| Show r I- I It o 71 t J t r r fr Washington A A A routine War depal de- de pal or order cr came through the theother theother other d day a y which T Thunder said cryptically Over Hagood By ny direction of L the It a President ent MaJ Gen Geu Johnson Hagood U. U S. S A. A Is relieved from assignment to the command of at the Eighth corps area and further dut duty at nt Fort Sam Houston Texas Mayor Major General lIa Hagood will proceed to his home and await orders Each day there comes from the War Val department anywhere from r two or three to a n couple of dozen orders b by which army army officers are from one post to another er from one assignment to another or given new Instructions It Is not unusual at all nIl That Is why I said at the outset of this Item that the thc order respecting General Hagood was routine But It was routine only In the language that was used Otherwise It was significant Just how significant It will prove to be remains as a secret to be unfolded e eby by the future Suffice to say that seldom has one minor Inci Incident ent of government administration created such a storm as this army order because because because be be- cause It has become a political Is is- sue General Hagood Is the third ranking officer In the United States army He has been In the service something like forty years Ills His record Is generally rt regarded as ns distinguished but at the same time he lie he has never been a pussyfoot He has spoken en boldly sometimes too boldly and sometimes out of turn yet jet et I I. I think It is generally agreed that General Hagood Is sincere But to go back of the routine army order by which he pie was summarily summarily sum sum- marily relieved of his command at atthe atthe the Important army post of Fort Sam Houston we fin find a a record of General Hagoods Hagood's testimony before an appropriations committee In the house of representatives In that testimony General Hagood spoke poke with his usual bluntness He ne apparently apparently ap al- ap- ap offended somebody when he did it His testimony has been criticized and commended the War department and Secretary Dern Bern have n been attacked and defended elj and even eyen President n Roosevelt ose has haR been dragged Into the controversy because somewhere somehow New Deal opposition has become convinced convinced con con- vinced that President ent Roosevelt and Secretary Dern punished General Hagood by removing him from his post because he dared to point out flukes es nn and flaws nn and ridiculous aspects aspects as us- In New Deal policies of handling han han- handling dUng taxpayers taxpayers' mone money General Hagood was called before before be be- fore fore- the appropriations committee by Its chairman Speaks an md and told to ex ex- ex- ex Freely press h his I s candid I sentiments h hi hi 1 s 8 honest convictions con and any constructive constructive con can su suggestions he might have respecting Improvement ement of the United States army The general somewhat blusteringly related to the committee that the army array must mast have additional housing facilities He related conditions In many arm army posts and asserted that many persons persons per per- sons on relief were were accorded better bet ter places to live than Uncle Sams Sam's sol soldiers h rs That part aroused no particular controversy but when General Hagood Hagood Ha Ha- good told the committee of the difficulty difficulty dif dif- the tire responsible army authorities authorities author author- have ha-e in getting money with which to provide better for the soldiers he stepped steppe on administration ad nd- administration ministration toes by sa saying that It was ivas more difficult t to get five cents for a pencil than a n thousand dollars with which to teach Civilian Conservation Con Con- Conservation corps boys new bobbles hobbles or boondoggling He said he could get a hundred dollars donars to build bund a gravel grael walk and a n rose garden but I could not get ten dollars with I which to repair a broken steam pipe In an army barracks The next nett outburst by the general brought forth his description that money being handled by Relief Ad Hopkins was stage money that nothing worth while or of a permanent was characters being done with that money money and the explanation that he be called It stage money because it Is being banded handed around and you can do nothing with It In the end His Ills plea plen was that some of these funds which he said were wele being otherwise wasted should be employed ed to build bulli structures of concrete and steel that can be shown to our grandchildren grand children 50 fO years from now In hearing General testimony testimony testimony tes tes- the committee understood that the War department had given chen him 1 permission ton to speak freely Indeed Indeed In In- deed such assurance had had been passed along to the committee from tram the War department but apparent apparently ly the War department did no not know what General Hagood had hadon on oil his chest If It had known 1 It ct could have ha expected exactly ex ex- adly such expressions because Genet Gen Gen- et CI cial nl al Hagood never ne has Ims pulled hi his pinches n H He has hns said each Urn time what be he thought By saying what he thou thought ht however howver how- how ever ver he be un undoubtedly moved across tho rho ho line Une of discretion Army Array oil am cers ers must guard their speech The They are re under disciplinary re regulations It t has to he be so Otherwise we would see frequent outbursts b by army officers In opposition to Ils lisped policies rules and rc regula ula Lions Ions and It takes no stretch of the imagination to see what a disordered ered dered dere mess would result On the other hand band General Hagood Ha- Ha good was certainly privileged to believe believe be be- lieve that his ob ob- Then the we were r e Storm Broke being made only for Cor the committee of f congress before which he ap- ap eared The doors to the committee commit commit- tee ce room were closed and locked locke and ud only committee members were In n attendance It happened howver however how- how ever ver that subsequently the stenographic steno steno- graphic record of the committee hearings hearings w was s made pub public c and when that hat happened the storm broke Almost Almost Al Al- most simultaneously with the removal removal re re- re- re r moval nl of the bond of secrecy on the he committee record the War department de- de I order General lagood Hagood nn was written When that happened hap- hap j ened the politicians literally blew I up p. p They shouted charges of censorship censorship cen- cen terrorism by the President and nd Secretary Dern dictatorship political punishment and half halt a dozen other vicious accusations A few of the administration spokesmen In congress defended the he War department action Almost J In n the same breath these adminis spokesmen sought conferences confer- confer uces with Secretary Dern and others oth- oth ers ems rs In an nn attempt to persuade e the President and the war se secretary to soften often the punishment but those moves noves were futile and Representative tive ive Blanton manton Texas Democrat shouted on the floor or of the house that hat the Hagood punishment would cost ost the Democratic party part a milion million mil mil- lion ion votes oles unless It were with with- drawn rawn I As a n part of the defense of the War department action Gen Malin Craig chief of stall of the army aimy made public his memorandum to the he secretary of war respecting General Hn Hagood's Hagoods attitude and his testimony before the con congressional committee In the course of this 0 word word 0 word memorandum General Craig described General as ns asa a wise wise cracker cracker and he was wa probably probably probe aul ably correct in so far as General remarks about stage money money money mon mon- ey were concerned Yet I have ve found foun very few among the Wash Nash I Ington observers observer's who whose c e opinions sue are worth while hUe who saw In the Craig memorandum an any real Justification for or the severe punishment meted out out outto to General Hagood The order still stands General lagood Hagood Is going to his home In Charleston S. S C. C to await orders No one familiar with the army procedure procedure pro pro- ce ure expects that General Hagood ever again will be given ghen an army assignment He Hc will be sixty four years ears eais old next year jear and at that time ime automatically retires front from active acU duty So there is hardly an any question but that G General Hagood has las held his last command The whole situation suc suddenly come to be known as the Hagood case Is bound to be multiplied and mirrored It will figure In the comIng corning corn corn- Ing ng political campaign because ever ho low however Justified the War department department depart depart- ment action may have been in the Interest of discipline nn and good army a administration there are thousands of Individuals who never never nev nev- er will be convinced con that the Hagood Hagood Ha Ha- good removal was was was' for Cor any purpose other than as punishment because he lie criticized New Deal spending policies Although there Is and can be no connection between the two It t was the basis f for tor o r a U. U S. S at really humorous Dallas Fair r reaction th that t during dur dur- lug ing th the time when the can controversy raged over oer General Gener Gener- al Hagoods Hagood's removal from tram his Texas Tex Tex- as army post a federal government committee was busily engaged In making plans for f federal deral participation tion In the Texas e ms Cent Centennial expo exposition which opens at Dallas G G. G Uncle Sam Is spending the the he largest sum sum congress ever tins has authorized for tor federal participation pation In such a at show BO so that twenty t odd government agencies can display to exposition visitors what the government has hns lone done lon with Its billions since the cards were shuffled for the New Deal The Agricultural department as usual will b be represented by the largest of all federal exhibits The Commerce deJa department and the State War Navy Nay Treasury Justice Jus Jus- Justice tice Post Office Olice In Interior an and Labor Lubor departments will wUl have bave their booths or buildings The Fel Federal Housing administration and the Farm Credit Cred Cred- it administration will be there with displays of their wares and md the Public Health service ser will attempt to further the cause of ot health In la laUs Its Us usual splendid fashion e 0 W Western Newspaper Union |
