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Show ItrucUari's Washington Digest Old Trickery Again Being Used In Writing Views of a President That Intangible Personality, the 'White House Spokesman,' Spokes-man,' Is Back on the Job; Makes Goats of Writers; Taxes Blamed for Added Burden Business Carries. By WILLIAM BRUCKART WNU Service, National Press BIrlg., Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON. The "White House Spokesman" is back! rhat ghostly, shy and sometimes playful figure has been resurrected from the grave where President Roosevelt Roose-velt interred his intangible personality person-ality early in March, 1933. He was placed there with proper ceremonies ceremo-nies by Mr. Roosevelt after his witchlike voice had served during the administrations of Presidents Coolidge and Hoover, and after he had served valiantly as the source of one inspired news story after another. Mr. Roosevelt unmasked the "While House Spokesman" as jus-t the President of the United States, speaking behind his hand. But lol Here is that man again. I could not help laughing a bit the other day when the "White House Spokesman" reappeared on the front pages of metropolitan daily newspapers, in the work-a-day clothes of "authoritative White House sources." Grieving as most writers did that this trickery had to be employed in order to write a President's views, I enjoyed the humor hu-mor of the situation, nevertheless. If the White House Spokesman was going to be reborn, what more proper prop-er place could there be than Hyde Park, N. Y., the President's summer sum-mer home. That delightful home on the banks of the Hudson river is enly about the length of an airplane air-plane runway from the fiction scenes of nightly riding by "the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow." Hol-low." But restoration of the "White House Spokesman" to his place of eminence is a serious matter. Use of such a disguise, such a mask, has no place in American life. Many a time in the period when Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover occupied occu-pied the White House, there were stories sent to all parts of the nation na-tion that came from the "White House Spokesman." It was a silly procedure. It was both silly and cheap. The head of the government was simply using the correspondents correspond-ents as vehicles to carry the responsibility respon-sibility which the then occupant of the White House should have assumed. . .,Some stories were trial balloons; some were expressions of a personal person-al opinion by the President which I he was not quite ready to espouse publicly, and others were pieces of just plain trickery, given out with the understanding that the President Presi-dent should not be directly quoted. The course was adopted, so it was claimed, as a means of giving the writers all of the available facts right up to the minute. Just Kidding and Fooling Readers of Newspapers Well, without questioning the sincerity sin-cerity of purpose, the fact remains that the writers were the goats. And here they are being made the goats again, and the public, the readers of newspapers, are to be kidded and fooled some more. What's the excuse? ex-cuse? There is none. It is the same old ostrich and the same old sand in which he is hiding his head; so why do it? The present, and rejuvenated, "White House Spokesman" had a good deal to say, behind this shadowy shad-owy veil, about the desirability of a truce between business and labor, a truce with the administration in Washington. The bitterness between industry and government was made almost into a parallel with European Euro-pean conditions, and the "Spokesman" "Spokes-man" went further to suggest that some method of getting together, comparable to the European "settlement," "settle-ment," should be used here. Well, I imagine there is none in our country who do not hope for, and believe in the need of, a lasting peace between business and government. govern-ment. As the shadowy form said, as it floated over Hyde Park, there has been too much name calling, too many charges and recriminations. recrimina-tions. The condition has slowed up general business; it has made the relief rolls full to overflowing. But when the "White House Spokesman" seeks a "settlement" like that at Munich, Germany, where Dictator Hitler grabbed everything he wanted want-ed well, let me observe that it was a swell subject as an illustration why the "White House Spokesman" should remain in his grave! There was another phase of the "Spokesman's" backfence snarling that is bound to disturb the neighbor's neigh-bor's sleep. It was tantamount to a demand that business stop misrepresenting misrep-resenting the government's attitude this being the New Deal attitude toward business. That is to say, there was a veiled charge that business, busi-ness, which is to say, "the economic royalists," have been lying about the government's programs and objectives, ob-jectives, no mention being made of some of the abortive results. Blamn Taxes for Added Burden Business Carries The news dispatches from Hyde Park made reference to unfair stories sto-ries ubout lAxca. The "Spokesman" specifically asserted that business interests were all wet when they asserted as-serted that federal taxes are heavier heav-ier now than one, three or five years ago. It struck me as being a queer complaint, because federal taxes are higher; there are more of them in number and the rates on nearly all the old ones are higher. Treasury Treas-ury figures show that the federal government collected $3,115,000,000 in taxes five years ago. The same official figures show collections of more than $4,100,000,000 three years ago, and in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1937, the collections were announced as $5,290,000,000. Then, on June 30, this year, the official figures recorded collections of $6,240,000,000. To be absolutely fair, it must be considered that business was at its lowest ebb five years ago. Hence, tax payments were at the lowest. But, without attempting to cite all of the increases in rates and new taxes invoked, new taxes and new rates have been responsible, responsi-ble, too, for the increased burden which business carries. It is important, also, in connection connec-tion with the consideration of taxes to call attention to the federal government's gov-ernment's budget condition. At the end of September, when the first quarter of the fiscal year was completed, com-pleted, there was a deficit of more than $700,000,000. The Treasury had been called upon to pay out $700,-000,000 $700,-000,000 more than it had taken in by way of taxes. If my country school multiplication still serves me, there is a deficit indicated for the current fiscal year of approximately approxi-mately $2,800,000,000 since there are four quarters in each year. It may be less or it may be more. No 'Breathing Spell' Ever Has Taken Place In the matter of a truce between the government and industry, I believe be-lieve I recall accurately the famous "breathing spell" of several years ago. Roy Howard, the Pittsburgh and New York newspaper publisher, publish-er, wrote a letter in which he told the President of the need for cooperation co-operation between the government and business and suggested at the same time how encouraging it would be if business could be assured as-sured that government harassment harass-ment of business was at an end. If I remember, Mr. Roosevelt said in his reply that the major portion of his New Deal reforms was completed complet-ed and there would be a "breathing spell." It was about that time, too, that Vice President Garner was reported re-ported to have said it was time to let the cattle get fat; that they had been chased around until they were just skin and bones. He meant, of course, that if business was going to expand and re-employ workers, then on relief, the government must quit taking everything the employers received. re-ceived. Well, neither the "breathing "breath-ing spell" nor the fattening process ever has taken place. Further, reference might be made to the fact that, not the "White House Spokesman," but numerous spokesmen for Mr. Roosevelt have been having great fun riding astride the neck of business. One can refer re-fer to the activities of Robert H. Jackson, trust buster extraordinary; to Thurman Arnold, who succeeded to Mr. Jackson's job in the department depart-ment of justice; to William O. Douglass, Doug-lass, or to Secretary Ickes. Each of these has had several turns swinging swing-ing a bludgeon at business men, and they will swing them some more. So, perhaps Mr. Roosevelt's analogy anal-ogy in which he compared the European Eu-ropean situation and "settlement" with the idea of a settlement between be-tween government and business was not so far wrong. Perhaps the "settlement" "set-tlement" by which Hitler took over great chunks of Czechoslovakia is the way the "authoritative sources" or the "White House Spokesman" would have our government take over most private industry. Needs Encouragement From Leaders in Public Life The "White House Spokesman's" suggestion about a truce and cooperative co-operative effort between business and government brought a response from Charles M. Hook, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, Manu-facturers, who assured the President Presi-dent that "there will be no rattling of sabers as far as the manufacturers manufac-turers are concerned." He said there would be an upward surge in business "if there is encouragement from leaders in public life." I am not able to say what is meant by the "no saber rattling" beyond the obvious meaning of a willingness to keep the collective business mouth shut. Actually, it appears the crux of the whole problem is to be found in the fact that throughout tno Roosevelt Roose-velt administration there are many officials who blab and blab and have little or no idea of the maltcv they are discussing, while on the business side of the fence the fellows who pup oil most are incapable of far vision. u Western Kew;ip;tper Union. |