Salt Lake Telegram | 1934-04-06 | Page 4 | Daily Washington Merry-Go-Round

THE DAlLY DAILY WASHINGTON Go Round Merry um Trade Tude MarkBy MarkBy Mark Marie MarieBy By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT ALLEN WASHINGTON WASHINGTON After After ne nearly rIy one year of or hectic spectacular pioneering work in Washington Washing Washing- ton it looks as if General Ride Em Hugh Johnson was about to shake the dust of government government government gov gov- service from his feet teet There have been reports that the pres high sure boss of the thc Blue Eagle was going to quit before and there was one time last summer that he had a definite though definite though temporary temporary break break with the president This time the general will step out out out-if if he hc finally decides to do so entirely so-entirely entirely for reasons of his own First of all he is tired He has been work working ng until all aU hours of the morning has kept up this pace since the N R A beg began Second he is broke The General therefore has nas nas laid tentative tentative tenta tenta- tive live plans to let the Blue Eagle fly alone probably probably probably ably soon after congress adjourns To this end a complete recasting of the whole N R A up set-up has been in progress Instead of everything everything everything every every- thing revolving around Johns Johnson n as before the Blue Eagle boss has decentralized has given his Number Two men men nien real power I Two Friends Johnsons Johnson's retirement when retirement when it comes will comes will not mean a break with the administration Roosevelt probably has no more genuinely loyal and devoted supporter than his N NR R A chief chief- tain tam But despite the close friendship between the two men despite the important all-important place Johnson has held in Roosevelt's scheme of things the thc inescapable fact is that Roosevelt is inh inherently a liberal and Johnson is not Roosevelt for instance approaches the root loot problem of government and business from the viewpoint that government must rule and busness busness busness bus- bus ness be ruled Johnson has a deep and causti causti caustic caus caus- ti tic contempt for what he hc calls the ness of business Few men speak more bitterly bitterly bitterly bit bit- terly of the stupidity sightedness short and downright incompetence of the toe great mass of business men But he sees sees ees the government government- business issue from a widely different angle than his chief Johnsons Johnson's aim is not for the government to rule business but for business to rule itself Two N R AS A'S The N R A more than any other mans man's is Jo Johnsons Johnson's sons son's creation It graphically illustrates this underlying difference between the two men To the president the theN N R It A is an instrumentality still in the formative which still stage stage stage-by by the government after shep shepherding erding and guiding industry into orde orderly ly and organized groups will supervise and re regulate it for its il own labors labor's and and above above all the all the publics public's good To Johnson the N R B A A. also is a shepherd and organizer But not by government rule He sees the N R B BA A as the initial step toward industrial s self lf He believes industrial industrial industrial in self government should be given a further trial The Thc pr president does not not and and never has No Forgotten Man ManNo ManNo ManNo No matter what happens to the thc General Genera his ornate collection of words cuss-words his passion for berating big business his thou thoughtfulness in reading daily to inmates tes of the childrens children's ward wardin in in the hospital when he was ill the thc clouds of glorious headlines which trailed ever in his wake never will be for forgotten otten even by a blase blasc and Washington The character of Hugh Johnson is a massof massof mass massof of contradictions The Thc personification of tw two two- fisted roaring hell action Johnson also is a man manof manof manof of extraordinary intellectual caliber a genuine enuine scholar a lover of poetry and fine literature an unusually talented writer and stylist Few nights go by that he does not read a afew afew few passages from the thc Bible before retiring This is not because he is religious but because of the thc joy and intellectual release he hc finds in inthe inthe inthe the beauty and dramatic wc p of the Scriptural Scrip ScrIp- tural language Sports are too tepid for lor Johnsons Johnson's dynamic pragmatic well s He exhausts himself himself himself him him- self in work more work If there is nothing particular at the moment to do he buries himself himself himself him him- self in some fagging brain tome his major recreation tion Another is reminiscing with withold withold withold old army cronies His His' stories rare and pungent pungent pungent pun pun- gent savoring of picket-lines picket and mess rooms are about the old army army before the world War ar with its Paul figures of great liquid intake and fantastic adventures Johnsons Johnson's s youthful soldiering days along the Mexican border are arc very dear to him When in a mellow mood he speaks with deep tenderness tenderness tenderness tender tender- ness of the great plains of the Rio Gr Grande nd vall valley y Says he lie When I get through with all this that's where Im I'm going Down there where the owls make love Io to the thc chicken and it is starry and quiet and peaceful Perhaps it is to the land of the owl and the chicken that General Johnson Joonson is going when he leaves th the land l o of the Blue BIu Eagles Eagle c lUC by h fled Un-fled SyndicAte t tl Inc