Evening star., 1950-10-08
Sees Hoover Reforms
ImperiIed by Delay
Writer Warns Against Risk
Of Recommendations Falling
By Fronk R. Kent


The Korean war; besides revealing our
tragic military weakness, has forced
general realization of the national
danger with which we are menaced.
Combined, these have started us upon
defense expenditures so huge as to dwarf
everything else. In consequence. we face
immense deficits, terrific taxation and
greatly enhanced debt.
Somehow or other we have got to
swing these things. 1t seems impossible
we should bog down. Yet, 1t Is not i'm
possible. The combination of politics,
inertia, stupidity and indifference might
bring that about. For it is certainly true
we cannot bear the burdens of the world
on one shoulder and the burdens Of un-
checked waste on the other That L.
why 1t is vital not to let the Soviet men
ace and the urgency to arm obscure the
necessity for putting our domestic af-
fairs In order while we can, nor prevent
grasp OF the great basic fact that we
cannot be militarily strong and finan-
cially feeble at the same time.
II the foundations Of our Government
are not kept solid and its fiscal structure
unravaged by decay and ineficiency,
there can be no real strength in us to
fight for ourselves or for others Realiz-
ing this far better than we, the Com
munists here for the past 18 years have
concentrated upon pushing us toward
economic chaos. Every person or policy
tending In that direction receives their
enthusiastic support. 1t is astounding
this has not been more generally appre-
ciated. 1t can be proved in a hundred
ways.
For one thing, an aroused public
sentiment would sweep aside the OBJ
stacles in the way of the Hoover Com
mission report on reorganization of the
executive departments and insure swift
enactment at the next session of Con-
gress of the SO per cent of its recon-
mendationS upon which no action has
been taken. Few finer things could hap
pen to us as Nation. For. this report
goes In exactly the opposite direction
to economic chaos. Considering the OPP
position. 1t Is remarkable achievement
that half Of the commissions recon-
mendations has been adopted. Never
theless, it is deeply unfortunate that
nearly so per cent has been sidetracked.
Besides unsnarling some of the worst
Implications and overlapping in the gov
ernmental machine. the adopted part Of
the report will save annually more than
SIS billion. This is equal to the cost
OF 1000 medium tanks. 1000 jet fighter
planes, 1000 anti-aircraft guns, 100
heavy bombers and so modern subma-
rines. But, from 50 billion to $2.5 bill
lion more can be saved through the
adoption Of the rest of the report. In
addition, governmental efficiency would
be vastly increased and the whole char
acter Of Government service lifted. No
intelligent person questions the sound
ness of these recommendations.
Among them are the recommendations
for a united medical administration
which involves coordination of the i've
big competing Federal hospital systems.
These not only compete with each other
but with the voluntary hospitals for
scarce doctors, nurses and technicfans.
Another would end the mad competition
between the Army Corps of Engineers
and the Bureau of Reclamation. The cost
of this competition is shocking and there
never was day when the Nation could
afford the $50 billions worth of plans,
which these two agencies have dreamed,
up between them without any real check
on need or cost. These are few Of
the things that remain to be done. The
way to get them done is to call the
attention of the candidates for Senate
and House running in this election and
ask them to commit themselves. Some Of
them will want to do so. All of them
should. 1t is hard to see why any should
hold back. a-
Yet lot of them do Last summer
there were no less than Is separate and
powerful organizations lobbying against
sections of the report. All of them IA
vored it as whole but just wanted to-
exempt the agency or bureau from which,
they received some form of patronage.
subsidy or benefit. 1t is clearly to the
interest of all of us that the balance Of
the Hoover report be adopted. One
thing is certain-if it fails. the last
chance to regain control of our unco-
ordinated and unmanageable govern
mental machine will have been lost.
Every Communist in the country will
rejoice.