The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1952-04-03
THE MEANING OF THINGS
By Zules N. Ecton

u. S. Senator

before the Committee on APP
preparations a few days ago, MI.
Tcuman's budget director stat
ed it was for salaries for more
than $500 press agents en-
ployed by the Presidents Exc
cutive Department.
Actually, that $18 million is
just part of such costs. Many
are on the payroll under other
titles, not to mention their
thousands of Stenographecs,
clerks and other office and
travel expenses. With ready ac-
cess to all news channels, radio
time and the government
printing office, the Presidents
press agent brigade can do a
fair job of camOuflaging q
Presidential blunder to reSem-,
BILE a master stroke of states
manShip, and repaint corrup-.
ton in executive departments
to resemble a red herring.
One of the best samples of
such adroit press agentry was
evidenced when Mr.. Truman
submitted his hastily concocted,
Plan No. / 1882 for reorgan-I
ling the Internal Revenue
Bureau. It was a clever Pen
dergastian political coup d'etat,
accompanied by a typical Tru-;
man letter which prompted the
following remarks on the Sem
ate floor by the able, honest
Senator Millikin Or. Coll: =
There are few instances in,
our history when a President
of the United States has so
grossly insulted the Senate.
The proper treatment of the
Presidents letter would be to
refuse to accept it, to hurl il,
back into the teeth of the au-
thor, and to reject it's bally-.
hoed proposals until they have
been brought here in lang
uage and on the plane Of
craftsmanship that should
characterize official utterances
coming from the White House."
(Cong. Record 3-13-52.)
Said Senator George ID.
Ga.), whose integrity has never
been questioned:
"The most charitable thing 7
can say of the President is that
concerning his personal homes
ty and integrity I have no
comment, but he is the poorest
advocate of a cause, good, bad
or Indifferent, that the world
has ever produced" Gong.
Record, 3-12-52, page 2191.)
THE D~ECEPTION-The Tru-
man Plan was heralded by his
press agents as the Hoover Re-
organization Plan (which it is
not), that it would take the
IRB out of politics and elimin-
ate corruption - all this de-
| spite the fact that Commission
er Dunlap of the IRB stated
fatty to the Senate Committee
on Government Operations, 1T
is correct that the plan is not
directed primarily to dealing
with corruption"
Nowherai in the Plan is it
i stated that the IRE heads will
be appointed after competitive
Civil Service examinations. Any
| appointee can be given Civil
| Service status without any Elk
animation. OF the more than
zoo FIRB employees dismissed,
asked to resign, suspended or
indicted by grand jury action,
So per cent were under Civil
| Service.
MI. Truman's Wanted Plan
was a mere subterfuge. 1t will
give him sole power to appoint
SO IRB chiefs without Senate
approval, instead of the 68 he
may now appoint only with
consent of the Senate. Instead
of reducing costs of the Bur-
eau 1t will increase the cost by
J about $50 million per year as
81 to Is new regional offices
will be sent up. It will take
away from Montana and Is
other states their collector of
internal revenue and deprive
the taxpayers of the right to
sue for redress and be given
trial by jury unless they come
to Washington and get a spe-
! cial Act Of Congress for the
| right to sue the United States.
To explain any complication to
an officer of authority Mon
tananS will have to 60 to a
regional office at Denver, Min
neaDOliS or maybe Seattle.
OPPOSING THE PLAN - For
proof that Mr.. Humans plan
is anything but what he and
his press agents claimed, let
us consider who exposed and
opposed it. 1t was disapprOved
by the Senate committee on
Government Operations. It was
also opposed by the Chairmen
of the following ten Senate
committees on Finance, Judic-
larry, Appropriations, Public
! Works, Armed Services, Post
Office and Civil Service. Bank
ing and Currency, Interstate
and Foreign Commerce, Agri-
culture and Forestry, Rules and
Administration. !
The most corrupt messes in
the Internal Revenue Bureau
are in California, Massachu-
sets and his own state of
Missouri. In appointing those
collectors he entirely ignored
the u. S. senators of those
states because said senators
| were Rnnuh1icanS