Evening star., 1947-03-12

snrllly warning that black reac.
ton" Is about to grip us. And al
our social gains" are to be taker
away by political Neanderthal mer
without conscience, intelligence o.
shame. This, of course, is extremely
silly stuff-but typical.
When examined, the causes fol
such frantic absurdities are clear
They are, first, that the RepubI
cans are preparing heavily to cu
the budget. thus reducing the swol.
len size of the Federal bureauc.
racy; second, they are preparing
to enact regulatory and restrictive
labor legislation. Apparently, the
prospect nearly drives the left-wine
propagandists wild. From theil
standpoint, to cut down the size
and cost of the Government or tc
lay a restraining hand on labor
leader is wicked and indefensible
things favored only by q reaction
ary "Old Guard"
Amounts to Smear Campaign.
This is what they mean when
they bleat about Warren Gamaliel
Harding" and black reaction" II
Is to ward off these two things that
what amounts to a smear campaign
is being directed against Senator
Taft, who Is the most influential
Republican in Congress quite de-
termined to do these two things
before the session adjourns. Only
the more radical of the former New
Dealers dispute that they were
practically ordered by the voters ir
the last election. At the moment
an effort is being made to bury Mr.
Taft for allegedly having committed
terrific blunders likely to destroy
mis- leadership and kill his chances
for the presidency.
No opportunity to weaken him /.
neglected. The handful of publicity.
seeking, left-wing Republican Sen.
ators who are opposed to effective
labor legislation and mouth the
CIO charges, are depicted as broad.
minded and progressive.
Every natural difference Of opinion
Is played up as sensational split
, OF course, Senator Taft does seem
unconsciously to Cooperate in sup.
plying his enemies with ammunition
making trouble for himself. Fol
example. If he wanted to vote
against David e. Lilienthal, that was
his privilege, but he did not have tc
make a long statement about it
Nor did he have to proclaim the
Nuremberg verdicts miscarriage OF
fusJice," nor did he have to speak
as well as vote against the terminal :
pay proposal. -
OF Little Effect.
There are a number of things of
this kind Mr.. Taft has done which
he did not have to do and which
few men in his position would have
done, and he will do more. But
that Is Mr.. Taft. That is the way
he Is made, and though at times II
is possible to deplore his judgment
it isn't possible to deny his honesty
and courage.
~ Right now the virulence Of the
attack on him has, perhaps, created
misleading impression. The fact.
are that strongly as he Is beine
assailed, Mr.. Taft's leadership ha!
not been destroyed, nor are hi.
chances for the presidential nomi.
nation very different from wha
they were. He is still the only mar
capable Of real convention fight
against Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, who
concededly, is in the lead.
The Republican party has no
made its record in this session
but 1t has plenty of time to do tn,
two things to which 1t is mos
deeply pledged. And the criticism
Of its speed is unfounded. It is fully
up to the mark of preceding Con.
crosses. Usually, it takes from three
to four months for the major bill
to be enacted. In the end, If tn,
record Is good, it will help Mr. Taft,
prospects; II it Is bad, it will hur
them.
Bound to Be Hit.
Meanwhile, Senator Taft Is thu
target-and you can't be a targer
for long without being hit. There
are, however, two things which may
sustain the Senator. One is tha
he is not apt to be hit in a vulner.
able spot because the two mair
things to which he is dedicating hi,
efforts are favored by a very larg,
majority Of the people.
The other Is that the animus O.
his assailants is as obvious as theil
allegations are extravagant. Per.
haps, before next year Senator TAT
and the Republican Party will fal
on their faces. But they have no
done so yet-and the present buria