Show PAGE T vu B a 0 aI 6 Q c I I Truman Labors Under New Deal Inheritance I j i 1 r f i y t Can Congress Seen Taking Advantage of Presidents President's Presidents President's Pres ident's i- i I. I dents dent's Rightist Leanings s Lacks Influence Influence ence of FOR to Put Policies Over By BAUKHAGE Analyst and Commentator Service 1616 Eye Street NW NN Washington D. D C C. C It was a cool crisp winter da day A week before the erratic Washington Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington weather had seduced a whole circle of credulous pansies which pushed their startled faces up from the garden on the White House lawn Poor bemused flora floral They were soon frozen as solid soUd in their beds as the Presidents President's labor legislation in congress We hurried along Pennsylvania avenue our coat collars turned up arguing heatedly as newsmen do dowhen dowhen dowhen when they arc are released from the Inhibitions inhibitions inhibitions in In- which seize them the moment moment moment mo mo- mo- mo ment they sit down and meet the solemn stare of their typewriter keyboards with that threatening noose the deadline tightening about the medulla The most astounding thing said one of us is the way Truman with all his experience in congress cant can't get along with it If U he would only buttonhole some of the thinkers In Inthe Inthe inthe the opposition say inthe In Inthe Inthe the senate and men like Wollcott in the house and appeal to their sense of patriotism he wouldn't have all nIl this trouble It isn't as simple as that interrupted Interrupted Interrupted In in- another as we paused to show our photographic passes to the guard at the gate who has known us all by our first names for a decade decade decade dec dec- ade but who always solemnly studies studies studies stud stud- ies our cards as if they were aliases aliases ali all isn't that ases It as simple as After all congress has to be realistic realistic realistic realis realis- tic In an election year They are arc facing real issues And the Presidents Presidents President's Presidents President's dents dent's program isn't realistic Whether or not it Is realistic the third member of the group put in in after all It isn't his program He inherited it Its It's New Deal and 1 the New Deal is Old Hat now It doesn't represent Harry Truman's ideas at all but he has to go through with it it All I felt I could add to those sage observations without agreeing that the New Deal was Old Hat or the latest Downing Street model whether er it was realistic or modernistic or neo neo marxian marxian was that It certainly certainly certainly is probable that if 11 the President President President dent were able to shatter his inheritance inheritance in in- to bits and then it to something nearer his hearts heart's desire he could probably put a lot lotmore lotmore lotmore more pep into his selling talk to eon con f gress By this time we were adding our coats to the huge pile of garments on the great Aguinaldo mahogany table in the thc lobby of the executive i i. i offices and taking our place in the theline theline J line outside the conference room Resentment Shades Chiefs Chief's Feelings I I On this particular day the President President President dent started of off with the note on which the whole conference was carried I dont don't quite know how to it He kept smiling He HeI I didn't lose his temper But there was just a shade of resentment in his voice and his words It all sounded more like the later somewhat somewhat somewhat some- some what disillusioned days day of df f his ir r cess cessor or than the the merry moments when a Roosevelt Interview was alx always al al- x r ways a good food show as well as a news news- At ful fill event event I I mean the early days bet beI be- be t I J. J fore the weight of war descended upon wearying brow There 6 fc L is a weight o n Truman today quite k tf as heavy for peace has its miseries mis- mis erles eries as well as war Just as It ItA A sty was was freely predicted that the Unit Unit- J f ed States will never stand for an ocI occupying occupying oc oc- I army anny for any length of J time which proved to be so painfully paini pain pain- i r fully lly correct so everyone ne took for granted that any President in office of of- fice when the war ended would have an impossible job But lets let's get back to the crowded office of the President on the winter winter win- win ter day I am describing He sat I If f v there smiling exchanging wIse wIse- creeks c with the men in the first o. o V j row On the table behind him were the he photographs of his family crowned with a great bunch of jonquils jon ion from the White House greenf greeny green- green f y house He looked che cheerful enough The usual signal II all all in was sounded sound- sound 7 ed He stood up and began to talk about what he called a tempest in inv v jn a teacup the teacup the the controversy over overt t building an addition to the White WhiteHouse 1 I House Pe Personally I think it is the height of folly to continue the ef et- et- et fort begun by Theodore Roosevelt to try to house the office work of the President under the roof of the Presidents President's House but I mention this co controversy simply because it reflects the seamy side of White House congress relations Many o of the Presidents President's friends feel that trying to make a modern office out of a beautiful old American colonial residence is folly but they also felt that much of the furor raised in congress was due to a desire to embarrass embarrass embarrass em em- barrass Mr Truman Why cant can't Truman get on with congress Perhaps because he is a little too much like them This Is merely a hunch but I am not the only one who has toyed with the idea both congress and the President President President dent I realize that congress is a loose term because the legislators are a collection of many men of I many minds inclines farther to the right than the inherited Roosevelt program is targeted Congress the part of It that knows Harry Truman well undoubtedly feels that his heart leans just about as far in the same direction Therefore he Just cant can't get these more ideas across Harry Truman has a tremendous tremendous tremendous tre tre- respect for the office of the presidency a deep feeling of duty to carry out the program which death placed in his hands hands hands-a a duty and a function he never sought He cannot cannot cannot can can- not toss this heritage into the dis dIs- card And he probably reasons that if U he feels that responsibility the members of the party should do likewise like like- wise But it must be remembered that it was the powerful influence of ofa a personality which could win an election four times a task no American had dared to attempt even for the third which kept congress congress congress con con- gress obedient and even then to toward toward toward to- to ward the end only falteringly Truman Reveals His True Self SelfOn SelfOn SelfOn On this particular day of f which I Iam Iam Iam am speaking I think we heard Truman Truman Truman Tru Tru- man revealing his true self He believes believes believes be be- that the White House should be enlarged He resented the opposition opposition opposition op op- op- op position which he suspected was at least in part personal and political rather than the product of sincere conviction I thought I heard that I in his voice I But I also thi think I heard in his words a similar expression of his own philosophy when he be said that he thought the present industrial strife was a struggle for power between between between be be- tween labor and management In other words that basically it was not the demands of the men mn who work for more pay nor was It an objection on the part of industry to pay higher wages as much as it was a pitch battle between labor leaders and the top men in management management management manage manage- ment to see which could beat bent the theother theother I Iother other down To one who brags about being middle-class middle without even a drop of blood of ot an Irish king in his veins it sounded like good sound call it stuffy if you want middle class re re- Then the President added added added add add- ed that he thought that both labor and management had too much po power ver and it was time for the government government government gov gov- to step in and assert the power of the people which government government government govern govern- ment ment Is supposed to represent But when we asked the President if U and how the government was going going going go go- ing to assert itself to exert the power pow er of the people to settle the mess all he said was that he had done doneall doneall doneall all that he possibly could do He could have called out the army and the navy the national guard the FBI and the United Marching and Social Clubs and taken taken taken tak tak- en over the steel industry the next day But a step like that which was no more than the wave of a tapering cigarette holder yesterday was one which no cautious middle middle- middle middle-I class western middle-western the middle road American would like e to take except under duress I say that i as one such And so congress part of it responding respond respond- ing to the pressure of management and part of it under the pressure pressure of labor fiddles and filibusters while industry contentedly lives of off its fat labor on union funds or relief and the people with all their alleged power wonder how long oh Lord how long |