Show Bruckart's Washington Digest f National Preparedness I Drive Encounters Political Bickering I 1 Washington Correspondent Sees Defense Program Being Turned Into a Vehicle for Selfish Use Rack Rack- Labor LaLor Leaders Climb on Bandwagon By fly WILLIAM 1 BRUCKART Service National Press Washington D. D C C. C It WASHINGTON It is exceedingly difficult to maintain a balanced viewpoint In the national capital these days War Var hysteria is Ia flowing at et higher tide Ude than in any other city of the land Washington Is the nerve center of the plans for a great and proper national defense scheme That Is bad Yet a calm perhaps would settle down and the serious job confronting the nation probably would be accomplished more effectively and efficiently if some other and more dangerous factors were not alot horning in on the situation It may not yet be so clear to the folks outside of Washington but I must report that the urgently needed need ed ad national defense detente program is being being being be be- ing turned into a vehicle for selfish I use There is no longer room for doubt The tragedy is I. that many otherwise sincere and honest Individuals individuals Indi indi- in places of responsibility are lending aid to this chicanery and from The cold fact is that while patriotic patri otic and seeing far folks are arc giving the best efforts available to the development development de de- de and execution of the national national na na- na defense program fumes and stench are arc beginning to arise from t. t 4 Jl HERBERT It HOOVER lit lie chose to 10 disagree the midst of this very serious bust busi ness The condition is upon us and fr thus f far Jr there is it no apparent effort on the part of anybody in authority to 10 check iLOne it iL One pears hears ears and sees lees how the defense de de- de I tense program is it being speeded One naturally offers commendation But hardly is ii that applause given when through the cracks and end the crevices comes the information that politics is preying upon the whole scheme Some of it already smells to high heaven The length to which some men will go to further their selfish political alms at the expense of all of us is beyond comprehension And in the midst of these serious endeavors also comes the shouts and the threats of some racketeer Ing lag labor leader leaden As usual that type is 11 simply getting on the bandwagon band wagon for the sake of cut publicity that they can get for their It makes them appear important to benighted followers Opponents Opponent of 01 Democracy Are Boring From Within Behind and beneath all of these things that are to be deplored is the creeping and gnawing of the termites ter mites who would be most happy to f destroy our form of government t- t V They are seizing upon the hysteria and the patriotism of the day to worm themselves into the spots where their concealed efforts will attract the least attention until the floor falls in I have complained about these fellows many times before be be- 1 fore and I shall continue to write f I about the dangers from them They are in our government to the tune i of several thousands Again little i is being done about those or the c thousands that are at large Let us begin with some details of the politics of the situation as it has existed now for several weeks We should begin at the top President Roosevelt is not less lesi guilty than many of his supporters in the matter mat mat- if ter of playing politics i The Presidents President's speech to congress con con- cress gress was a good speech a speech b. b that should have aroused a sleepy e. e nation It did But Dut there were some parts of It about which there could be and was disagreement Of those who disagreed the President i dent immediately said in effect that r- r they were playing politics lie He want want- t Defense and Politics Politic With the national drive for fori forc i c- c U. U S. S defense gathering steam the unnecessary element of politics poll polio tics is rearing its ugly head according ac cording to William Bruckart lie He i feels that if iS this thI trend treed of political J bickering continues It will seriously seri serl t affect the entire military program lie He urges that the nations nation's na I tion's leaders forget their silly 1 selfish Interests and get down to toC C the grim business of making America a secure place in which to lIv live t ed a united people behind the pro pro- gram The President hinted broadly broad broad- ly in various utterances that anyone any one disagreeing with him was pretty much of sourpuss Former President Herbert Hoover disagreed as did a considerable number of representatives and senators senators sen sen- with some phases of the defense defense de de- de- de tense program The President sought to quiet them all by making another speech a speech a fireside chat There were holes in that speech and scores of newspapers pointed I at them editorially Mr Hoover took issue with some of the Presidents Presidents President's Presidents President's dents dent's plans in a radio speech Two days after Mr Hoovers Hoover's radio speech Assistant Secretary Johnson Johnson John John- son of the war department went wenton on the air with a reply to Mr Hoover Notwithstanding the Presidents President Presidents President's dents dent's contention that there was no politics in the defense program Mr Johnsons Johnson's speech was released by bythe bythe bythe the Democratic national committee President and His Hi Friends Friend Have Right to Back Plan At least lenat the copy which came came cameto to tome tome tome me was on the stationery of the com corn I do not mean to say that either the President or Mr Johnson should not defend the program which is their responsibility I do insist however that there is no excuse excuse ex ex- ex cuse for accusations of politics when they themselves are playing poli poll tics I In addition to the Roosevelt Roosevelt- Hoover interlude any observer must have seen the deluge of propaganda propaganda ganda coming from various places in the government The press agents have been working overtime In thinking up Ideas that link their departments departments department's de Job with the development develop ment of a national defense program Some of the efforts are Bre pretty ridiculous lous bus as silly as trying to make the love life of a bull frog appear Important Im in the training of a soldier That sort of thing is going on the on-the the promotion of President Roosevelt's candidacy for a third term On top of this situation comes another request from President Roosevelt for congress to appropriate ate additional money He lie started out by asking something over a billion bil lion dollars One hundred million of this was to be turned over to him personally But Dut now he has asked for one billion more He lie told congressional leaders that the terrific ter ten rUle rifle debacle among the allies the surrender of the Belgians by their king Leopold and some other successes successes suc of the Hitler murder drive necessitated faster spending Those needs may be genuine Army and navy people tell me and me-and and they ought to know that know that we have no army that is ready to go ready to carry carryon on if we are attacked But those same army and navy experts said this was not a new condition They Insisted that rebuilding of the army and the navy should have been undertaken a dozen years ago Cost Cot of if l OOOO Planes Plane Is I. Ten Billion Dollars Dollar Strangely the request for additional additional addi addi- money did not reach congress until newspapers throughout the country began calling attention to the total cost involved in the Presidents President's Presidents President's dents dent's call for new planes Mr Roosevelt subsequently had said IBid that the planes ranged in cost from to each Well VeIl if one takes an average that must be below the minimum and figures the cost coat at per plane planes would cost Ten billion dollars Is a lot of money in anybody's language So a tax bill Is proposed A decision de is made to Issue defense bonds bonda which would be paid oil off by bythe bythe bythe the defense taxes that have been proposed and the Job will have been done in five years It all sounds reasonable and logical but the taxes proposed would amount to around a year and it is pl planned to issue three billions in defense bonds Which lea leaves ves the question still unanswered as to how we are areto areto areto to pay for tor planes that must cost around It is all ail so confusing to a country boy like me It remains only to be said that there is no great reason to be confident confident confident con con- about the success of our defense defense de de- de program The program is needed in view of world conditions which cannot be Ignored For the most part it is a good program But Dut I 1 still am asking why there is a acaU call caU for national unity when responsible responsible sible authorities are breeding dissatisfaction dis satisfaction or are permitting confidence con con- dence to wane There has been one agency of the government that has become Amen Ameri The civil service commission commis sion slon has shown its colors Notwithstanding standing that the commission has hat been shore hora of much of its it authority during the past few years it has hat taken a definite stand on the matter of communists and fascists and others oth ers era who do not believe in Amen Ameri It has bas announced none of these will be certified ed for jobs Inthe in inthe inthe the government Which is all to the good except that hat patronage jobs outnumber service civil service under the New Deal |