Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-06-03
Now It's Mr.. Erpf

sNOW ~ SVus 6s
The extent to which some people
will 60 in their efforts to destroy man
Is truly remarkable.
For months, Admiral Lewis Strauss,
named by the President to be Secretary
Of Commerce, has been smeared up one
side and down the other by his Sena-
torial and Journalistic enemies. When
the committee hearings on his nominal
ton ended, it looked as though the snip
ing was over-at least until the opening
of Senate debate on the nomination.
But not at all. Suddenly, out Of the
blue, there emerges the strange and sup
posedly sinister case Of Armand g. Erpf.
And the case OF Mr.. Erpf, we are told,
proves once again that Mr.. Strauss is
devious, Intellectually dishonest and un-
At to be Secretary of Commerce.
This is vicious nonsense. On May
%, the Department of Commerce, I'M
doubtedly with Mr.. Strauss approval,
issued press release which denied that
Mr.. Erpf, New York f1nancier, had
been appointed to head up Commerce
Department transportation study. This
release said Mr.. Erpf "has not been Sc
lected, appointed or otherwise chosen
for any position in the Commerce De-
partment and no arrangement with him
has been made" This was the precise,
literal truth. But suddenly it becomes
devious and sinister. Why? Because
Mr.. Strauss hoped that Mr.. Erpf would
take on the assignment and, several
months ago, sounded him out on the
project. Was the May % press release
an attempt by Mr.. Strauss to cover his
tracks In the Erpf matter2 OF course
not. And the record is the best proof.
On May II, Mr.. Strauss was before
the Senate Commerce Committee In
public session. Chairman Magnuson
asked him whether he had selected the
man who would head up the transporta-
ton study. Mr.. Strauss replied that he
had asked two or three men to help him
last February or March, but that they
SHE'D away pending Senate action on
his confirmation. Senator MagnuSon
again asked: But are we to understand
that as Of now you have not selected q
person to head it? Then came the fol-
lowing exchange:
Mr. Strauss-Yes. have a man in
mind would like to head it. don't
know II he would.
The Chairman-Is that Mr.. Erpf?
Mr.. Strauss-Yes. E-r-p-f. And
haven't spoken with him in nearby three
months.
This, then, Is the record in the Erpf
case-the case which now emerges as a
sinister disclosure some three weeks
after Mr.. Strauss testified publicly about
1t.
Mr.. Erpf, although an expert in the
field, has withdrawn because he rightly
feels that the adverse publicity has i'm
paired his usefulness in any transporta-
ton study. Perhaps, because he has
railroad interests, he should not have
served in any event, although it should
be noted that representatives Of all seq
ments of the transportation industry
would have been represented on the
study committee. Perhaps the critics
would have been happier with a study
headed up by some amiable nobody en-
dowed with bhssful ignorance of our
transportation problems. But this now
is beside the point.
The important thing is that the
Senate is scheduled to begin debate on
the Strauss nomination tomorrow, and
we hope that Mr.. Strauss, in line with
the Presidents strong stand, will stay in
there and fight this thing out to the
end.
OF course, each member of the Sen
ate is entirely free to vote for or against
confirmation. In our opinion, there is
nothing in the record which juStif1es
an adverse vote. But this is for the
Senate to decide. All that an outsider
can ask is that record vote be taken
a vote in which each Senator will have
to answer to his own conscience and
to those people who expect the Senate
to act with sense of responsibility in
a matter of this Importance.