davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1947-01-21
True Value of Merger
By Georae Fielding Eliot


recognized two levels of higher admin
istrative authority They have had
DEPARTMENTS headed by ministers who
were in the cabinet, and departments
headed by ministers who were not IN
the cabinet. In the present British
cabinet there is group OF super
ministers. each of whom co-ordinates
the efforts of several departments.
Thus Mr. Greenwood has supervision
over those ministries dealing with the
social services teducation, health, etc.,
while Mr.. Morrison directs those which
deal with economic planning fuel and
power, agriculture, food, etc.. Mr..
Beyin, as Foreign Secretary, also deals
with other branches of external affairs
tthrough the Colonial Office, the min
istry charged with German occupation
policy. and the like). Mr.. Alexander
now becomes minister of defense. with
the three service departments under
him. Add to these the Prime Minister
and the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
who provides the money for all, and
YOU have a sort of supercabinet OF
six members.
This has come about not all at once,
but as a gradual evolution. 1t may be
that some such evolution, some such
Capitalization of administrative author
ity, is going to prove itself necessary
in this country. 1t is too soon to say;
but certainly the idea Of a head OF de-
partment who is not in the cabinet is
something new to our system. The plan
does provide what is absolutely essen
tial-that the civilian heads of the
three services should each have access
to the President.
In framing the new legislation, 1t is
to be hoped that Congress will do all
possible to support further the prestige
of the three positions, so that they may
continue to attract men OF the highest
caliber Patterson. Forrestal or
McCloy may be willing to serve as an
under or assistant secretary In time OF
war, but these positions have not Gus
tomarily been so attractive to men OF
experience and ability In time of peace.
Not too much in the way of economy
should be anticipated this year. The
savings will come later, as the result
of greater efficiency and the elimination
of duplication. "It may" as Senator
Lodge, of Massachusetts,, points out,
take years to work out details" But
that is as it should be- We are breaking
new ground, and in matter which so
vitality affects the safety Of all OF us 1t is
well to proceed with caution. testing
each step before taking another.
(copyrisht, ia47D
Evening star., 1947-01-21

The true value of the Army Navy
agreement announced Thursday lies in
the fact that it does not attempt too
much too soon. It will do away with
a great deal of the interservice bitter
ness which has troubled so many
Thoughtful people of late, both in and
out of the services; it paves the way for
legislation establishing such vitally
necessary agencies as the Joint Chiefs OF
Staff (hitherto existing merely as the
creation of executive order), Central
Intelligence Agency, Central Research
and Development Board, National Sc
curity Resources Board and, above all,
a Council of National Defense: it pro-
yides for a separate air force and De-
partment of Air, now urgently necessary;
but it preserves the identity and auton-
omy of the three armed services.
1t is a step forward, and perhaps its
chief virtue is that it is only that. 1t
creates the new things that are essential
without destroying anything that mas
proved its usefulness. Save Tor the
creation of the separate air arm, 1t
does little violence to the existing struc-
t,re of the service department. 1t does
provide-as 1t sl1ould-for co-ordinated
planning and direction, but 1t does not
attempt a merger of administrative
functions. ...
Thus the agreement does what has
to be done now, and leaves further de-
cisions to be gauged and adjusted BY
the progress made in working out the
new ARRANGEMENTS. In this connection,
as previously remarked in these articles.
the labors of successive classes of senior
officers of all three services IN the Ma
tional War College, and the experience
to be drawn from the work OF the joint
overseas command already set up. will
be OF the utmost value.
Some confusion arose at first as to
whether the three secretaries OF the
Army, Navy and Air would have cabi-
net status The White House an
nounced, however, that only the over
all secretary of national defense will
be regular cabinet officer, the 9TH
ers being available to be called in at
cabinet meetings if required by the
President. But it is also clear that
under this plan the secretary OF ma
tional defense will not actually be q
head of department. he win be the gen.
eral manager, so to speak, of three de-
partments but his own administrative
stan will be limited to that required for
administration OF the joint agencies
above referred to.
The British for many years have
Evening star., 1947-01-21
This Changing World
By Constantine BrolCn

The formulators of American foreign
policy-and particularly those phases
of it which have to do with military
power-are making their calculations
for the future on the undisputed need
for large numbers of well-armed and
highly trained men and do not accept
for the purposes Of cold calculation the
highly visionary predictions that the
next war will be fought with push
buttons.
The men in Washington who are
charged with American national Sc
curity are worried over the widespread
belief that the age of the push-button
war. fought principally by technicians
sitting at controls and watching radar
scopes, is here and that large armies
and navies are no longer necessary.
It is possible-and, as the scientists
see it, within the realm of probability
that with sufficiently advanced weap-
ons the United States can sit back
with its atomic arsenal and II need be
hurl devastating weapons at any point
of the globe.
But that day-if it ever comes-is
so far distant that it cannot be given
any practical weight in the day-to-day
reckoning which American military men
must do.
The line along which scientific visions
grow is the combination of rockets and
atom bombs. 6 terrifying prospect which
by threat alone could virtually subdue
all potentially alien powers if it were
known to be true. In the hands OF
rampantly aggressive power such
combination would be a dire menace
to the entire world.
However, the day of the rocket-atom
war against more than limited objec-
tives is by no means here. The atom
bomb, of course, is reality with which
all nations must reckon. But the long
range rocket which would be necessary
to carry the atom bomb across oceans
and continents is still long way on,
Jet propulsion technicians declare.
The German va rocket has been i'm
proved upon only in minor particulars,
and essentially it remains at the peak
Evening star., 1947-01-21
A Bon on Riders

Representative Koran of Washing
ton, Just designated as chairman of
the House Subcommittee on District
Appropriations, says that his group
will leave policy matters to the legis-
lative committees and will confine
its activities strictly to appropria-
tions. In other words, he is against
legislative riders on appropriation
bills.
That is fine. May he stick to his
guns. Legislative riders on appro-
priation bills have worked to the
disadvantage of the District more
than once in the past. 1t was
rider, in plain contradiction of the
statute, which did away with the
fixed-ratio system of dividing ex-
penses between the Nation and the
District After evading the law by
such riders for more than a decade,
Congress adopted the lump-sum
practice in enacting the local tax
bills of 1899. But it was by legisla-
. tive rider that the Districts organic
law was really destroyed.
It was legislative rider that gave
us the so-called red rider" which
in effect prevented Washington
school teachers from mentioning
Russia or anything about 1t for
manv wears. 1t was another legis-
lative rider which arbitrarily pre-
vented the Public Utilities Commis-
sion, until last year. from even
investigating the advantages OF in
stalling meters in taxicabs. 1t was
a legislative rider which shut down
the Districts highway testing labo-
rstory for many years, after the
people of the District had invested
heavily in its construction and
eouipment. The legislative rider was
the favorite device of antagonlstlc
chairmen of the subcommittee IN
making effective personal prejudlces.
Mr.. Horan's statement makes it
very clear that any increase IN the
Federal payment this year must
come by action of the legislative, not
the appropriations, subcommittee.
That is as it should be. Definite
legislation, not the whims OF an
occasional individual, should meas
ure the size of the Federal payment
The legislation fixing it should be
part and parcel of the local tax
legislation. This legislation properly
should precede the appropriation bill
which Mr.. Horan's excellent new
subcommittee is to study,
Evening star., 1947-01-21
Purse Strinq Restraint

Congress has embarked on revo-
lutionary fiscal system that holds
great promise as cure for un-
balanced Federal budgets except in
time of war or other national emer-
gency. This hopeful prospect re-
suits from the little publicized
section of the Congressional Re-
organization Act which requires
rigid coordination of appropria-
ton and revenue legislation, with
a view to balancing outgo with in
come.
AS the joint committee which
recommended this reform pointed
out in it's report, control of the
purse strings of all Government
agencies is one of the major duties
of Congress. During the years when
we were attempting to spend our
way out of the depression and later,
during the war, Congress not only re-
laxed restraint on the Federal purse
strings but kept the purse replen-
ished with borrowed money. Appro-
priation bills poured into the hopper
without regard to the Government
bank account or earnings. What
the appropriation committees were
doing seemed to be of little concern
to tax committees, and vice versa.
The inevitable result was pyramid
ing deficits of staggering and almost
incomprehensible proportions. 1t is
not to be said that they were all
avoidable. But the past decade has
been one of almost uncontrolled
and reckless spending
The system worked out by the
Joint committee and now being
tried out for the first time calls for
an orderly approach to spending
and revenue-producing legislation.
This will be accomplished through
Joint conference and action by the
Senate and House committees hav-
ing responsibility for appropriations
and taxes. The series of conferences
now taking place will lead to recon-
. mendations for an overall budget,
based largely, of course, on the
Presidents estimates but supple
mented by any notifications which
the fiscal experts deem advisable
IN relation to revenue.
II the top spending figure is In
excess OF the estimated revenue for
Evening star., 1947-01-21

President Truman's first problem, In
the proposed unifcation OF the armed
services under a secretary OF national
defense, is to obtain from Congress the
necessary legislation authorizing the
creation of the Office. His second will
be to find the proper man to hold down
the job.
The so-called merger proposal, which
leaves the Army and Navy separate
services under secretaries OF their own
and provides for the Air Forces, also
under a secretary, has met with general
approval on Capitol Hill. There are
details which still remain to be worked
out and undoubtedly there will be
amendments proposed by individual
members of the House and Senate when
the legislation has been put into form
Certainly, there will be no opposition
to the proposal from the Republicans
on political partisan basis; so their
leaders declare. In due time. the plan
will be enacted into law, after full
hearings
AS of today. 1t is President Trunnan's
intention to pick an outstanding ousl-
nessman to become the first secretary
of national defense; man OF proved
executive ability. of the type, for ex-
ample, of Charles E. Wilson, president
of the General Electric Co., who had
service here in Washington during the
war, with the War Production Board
What names the President has had
under consideration-if any, specifically
have not been disclosed. 1t is his pur-
pose, however, to pick civilian for this
new off1ce-a kind of supercabinet
officer, since he will be the first to have
two executive departments, the War and
Navy, placed under him. He must be
co-ordinator. He must also be strong
personality or else he may find himself
run over by one or more OF the secre-
taries of the three services, who are
subordinate to him but who are to have
access to the ear of the President.
~
If this intention is to be carried out.
it bars from consideration any member
of the armed forces and any member
of Congress. The President already has
one military man in his cabinet-Gen
George c. Marshall the new Secretary
of State. The gossip among members
of Congress is that, had Gen. Marshall
not already been selected for Secretary
of State, he might well have been
chosen for Secretary of National De-
fense, because of his outstanding quail
ifications. Secretary Marshall, when he
was Chief of Staff of the Army and
running the war, had the confidence OF
members of Congress to a degree seldom
equaled.
Should the right man from the busi-
Evening star., 1947-01-21
An AvoidobIe Accident

An aspect OF the Rockville nigh
school laboratory explosion that is
particularly shocking is that the
tragic accident probably would not
have occurred had there been proper
supervision of the class of which
young Robert Jones was a member.
Not only was there no adult super
vision of the physics-chemistry
laboratory on the day of the explo-
sion, but potentially dangerous
chemicals were freely available to
the amateur experimenters, accord
ing to Investigators.
AS a result of this lack OF precau-
tions, members of the class on at
least two occasions recently were
able to obtain chemicals and con-
duct inside the school building
experiments in bomb-making that
easily might have ended even more
disastrously than the final test yes
terday. AS 1t is, young Jones is in
a critical condition at Suburban
Hospital from, the loss of both hands
and other injuries.
Officials in Montgomery County
should press their inquiry into this
case not only with view to deter
mining responsibility for conditions
which made such dangerous expert
ments possible but to insuring that
every reasonable safeguard is taken
to prevent obviously avoidable acci-
dents of this kind in the future.
And the Rockville explosion should
cause high school authorities here
and elsewhere to review present
practices with respect to laboratory
supervision and control of the use
of chemicals which are hazardous
If used improperly. Certainly no
group of high school students should
have free access to such chemicals
in the absence of qualified
supervisor.
Evening star., 1947-01-21

of rocket development Maximum pos
sible range at the present stage OF de-
velopment is $50 niles-a long way
short of the widely advertised trans
oceanic and transcontinental range
claimed in some scientific quarters. Ad-
mittedly atom bombs in the nose of
350-mile rockets can wreak q lot of
damage over wide area. but military
men admit that it Is not the type OF
weapon which could subjugate large
and powerful nation overnight.
The barrier at present to greater
range for the rocket is the lack of a
metal to Withstand higher temperatures
than. 5000 degrees, which is the heat
generated In the nozzle of rocket in
full flight. With this limitation the
problem is to construct rocket which
will be able to carry suf1icient fuel for
long flight at the terrific rate Of con-
sumption.
sion is not quite as difficult, and the
transcontinental jet plane travelling in
the lower attitudes is already proved
fact. But the plane travelling in the
denser air near the earth uses oxygen
lTOIN GIle Ell Willie tIie IOChct, 1iASCiAAAS
far about the stratosphere, must carry
It's own oxygen for combustion.
The rocket rather than the airplane
capable of supersonic speeds is the real
guided missile for which military au-
thorities are working. With the i'm
provement of radar and radar- directed
antiaircraft artillery the threat of the
bomb loaded airplane is not invincible.
Radio controlled droneS were widely
used in the latter stages of World War II
and their further development will 60
a long way toward increasing offensive
power in the next war, but they can be
shot down far more easily than rockets.
Meanwhile, the push-button war re-
mains thing OF the future and Ameri-
can national security continues to re-
uuire large, well-armed and thoroughly
trained Army, Navy and Air Force. Even
a Republican Congress will find 1t i'm
possible to shave spending for national
defense to the point where it reduces
the armed forces to impotence.
Evening star., 1947-01-21
Breud-ond-Butter Letter
to New England

/ have stolen hills tor my mind, modest
hills, small ..
Under Ul,ite blankets dreaming hum
Die dreams.
/ haze brought back stones--yon mill not
miss them at all
Gray symbols gathered By yonr frozen
streams.
Slate clouds hung lo,p; one crystal bril-
liant day;
Red fences holding purple-shudosDsd
Drift
These I hare hidden NTH my loot cDuy.
Your riches tempting my hght-fn-
pered lift.
A brook unconquered all the tDtnter
through:
Defiant ,oater Dpocktng ices urnth:
The road that listened to the horse's
cue,
and bowed to eUery boulder In its
path.
The age and agclessness OF Jour hard
land,
/ have brought back. hoping to Under
stand.
ALMA ROBERTS GIoRDAN.
Evening star., 1947-01-21
The Polish Vote

Everything has turned OUT as eA-
pected in the Polish elections. Inc
Communicated bloc parties nave
won overwhelmingly. The demo-
cratic Peasant Party has suffered a
smashing defeat. The explanation
is simple enough: BY coercion. sup
preston, intimidation, arrests and
similar strong arm measures tne
Warsaw provisional government
made very sure beforehand that the
results would be approximately what
they are
There is nothing surprising In this.
The thing was amply, reported as
virtual certainty weeks before the
vote. Interestingly enough, Warsaw
let American correspondents tell the
whole story in uncensored news dis
patches. To this extent at least,
there was no Iron curtain" Day
after day for protracted period the
dispatches arrived to give us the pic
ture in considerable detail-a picture
of systematic repression designed to
make a bitter farce of the free ana
unfettered" elections agreed upon at
Yalta and Potsdam.
The fact that it permitted this
free reporting is about the only
thing that can be cited to the credit
of the Warsaw government, but per-
haps the concession was not so much
a concession as a mark OF brazen-
ness-a bold willingness to let the
world know that the Communist
dominated regime cared little for
the opinion of the western democ-
racies. In any case, the freedom
granted our correspondents was not
extended to the voters of Poland.
Openly and obviously the elections
we're rugged; that part of the story
is too familiar to need retelling.
It remains now only to wonder
what happens next. Stanislaw MI
kolajczyk, leader of the Peasant
Party, apparently intends to ask the
Polish Supreme Court to nullify the
vote as fraudulent. Such nullif1ca-
tion. however, is as improbable as
anything could be. Mr.. Mikolajczyk
is a brave man, but he has fought
and is still fighting against hopeless
odds. The tough little Warsaw die
tatorship has the courts in line; Mr..
Mikolajczyk will be lucky II it does
not move now to punish him for
having had the temerity to be free
and unintimidated man.
In the circumstances, although it
probably would do little good. not to
maintain relations of some kind,
Britain and the United States would
be justified in refusing to extend
recognition to the newly elected"
Polish government. Certainly. con-
sidering what it has done to keep
Evening star., 1947-01-21

the year, Congress must either trim
the budget to fit the income total
or must, by vote putting every
member on record, authorize cor
responding increase in the public
debt. The net effect of the new pro-
cedure is to place salutary check
on unbridled appropriations and to
bring measure of order out of the
fiscal chaos which has been all too
prevalent at the Capitol in the past.
Evening star., 1947-01-21
The Secretary of Stute


qualities which make him an out
standing American and he has,
moreover, wealth of practical ex-
perience in how to get things done.
But one quality which distinguishes
General Marshall is his capacity for
a curiously selfless devotion to the
job he undertakes. That quality will
help him in the trying days which lie
ahead as Secretary of State.
President Truman regards him
highly. He has spoken of General
Marshall as "the greatest living
American" The Senate's prompt,
and unanimous, approval of his
nomination was complimentary
reflection of the respect he COM
mands in Congress. 1t is probable
that the President and the Senate
found in him the ideal executor for
bipartisan foreign policy which, to
be effective in this troubled world,
must be divorced from all aims save
those OF the people who are united
behind it.
No one who came to know General
Marshall during the war ever asso-
ciated his ambition for the things
he championed with any personal
ambition as a man. It was this at
tribute of impersonal aloofness,
combined with the force of his
energetic personality in behalf OF
cause, which brought him such sue
cess as war leader. He had strong
convictions regarding the impor-
tance OF the role of Congress in
free country and he took more
pains than any preceding Chief of
Staff to establish working relations
between Congress and the Office of
Chief of Staff. But as a soldier he
was meticulous in his avoidance of
anything that savored of politics, or
that carried the suggestion of per-
sonal aggrandizement in a world of
politics.
During the war he was the most
effective missionary, for war needs,
on Capitol Hill. He was the one
selected to interview Mr.. Churchill
in his bedroom at the White House
and win him over to the principle
OF supreme commandments that
command was to rest with an Amer
ican, an Englishman, a sailor or a
soldier. He was the one chosen, on
two occasions, to be a special am
baSsador to London. 1t was he who
dominated the Combined Chiefs of
Staff, yet it was he who was most
insistent that a decision affecting
strategy should be the decision of
the staff-not the decision of any
individual-and that the decision
must stick. His mission to China
failed. But those who had the
opportunity of seeing him at his
thankless job, surrounded on all
sides by men fighting for power, will
not. readily attribute to him the
failure of policy that was, perhaps,
doomed from the start sysss,
He will bring to the State De-
partment gift for organization and
orderly administration. He is firm
believer in strict allegiance to
policy, once that policy has been
laid down. And part of his earnest
labor will spring from a profound
respect for the people of this
country and the institutions they
have established to govern them. If
character, ability, energy and ex-
perience fit a man to be Secretary
of State, General Marshall assumes
his new responsibilities extraordi-
narily we'll equipped.
Evening star., 1947-01-21
Goody!. Goody!
the WELLINGTON News.

From the WELLINGTON News.
Great news at this Office today. We
have word direct from the home Office
that needed machine parts ordered by
us on January 20, 1916, are about to be
shipped. Also, that other needed
gadgets ordered in mid-August will fol-
low soon thereafter Isn't that won-
derfu1? And so, reconversion sallops
along at q snail's pace.
Evening star., 1947-01-21

Without warning a huge meteor
flashed across the California sky
recently. The big mystery, OF course,
is what 1t was doing running around
loose in California without an ad-
vance publicity agent.
Evening star., 1947-01-21

1T is believed that airplanes operT
ating at supersonic speeds in the
stratosphere may generate cockpit
temperatures of 800 degrees. 1t is
difficult to say whether the pilots
should be cool or hard boiled.
Evening star., 1947-01-21

The absence of street in Wash
ington seems to have little effect on
reducing the number of J-walkers.
Evening star., 1947-01-21

If the situation in the Holy Land
gets any worse, Britain will be left
without a pal in Palestine.