The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1948-11-18
As Ternpl1s Fugits
BY HAL CLARK

In the past two weeks, ! have
only one citizen, who could not
explain the outcome of the ma
tional election to his own COM
plete satisfaction. But he was too
young to talk yet, and, lacking his
teeth, probably could not have
been understood if he had tried.
AS the author of the most UNI
assailable analysis of the election,
/ nominate the wag who opined
that it turned out as it did be-
cause Truman got more votes than
Dewey did. It's hard to argue
with that conclusion.
I don't know why I should
withhold my own searching APP
praisal, since everybody else is
1oing it, and particularly since
my feet are already calloused
from rushing in where angels fear
to tread. I do this partly because
I'd like to become better acquaint-
ed with angels, and this looks
like about as good an opportunity
as I'm apt to get.
To proceed-it looks to me as
though many Republicans were
elected to office two years ago by
a protest vote, and I think the
people who protested waited
around to see what sort Of q
sweeping job the new broom
would do.
I suspect that the housewife
was waiting to observe the magic
Of prices settling down to normal
once the OPA was killed. Dis
contented working men and farm
ers may also have been anticipat-
ing striking bit Of political leg-I
erdemaine. Homeless families
were hope-filled that good. solid
Republican management might
produce shelter for them.
But prices, instead Of behaving
themselves, took a new scoot sky
ward. I think a lot Of folks were
waiting for the COP champs to-
60 to the mat with them and
wrestle It out until il had been
established that something could
be done, or that absolutely MOTH
ing could be done.
Seek as I will, I can find moth
ing Ia the record to show that the
new team did anything about In
f1ation but slap on some credit
controls. AS I understood the eff
feet Of these slightly less than
heroic measures, they made bank
loans a little harder to get, and
required the consumer to make
larger down payments on time
merchandise and pay out sooner.
The beans and the bacon, the
bread and the milk and the butter
seemed not to have been shackled
at all. Although the Republican
policy may have been more fore
sighted than thought-they may
have been waiting for the time
when 1t would be necessary to|
make down payment on . pound |
Of butter.
There there was housing. SEM
ator Taft was co-author Of OIL
housing bill that was % good that !
Il even gained the support Of -thet
Democratic conRressrnen. TheI
only basic fault with the bill,
that I know Of, was that it never
was made into law, and am in-l
formed that in the closing days OIL
President Truman's special ses-1
sion, Mr.. TAFT voted against and |
helped 10 defeat his own legisla-
ton.
It b unfortunate that these
congressional antics, which pro-
vided % much entertainment for
the people, failed to provide for !
their necessities. The Republican,
mill was grinding like
rnad-it only failed to turn out
any grist.
Moreover some Of the farmers
may have keen notified that the
Commodity Credit Corporation,
the agency that purchased their
products in surplus years and re-
;old them in shortage items, mean
while making a profit for the
government, had been slightly
discommoded by a trivial bit Of
legislation.
It was actually an innocent lit
lie thing. It didn't dissolve the
'mmodity Credit Corporation; it
only provided that It couldn't
'uy, rent or lease any additional
storage space.
Thereupon, It Is rtumored, the
agency officials took the ridiculousl
point Of view that they could no
onger purchase agricultural sur
oluses, because they had no place
o store them.
1t Just goes to show you how
'nall-minded some people can be.
OF course, labor woke up in)
bed with the Taft-Hartley bearl
md spent the rest Of the time
prior to election protesting the
inwelcome bedfellow.
As I say, these crystal balls
nave not yet been entirely per-