Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / Aug. 3, 1944, edition 1 / Page 2
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SENATOR BYRD... On the Rise of Radicalism in this Country In this year 1944, as the days pass. It will be the endeavor of The Times-News to present from time to time matters which will aid subscribers In their under standing and appraisement of public affairs, political condi tions and the present and fu ture prospects of the country. This we consider an obligation to our public and it is a privil ege to serve our readers in this way. The nation is in a serious, even a precarious situation. We make that statement in refer ence to the internal affairs of the country. It would be true If peace reigned In the world and the United States was not at war. War conditions add to the perplexities and burdens of the nation. We suppose that Intelli gent, patriotic citizens are deep ly interested in the matter of obtaining all possible light on conditions as they actually exist In the nation today. They de sire to know the truth and to be thoroughly informed about public matters. It has always been the policy of this newspa per to make the largest contri bution it finds possible to the spreading of such Information as may serve this purpose. In pursuance of this policy The Times-News will find space in these columns for an article by Sen. Harry F. Byrd of Vir ginia, which has previously ap peared in Forbes Magazine and in some of the newspapers. The title of the article is "Four Mile stones to Totalitarianism." We have seen no other writing on the subject of present govern mental conditions which was as comprehensive and convincing as the article by Senator Byrd. It is unnecssary to Introduce Senator Byrd to Times-News readers. He has a record as a private citizen which is unex celled by any Qther loyal and successful American. He has a long and honorable record in the public service of Virginia and in the United States Sen ate. His character, integrity, and his ability as a business man and public servant, are such a* to place him In the forefront of national leadership today. Of Senator Byrd it may be said that his bitterest enemies have not been able to establish that he is narrow or prejudiced in his political, .attitude or Is controlled by any purpose ex cept unswerving determination to serve his State and country in all sincerity and honesty. Senator Byrd presents condi tions in Washington as they are ? as they are known to exist by thousands of other citizens, in and out of public life. No con firmation from any source is needed to substantiate his esti mate of the national govern mental situation, but the case Drobablv has never been so com prehensively and imDresslvelv presented as by the distinguish ed Senator from Vlrginnla. FOUR MILIESTONF.S TO TOTALITARIANISM (By Sen. Harry F, Byrd of V*.) "It can't happen here "is wish ful thinking. So let's face facts ? now ! For 10 years now. the V. S. has been alternately cajoled, threatened, wheedled, promised and finally pushed down the path to dictatorship. The mile stones on this road have not al ways been clearly discernable as we passed, but in retrospect they loom large. The first milestone was the control of government. Our founding; fathers, fearful of to talitarainism. carefully designed a system of checks and balances by which, theorectlcally. no man or group of men could gain con trol of the government. This they did by establishing three co-equal parts: The legislature, to make the laws: the executive to carry out the laws: the Judi ciary. to enforce the laws. The First Step From the very start of his administration. President Roose velt sought to dominate these three branches. He first at tempted to "pack"' the U. 8. Supreme Court by increasing the membership with new ap pointments. Congress thwarted the scheme. Still, by reason of the administration's long term of office, all except two of our justices have been appointed by President Roosevelt. The President next attempted a Senatorial purge, designed to prevent the re-election of those who did not see eye to eye with his policies. That he did not succeed in removing Sen. Tyd ings of Maryland and Senator George of Georgia, among oth ers. is a tribute to the public's ability to discern patriotic and able statesmen. Had thU effort of the Presi dent succeeded, he would have continued his purge to drive out of public office every mem ber of the Congress who dared express disagreement with his wishes. Failing in these devices, he at tempted to reorganize the vari ous departments of the govern ment. He asked for the aboli tion of the comptroller general; the government's only independ ent auditing office; sought con trol over the Civil Service Com mission. which. In effect, would have endangered our entire merit system; proposed com plete executive control of the quasi-Judicial agencies. FCC. FPC. ICC and PTC. Balked by a narrow margin in these, too. an Ingenious method by-passing Congress was conceived. As everyone knows, the real power of Congress over the executive department is the control of the purse ? the power to give or deny appropriations. The New Deal has overcome this handicap by creating gov ernment corporations which, once a blanket authorization has been secured, are allowed to issue bonds and disburse pub lic funds as the President sees fit. There are 57 of these cor porations and the $30,000,000,000 which they have spent? many times involving Important con troversial appropriations ? has never been authorized by Con gress. It has never even been audited by the comptroller gen eral. 3,490 Executive Orders v Supplementing this detour of legislative Authorization, the President has resorted to an other method of executive law making. that of executive order. In 10 years he has issued 3,490 executive orders, many of legis lative or quasi-legislative con tent. TTiese are not laws passed by Congress: they are laws passefl by a single bure^icrat. Nor 1/ this all. In'the stress of the national crisis, the Presi dent was granted an emergency fund of over $100,000,000. While only a small portion of this sum has been spent, all of it has been allocated to various agen cies. In effect, it places tre mendous power in the hands of the President? power which the Constitution formerly reserved to the Congress. This bureaucracy perpetuates Itself far from the scrutiny of the citizenry, behind a veil of complex, overlapping and dupli cating agencies whose policy making personnel is intent upon regimenting American life from the professional armchairs of economists and sociologists in Washington. In many instances their sole aim is to recruit and appoint only those persons who have the same ideological con cepts as they have. This undemocratic selection process has been so Ingrained through usage as to become an accepted procedure. In violation of civil service regulations, more and more personnel are added to federal payrolls. The activi ties of these bureaucrats com pletely confuse and thwart con gressional investigators. The second milestone was the control of business. The con trol of business, of industry, of the professions, of free enter prise. of the American way of life Itself can be destroyed in one of three wavs: (1) By gov ernment competition with priv ate busings: (2) by senseless and unnecessary regimentation: (3) bv excessive and exhorbltant taxation. Competition with private en terprise has long been a gov ernment method of weakening private business and industry. Begun as an emergency experi ment in 1933, government com petition has mushroomed so that now. although the emergency has passed, the government has control, or is seeking control, of every enterprise. Directly con cerned with business, there are nine federal housing and con struction aeencies. 16 federal business and banking agencies, and four federal transportation and power agencies. There are numerous others, some savoring of government monopolies, such as in the synthetic rubber in7 dustry, the aluminum Industry and parts of the banking busi ness. There is a bill before Con gress which, according to the National Physicians Committee, will abolish private medical practice by instituting public medicine, dentistry, nursing and hospitalization under the direct control of a federally-appointed surgeon general. It will cost an estimated $3,000,000,000 a year. At present the government Is attempting to prove, through the courts, that all insurance fire. Indemnity and life ? Is com merce between the states, which obviously it is not. Once this is established, all insurance will be subject to direct government control. In the past three years, the government has spent $25,000. 000,000 in building plants and facilities for Industrial produc tion. The title to most of these properties Is In the government. Of the 1,500 plants which RFC alone has built and financed. 521 were aviation plants: 54. al uminum plants: 120, steel plants 50 high-octane aviation gasoline plants. The steel plants owned by the government represent 20 per cent of the entire country's requirements, the machine tool facilities one-half of the coun try's requirements, while 92 per cent of all magnesium produced is taken from government plants. Government investments are re sponsible for the production of one-third more rubber than was ever produced before. In all, this vast Industrial machine representes one- fifth of the nation's industrial capac ity, a measure of control un dreamed of by the country's greatest Industrialists. This con trol is vested largely In over 57 government corporations. Many of these, notably the RFC. do not operate under con trol of Congress. This gigantic corporation refuses to have its books audited by the comp troller general, despite the rec ommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury. Declares J esse H.Jones, atole head of the RFC: Jones A "Wisdom Needed" "Obviously the government will be in a position to smo ther private Industry in the manufacture of magnesium, ana also to dominate more than en ough capacity to supply the en tire peacetime needs for alm inum. These situations will re quire wisdom and fairness by government. otherwise private investments in these industries would be destroyed." In effect, such corporate gov ernment agencies represent un consciously the holding compan ies for Totalitarianism, Incor porated. The recent coal strike indi cates the trend toward govern ment ownership of industry and control of the people. The min ers desired higher wages. They struck. When the government took over the mines, through Senator Ickes, the miners were granted the same raises in pay which had been previously re fused. Examples have come -to my attention where industries have given up new projects because the estimated cost of preparing questionnaires, reports and forms would be greater than the estimated profit. At least 7, 715,229 reports and question naires (not including ratlonlnc forms) have been issued in one year by the government. What's more, these bureau cratic government agencies is sue thousands upon thousands of directives, many of which ac tually supersede congressional laws already on the statute books. These directives and questionanalres, burdening the citizens and placing unreason able obstacles against the war effort, was not done by legisla tive enactment. Congress is not to blame for them. Don't blame Congress, either, for the coercion and threats used by the adminstration and its agencies to force many busi nessmen into binding contracts with labor unions providing for the closed shop. This was not done by Congress: it was done by the bureaucrats setting into practice a policy of which I am certain Congress disapproves. Nevertheless, it is whittling down the strength of private enterprise. Even government competition and regimentation of private < business might not render it impotent were it not for the excessive taxation which threat ens to remove profit, "seed money" and invested capital alike. Heavy taxation is neces sary to carry the financial bur den of winning the war ? but it need not destroy private In dustry to balance Its books. Branching into the field of property ownership, the federal government has acquired for war purposes, inclusive of pub lic lands, 43,000.000 acres of land in the past five years. This comprises an area equal to the size of Connecticutt, Delaware. Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Vermont and one-half of Maine. The government has in fact, become the country's leading real estate operator. The War Department alone has acquired 557 hotels, some of which have been purchased, all of which, unless the govern ment continues to hold them, will be dumped on the market with disastrous effects on ljcal economy. N? Field Free There is not a single field ot private endeavor in the whole country which is not tethered to the post of adminis trative directive! Yetl without free enterprise we can only have government by State socialism. There is no alternative. The third milestone was con trol of food, the creating of federal agricultural bureaus and agencies which are competinp with private enterprise. In the field of agricultural lending alone there are 20 of these fed eral agencies, some of which are divided into as many as 12 separate corporations. They con stitute a federal Hen on the entire production of food the country over. Despite the fact that there are ample lending agencies outside the govern ment sees fit to preserve, even expand, these 20 duplicating and overlapping agencies. When you complain about the high cost of food, think twice, for you shall pay twice, as the appropriations and loan author izations for the agricultural program for this year total al most $1,000,000,000. Much of this cost is needlessly exhorbit ant. We aro still paying for the 151 administration-sponsored resettlement projects started" in 1996, which, having failed ut terly, have cost the government <137.000.000 We are paving, too. tor bureaucratic control of agri culture, for 100,000 Agricultural Administration committeemen, for 2,175 separate local offices of the Farm Security Adminis tration. a relatively small bu reau containing 8.375 commit teemen. Despite the fact that farm income today is 280 per cent of what it was in 1939, the admin istration is attempting to con trol the cost of food ? and in cidentally food production ? by repeatedly seeking subsidies In the amount of $800,000,000 an nually. A subsidy is not a loan; it's a gift, a dole which inden tures the recipient by perpetu ating his dependence on the government. It is State Social Ism bottled under another label. COMPROMISE PROPOSED BY NEW DEALER John Temple Graves, newspa perman of Birmingham, whose special articles appear In news papers elsewhere, is a new deal er who takes the position that the time has arrived to call a halt on new dealing. Mr. Graves would retain the vast structure of new dealism. radicalism and socialism, foist' ed on the nation in the past dozen years by the Washington administration, but he would not add to the structure. He would curb new dealing with priorities and celling prices ? for the time being, at least ? but Mr. Graves ought to know that Is all that would be ac complished by his proposal ? it might be momentarily curbed by that course, but It would not be destroyed and work would speadily be rsumed on the structure if the new deal ers maintain control of the cen tral government and the na tion. To change the figure? Mr. Graves believes the new deal is a good thing ? but Is convinced that the country has had en ough of this good thing and does not desire to see It con tinue growing and swelling to larger proportions. He would preserve the fruits of the new deal. Would he destroy the new deal orchards. If not, how would he prevent future yields of new deal fruits? And if new deal fruits are all to the good, who wants to destroy the trees or the crops Mr. Graves is convinced that a majority of American citi zens have either turned against persists in going on with the the new deal or stand ready to grogram of the past decade. He fears that all may be lost by this course, and is crying out in order that something may be saved through compro mise. The compromise would be based on retention of all the to date. An armistice would be new dealers have accomplished arranged and after that had served its purpose the new dealers would spit on their hands and resume their labors. We are not suggesting these things as Mr. Graves' ideas and plans. We are suggesting what we know will happen if his counsel prevails, because we know the character and pur ')ose of new deal leadership and the way? the only possible way ? new deals develop. The country cannot be saved from the new deal by Mr Graves' program. The Injury done the nation by the new deal cannot be repaired that way. The danger from tata.ll tarlanism and dictatorship, and the certaintv of destruction of the Republic If new deallsm continues to dominate the na tion, cannot be avoided by that course. If this correctly estimates the views of the American people, but few of them will endorse Mr. Graves' proposal for com '?"omise with the nwe dealers We think the people on both sides would greatly prefer a fight to the finish to determine whether the United States is going to continue to exist as the American Republic or shall be transformed Into a central ized. totalitarian, socialist gov ernment. The fourth milestone was con trol of the people. It is axio matic that if control can be "st.^blished over the shape of of ideas which no Into a man's head and the amount of monev which flows into his pocket, there is little to fear wh??t will -ome out of his mouth. In Just *h?sp wuvs totalitarianism is 'lelng foisted on the people of America. The number wall as the shape of theae ideas may soon be rationed if the propaganda specialists have their way. The creation of OWI was a step in that direction. Howeever, the that direction. However, the recent cut in its appropriations indicates that Congress Is aware of the danger ofia central fed eral news dispensary. Free Press, Frequent administrative at- 1 tacks on the free press of Am- 1 erica are too well known to ; necessitate comment. The free dom of the press is one of oar last remaining democratic bul warks. Even public school education Is threatened by adminstrative control. It was through tear of a government subsidy, which might ultimately grow Into government control of all learn ing, that the Senate refused to give the admlnstration a spring board to absolute power over the thought of the youth of America. Control of the people by eco- | nomic means is much slmji than through control of i3eas. This in large measure has al readys been accomplished by means of public employment, guarantees of security, pubic doles and a colossal debt which the people ? not the govern ment ? must ultimately pay. At present some 1/WMlO civ- I aw employed by the led s1 state and local of all 48 states. An [ 2 ?00.000 employ work in construction projects " in whole or in part by federal funds. Mar does this ot industrial, inarm - _ and agricultural work indirectly pafll by the gov ' i the form of eon All of these people di or indirectly took to the | government for support the government I ht aid to | and through other oo- , operative arrangements. This I ?01 in Itself cost the govern ?sent over tMM.OOO.O0O for the | fiscal year IMS. Not content with this, the I President has announced a guarantee of financial security to every American citizen from the cradle to the grave. This is a guarantee from 130.000,000 Americans to 130,000,000 Ameri cans of social security. While it's the duty of the govern ment to extend aid to those in distress, it is Inconsistent with the very Idea of democracy to guarantee ftna: "jial security to every citizen. As a necessary corollary to this Is the new Machiavellian economic philosophy which ad vocates an ever-expanding pub lic debt as not only justifiable but also healthy in a country with a "mature economy," such as the U. S. Thus printing press money would supplant hard work as a means of sub sistence. Such a procedure, once introduced, would result in disastrous Inflation and, ul timately, government control of all finances. The democratic idea that the people support the government would be re vised; the government would support the people. Whether the government's re fusal to practice econoiAy is an attempt lr. this direction the reader must Judge for himself. The Public Debt The public debt Is now $171, 00 000,000. or $3,500 for every nxpayer In America. It is nine times the total debt at the end of the last war. To repudiate this debt would be to repudiate democracy, to pay it would re-establish our Americanism. But this can only be done bv free men engaged In free en terprise. The question has often been asked. "What can be done to check this tendency, these growing evils, this march to totalitarianism." The answer is manifold. Congress must first of all re assert its Constitutional rights It must refuae the chief ex cutlve the use of legislative power; it must abrogate the sweeping emergency powers it has given the chief executive as soon as the wu ends; It must, in short, refuse to have Its own legal authority by passed by decrees of a single man. Congress can't do this alone. The people must reassert them selves, too. Every citizen can . and must exercise his right of franchise. This Is not a privil ege alone. It is a duty. Every citizen should continue his eternal vigilance and keep Congress Informed of his opin ions. Congressmen don't ditte gard the letters and telegrams sent to them by their constitu ents and others; they welcomt such expressions of Judgment, for it Is through these that they are made aware of cur rent opinion. Congress repre sents the people; the people themselves should not forget this. Must Work Together Congress and the people, to gether, can rid the government of Its bureaucrats. The bureau cracy represented by 3,000 000 federal" fcifrtCyees must be dis mantled. Qualified, competent employees who believe in our form of democracy, recruited under a competitive civil serv ice system based on merit rat ings, must be Installed. The people and Congress must in sist that the government be gotten out or business, that the government corporations com peting with private enterprise be liquidated, that the 80,000. 000,000 in government property be returned to the people. The people must elect those who give more than lip-service to economy by actively advo cating the enactment of con structive legislation. They must Insist that the 18-year-old de ficit he checked, and a simple rind equitable tax policy be In troduced They must insist upon the elimination of duplicating agencies and personnel, upon the elimination of gross ex travagance and waste In ifce executive branch of the gov ernment. The American people must realise that their one remain ing hope b in Congress, for it is the only body of the govern ment whose membership is da pendent upon the will of the people. Members of Congress should be told when they ate WWng, and they should be op rwrted when they are right. They, elected few the people, are the last defenders of represen tative democracy, a democracy now swiftly retreating down the twllght road to totalitarianism. ? , I . . ? ? V This spare contributed by an Independent Voter of Maeon County \ <MM?I Atarthment)
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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Aug. 3, 1944, edition 1
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