Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1950-02-24
Who's Playing Politics
Now? NourSe Or
Keyserling?
By Nathan Robertson
For Labor Press Association

ocratic alternative, has shown its partisanship
again This time it's lead article by DR.. Ed.
win c. Nourse, former chairman of the Presi-
dents Economic Council, attacking the Presi-
dent and the Council.
DR.. Nourse strongly criticizes his former
colleagues for "playing politics.; that Is, for
appearing before Congressional committees to
support the programs they have helped frame.
This is a strange doctrine coming from Dr.
Nourse who spent much of his time while
chairman of the Council addressing business
groups such as the NAM and the Chamber of
Commerce on the very same subjects he didn't
want his colleagues to testify about before
Congress.
DR.. Nourse accuses Leon Keyserling and
DR. John D. Clark, his remaining colleagues
on the Council of mixing politics with eco
nomics Apparently it is economics and high
ly professional for DR.. Nourse to attack adj
ministration policies before the NAM but
highly political and unprofessional for Key
serlng or Clark to appear officially before
Congress in response to a summons for test-
mony supporting the Presidents program.
Nourse says the Council should submit its
recommendations to the President, privately il
possible, and thus discharge" its responsible
tiles" under the law He complains because the
other members felt the Council should carry
through and fight in Congress for adoption Of
its recommendations.
Nourses view is contrary to the whole
theory of the law. The purpose of the full
employment law was to make the President
submit to Congress program to maintain full
employment and fight for it. The idea was
that this would force Congress either to adopt
ttc txyitb an
alternative.
The idea of the President submitting a
complicated and highly controversial economic
program to Congress and then sending no one
up to fight for it Is preposterous. The Presi"
dent can't go before Congressional committees
himself He always sends cabinet officers or
other Spokesman When the President submits
a tax program for instance, the Treasury
Department which has helped frame it, goes
before the Committees and explains and
fights for the program, just as 1T is now doing.
If the Economic Council which helps frame
the overall economic programs, does not go
before Congress and explain them, who does?
That question was often put up to Nourse by
his colleagues when he chairman of the
Council, and he had no answer.
The Council first went to the Hill in sup
port of the Presidents program last year at
the request of Chairman O&Mahoney of the
Joint Congressional Committee on the Eco
nomic Report, O'Mahoney was one of the
authors of the full employment law and pre-
sumably understands its theory and purpose
better than DR. Nourse The chairman OBJ
jected to those appearances by Keyserling and
Clark, although he himself, as his article adj
nts, at that very time was out making
speeches.
Even when Senator Taft was chairman Of
the committee the idea of testimony from the
Council seemed logical and Taft asked Nourse
TO appear. Taft did not insist, however, when
the chairman refused. So it appears that ev-
erybody is out of step but Nourse.
Nourse in his article attempts to distin-
guish between economics and politics in policy
matters. He seems to think it is politics for
Keyserling or Clark to support programs
which might unbalance the budget but which
they regard as important for the welfare OF
the country. But he seems to think it is en-
tirely professional for him to make speeches
opposing those same programs And what is
more, Nourse seems to think that when the
President accepted the views of the majority
of the Council, rather than Nourses minority
views, he was playing politics.
What makes this even more interesting is
that then the President accepted the maiority's
views and they were sent to Congress, the
OMahoney committee called in some of the
nations leading economists for their COM
ments. They gave far more support to the
Keyserling Clark position than to Nourse's
They did not seem to regard the Presidents
unbalanced budget as political, but as an eco
nomc necessity,
Nourses most damaging charge was that
President Truman did not give the Council
opportunity to discuss its views with him.
But this is curious complaint since he admits
he felt his job done when he submitted
his recommendations He quotes the President
saying; "You bring me the economics of
the question I'll take responsibility for max
ing the political judgments and final deci-
sions.' Nourse says he was content to obey
this directive" yet he complains the President
didn't consult him further.
Actually there is no basis for such a
charge. The economic reports are drafted in
the cabinet room of the White House, with the
President and his aides in close touch with
every move Questioned about the charge by
Senate Committee, DR., Clark testified that
Mr.. Truman had spent two and quarter hours
with the Council on the last report. 1t
his opinion that no president could be ex-
pected 10 do more
These facts make NourseS article look
little more political than professional
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