 W ca
plain that Pan-American also objected to his
Dill just as angrlly as Trans-World did. The
senator seems to have forgotten to point out
that almost two years ago Pan-American fill
ed official documents petitioning the courts
to redress an injustice done them and a great
favor granted Hughes in the allotment or routes
abroad to American Transocean Lines.
General H. H. Arnold, who finally autho.
rized the contract given Hughes for 100 fast
reconnaissance planes, urgently and aggressive
ly recommended by Elliott Roosevelt in the
grotesque role of flying general, admitted
pointedly that he did this by a verbal order.
Is that the way they were doing business in
the air force in items of $22, 900, 600? They Ger.
tainly bad plenty of t%ypewriters and WAC
to run them. but this order was verbal"
Johnny Meyer admitted that he squander.
ed enormously of Hughes money on drinks.
luxuries and other entertainment for Elliott
Roosevelt, the son of the President, and spent.
specifically, $1,400 on Elliott's third wedding
alone. And he admitted moreover that this
money was spent on this young rounder sole.
ly because Elliott recommended that Hughes
company get this job.
Yet this vulgar extravaganza in time OF
war was kissed off as a normal and customary
had the gall to criticize General O.. P. Echols,
OF the material command, in a manner Of nasty
lnslnuation, because Echols, after the war,
went to work for a group of aviation interests
as a civilian. This virtuous rebuke came, mind
you, from a fellow who had trimmed suckers
OF fortunes on the strength of his fathers
name and had served as president of a thing
called tho Aeronautical Chamber of Com.
merce when he knew no more about FLYING
than any juvenile hedgehopper in a June-Bug,
but - mind this but when his father was
President of the United States.
OnOf4fiOnc