Milford chronicle., 1948-05-14
TINE FOR A SHOWDOWN

The Truman Administration has under
taken to prevent the House of Representa-
tives from obtaining possession of letter
written by j. Edgar Hoover, Director of the
Federal Bureau, of Investigation, to the De-
partment of Commerce relating to DR.. Ed
ward y. Condor, head Of the Bureau of
Standards.
1t is reported that this letter relates to
DR.. COndon's qualifications under the loyal
ty'' check now being conducted upon govern
ment employees
The House of Representatives has made
formal demand that the letter be produced
f0rthWith.
T Mr.. Truman has challenged the House to
enforce its demand.
Thus, there is a clear-cut controversy be-
tween the Legislative Branch and the Exec
utive Branch of our Government.
In harmony with the basic American
principle that every man is presumed to be
innocent until he is proved guilty, it is not to
be assumed that the letter in controversy
would disclose evidence that DR.. Condor is,
or has been, Communist. Indeed, it would
be very surprising if anything of that nature
should come to light.
But the Congress- as the direct TepreSen-
tGtiVg of the American people, certainly has
right to kaOW aUkether Or'nOt there is any
thing IN DR.. COndOn's background or GSSOci-
atoms aUhicb might suggest that he 90GS, or
Is, an undesirable security risk.
This is particularly true with respect to
q man in DR.. CondOn's very important Off
cial position, but it is also true with respect
to ANY OTHER EMPLOYEE of the Fed
eral Government.
Regardless of what may, or may not, be
disclosed with respect to DR.. Condor, there
is an issue represented here which calls for
prompt and defnitive decision. Basically,
Mr.. Truman has challenged the right of the
peoples representatives in Congress to full
information concerning the conduct of the
peoples business and the expenditure of the
peoples money.
If Mr.. Truman is successful, serious
damage will have been done to the basic
structure of our representative Republic.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Bureau of Standards, and the Department of
Commerce, of which the Bureau of Standards
is a part, were CREATED by Congress. They
could be ABOLISHED by Congress-
1t IS, therefore, completely ridiculous
TO argue that the Congress GCAicb Great
ed these agencies of government IS not
entitled to knOaO hO9O they are being Gd-
nlflatStered, and by aOhOm.
The Administrations resistance to this
demand by the House of Representatives for
informatiOn-tO which the House is obvious
oRPSeAS " OS duOClt6I AndIl4SSCc-
ton of the philosophy of government embod-
led in that famous statement by an earlier
Administration spokesman, who said that
the people were ''too damn dumb" to under.
stand what was being done by their betters
IN the Federal bureaucracy.
Over the past Is years there has grown
up IN Washington theory and practice OF
government which, apparently, is based upor
the belief that the President is the Govern
ment and that Congress and the Judicia
Branch exist merely for the purpose of carry
ing out the DEGREES of the Executive.
1t IS high time those aUhO beIieve sucI
nonsense should be brought to their senses.
In the last analysis, the Congress is il
reality the paramount branch of fhe Govern
ment Congress can enact legislation o1e1
the veto of the President, and, to its credit
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