Show It Washington It has been exceedingly exceedingly exceed exceed- interesting to wa watch teh the progress progress progress ress of the Demo- Demo Campaign cratic and ard Issues l 11 i c can a n campaign c com committees o m m i In their efforts to shape and join the Ule issues upon which the electorate will choose the next occupant of the White House There has been a n tremendous amount of hauling and filling each side coming forth with trial balloons in to an effort to find out what it is that will attract the most interest among the voters and to determine determine determine de de- de- de termine what particular matters afford afford af af- ford tord the best vehicle on which the they can ride into office From the beginning of this year President Roosevelt has been trying to shape his issue on the basis of a n single question whether question whether the American Ameri Ameri- can people in dollars and cents are better off then Ue they were when he took office I think admittedly that if Mr Roosevelt could force that question into the center of the stage and make it the real issue he would have vcr very little campaigning to do But the trouble is Mr Roosevelt has been unable to accomplish his purpose and no little credit for his threat to force a joinder of issues on this point is due to the Republican can leadership The Republican m managers magers simply simply- will not be led into that trap Thus we must look els elsewhere to see what the real is issues issues issues is- is sues are arc or are likely to be in this campaign decision I It has nearly always been true that the issues prominent early inthe in inthe the campaign have proved not to tobe tobe tobe be the issues at all near the end of ofa a political battle This year promises promises promises prom prom- to be no exception Political leaders attempt to figure out the proposition upon which their ther opponents opponents i vents are most vulnerable and obviously obviously obviously ob ob- this figuring takes place in advance It has to happen that way way in order that methods of attack can be arranged in advance The New Dealers thought thO they could smoke out the Republicans by shouting far tar and wide that the people peo pIe as a whole are better off than they were when Mr Roosevelt took office But But again it was a case where political strategy did not work Even though many hundred thousands of people are better off the fact remains that there are some twenty million persons receiving receiving receiving ing relief in one form torm or another and the further fact remains that there are somewhere between bet nine million and ten million workers without jobs Consequently Mr Roosevelt's qu question st on whether people were better off in dollars and cents did not quite click In the meantime the Republicans have found what they believe to be bea a very vulnerable spot in the New Deal armor and they are shooting at it with machine-gun machine rapidity I This question this Ulis spot centers around taxation The Republicans apparently thought at the start of the fight that D Democratic waste of federal money and the vast debt that was piled up would force t t. t revulsion revulsion revulsion re re- re- re of feeling against New Deal policies So they started out on ont t that at campaign horse hut But they found that the question of taxation shadowed over-shadowed the other even though the ta taxation about which the Republicans are talking has been an offspring of the alleged allege waste of the party in power I 1 e i I doubt that the taxation issue would have been as important as it is proving to be I Err in had not the New v Strategy Dealers made a mistake in political political cal strategy This mistake it maybe may maybe maybe be said in passing illustrates ho how w I very minor things influence the ultimate ultimate ultimate ulti ulti- ulti- ulti mate result in politics to a greater greater y extent perhaps than in any other activity of American national life The mistake v 1 refer to was wa s made by Attorney General Cumin Cum in ings I The story of ot the circumstance chronologically lly is something like lik e this The Republicans from their r headquarters in Chicago began callIng calling call call- Ing trig attention to increased tax burdens burdens bur dens in connection with their exposure exposure exposure ex ex- of the increase of more tha than n thirteen billion dollars in the country's country's country's coun coun- try's debt They pointed out how 1 if the Roosevelt administration ha hanot had hadnot hadnot d not wasted money preparations preparation s would not have to be made for raising rats rais ing fag the taxes and how if this waste wast e had not occurred tax increases increase es s which we already have havee had would 3 d not have taken pIa place coe As a part of the demonstration of increased taxation the Republicans issued campaign literature itemizing itemizing itemizing item- item izing the amount of taxes each and i i every everyone one of ot us pays on on the comman common cornmon com com- mon man every day necessities of l life e. e They showed how each loaf of bread each pair of shoes each pork-chop pork among other things bears so much tax which v all of us pay In buying those necessities of life lie Probably the distribution of ot this campaign literature by the Rep Republicans b- b would not have stirred up so much fuss tuss in and of itself had it not cot teen peen for the action of Attorney I 1 L General Cummings The Attorney General made some public threats that he would seek to indict those who were responsible for distribution distribution distribution tion of this information claiming that a federal law had been violat violat- ed Being attorney general of the United States an any statement from him got wide distribution But the Republicans recognizing the potentialities of this situation Issued a challenge to Mr Cummings Cummings Cummings Cum Cum- to proceed with his threat of indictments Their publicity statement statement statement state state- ment on the point was just as virulent virulent virulent viru viru- lent as that of any red-blooded red American boy who says to his playmate playmate playmate play play- mate I dare you to tol Well the rejoinder of the Republicans Republicans Republicans rather put Mr Cummings on the spot I presume probably the threat and the resulting challenge still would have amounted to nothing except that th the method employed by the Republicans capitalized on that threat by accusing the attorney attorney attorney ney general of seek seeking ng to prevent free speech and to prohibit discussion discussion discussion discus discus- sion of campaign issues If there is one thin Ulin tiling that the American people peo- peo resent it is any attempt by a governmental agency of whatever character it may be that seeks to stifle discussion They look upon it as a sign of dictatorship Somewhere Somewhere Somewhere Some Some- where in their veins still courses the virus that overthrew Kh Kirg g George Georgein in the birth of this nation President Roosevelt announced the other day that he Is preparing to start Too Many of the fed- fed Agencies era eral administrative tive agencies He said he had arrived at the conclusion conclusion conclusion sion that such a course was necessary necessary necessary sary because there has been overlapping overlapping overlapping over over- lapping in function and jurisdiction among the many agencies created by the New Deal It is the second time that the President has proposed proposed proposed pro pro- posed reorganization tion of the governmental governmental governmental govern govern- mental units and his new announcement announcement announcement announce announce- ment promises to attract as much attention as did his original announcement announcement an an announcement which was made when he was a candidate candida te during the 1932 presidential campaign For a long time it has been plainly plain plain- ly evident to observers in Washington Washing Washing- ton that New Deal agencies were literally falling over one another and that many of them were constantly constantly constantly con con- in hi conflict with others because because because be be- cause the laws or executive orders chiefly the executive orders by which v these agencies were created did not clarify their jurisdiction or their function A good deal of this trouble obviously obviously obviously ob ob- ob- ob had its origin in the haste that characterized ih the early efforts of the Roosevelt administration to I establish machinery by which problems problems problems lems of the depression could be solved o or alleviated It always happens happens happens hap hap- pens that when governmental agencies agencies agen agen- cies dies arc created in such haste ri ridiculous situations result It was the case during the World war and it has been the case during the New Deals Deal's efforts to solve depression p problems under the emergency powers powers powers pow pow- ers granted by congress The truth seems to be that there is more overlapping overlapping overlapping over over- lapping more conflict now than there was during the World war 1 r I I have known of numerous in instances instances in in- stances where one agency under authority given it Much by the President Confusion has nas promulgated rules and regulations regulations regulations regula regula- having the force of law that did not conform to rules and regulations regu regu- lations lotions dealing with the same matters matt mats mat mat- t rs but comi from another unit of government In addition I have seen different Interpretations placed on the same statute or the same regulation by two different agencies In consequence the citizen whose business practices or personal affairs affairs af af- affairs fairs were touched by government edict found himself prohibited from doing a particular thing on the one hand and ordered to do it on the other Thus it would seem that it is high time for tor something to be done about re re It wo would ld seem equally to be high time for elimination elimination elimina elimina- tion of some of the extra red tape tapes of government which has been wound about the private lives of f American citizens by the New Deal Goodness knows there was plenty of red tape before the New Deal it certainly is worse now than it was before The thing that seemed to interest most of the writing fraternity in Washington however was not so much the alleviation of the conditions conditions condi ondi- which I have mentioned bu buthe but t the political aspects of the presidential presidential presidential announcement that new reorganization reorganization reorganization re re- re- re organization plans were under con con- Some of these writers writer s who are arc critical of the New Deal I went back to the 1932 campaign n I records and dragged out to public c view Mr Roosevelt's promises respecting respecting respecting re re- I j governmental complex tics e 0 Western Newspaper Ne Union I |