Show Lack ack of Political Sense Leads ads Wallace to Oblivion By BAUKHAGE N News nos Analyst and Commentator i J I Washington D. D C C. C Service 1616 Eye Street NW NV WASHINGTON Unless some Strange strange shift shUt in hi the tide of national a affairs f f air s t takes a k e s 1 place between the f time these lines C are wn written and when ten they appear ap t. t t i pear in print the name hame that tha t once bristled in the headlines made mad e ethe the Paris peace conference shudder shudder shudder der and completely completely com com- confounded confound confound- ed the Truman administration tion will be filed under under under un un- un- un der W and for- for Baukhage gotten by most people who arent aren't subscribers to the New Republic I refer to the name Henry Agar Wallace I have talked with a great many men who knew Wallace Vallace well Most of jf them who liked him still like him But many who supported him in the past past- follow him no longer One of them said to me Henry Wallace has been drowned at at last in a sea of ideas He has gone gone down for the third time and there is nobody with a lifeline hanI han- han dy r I think of two other men one an experienced government official a aI I trained politician another an ardent New v Dealer who happens to be equipped with a mathematical mind sharp as a steel trap trap each each of these men followed Henry Wallace a longi long 1 i way But each man at one point j in his career suddenly stopped self cre I 4 i ghast at one of Wallaces Wallace's self self-cre- Hated ted misadventures shrugged his i shoulders and regretfully turned i jl away way I 0 One of the first criticisms you hear 1 from Wallaces Wallace's political friends is t that he has no political sense J I I Ac tH of nf the of nf nn B r 4 w wf tL u wv v v. v tj I Wallace according to most disinterested observers was a success suc suc- r- r cess ess as a policy-maker policy and an ad ad- Dont Don't bring up the little pigs pigs pigs-he he did that against every everyone z to one ne of his natural predilections I As secretary of commerce he was wasa a a 8 dismal failure f J Wallace did understand agriculture agriculture agriculture ture agriculturists farmers and agronomy agronomy He believed that he had and has the correct formula for solving the economic business I IDs Ins of the country But what he hel l didn't realize was that he was handicapped handi handi- 1 capped by what is incorrectly called an an n inferiority complex when it pomes j omes to dealing with human bes bengs beIngs be- be Ings g s who made the wheels of busig busigo busi- busi ess go round He had a strange rJ and d deep suspicion of the business world orld Perhaps that wasn't so I estrange strange for it reflects the natural 0 attitude Attitude of the farmer toward the slicker Perhaps it was another anther an- an lother other ther phase of that shyness which Characterized Wallace 4 j 4 Lets Let's look at this suspicion business business busi- busi ness ess I W On one of several occasions Wallace Wal Wal- lace ce as secretary of commerce addressed addressed addressed ad ad- dressed a prominent group of conservative conservative con con- business men His colleagues colleagues colleagues col col- leagues watched the event with considerable considerable considerable con con- trepidation They knew the l group group was unsympathetic to toVal Walace Wall Wal- Wal Valace ace and that Wallace Vallace knew it However Howver Howver How- How ver ever it provided an opportunity to i create a friendly atmosphere if I I nothing more Wallace made a swell speech His colleagues were agreeably agree- agree bly ably surprised His audience was almost In fact as the speech went on one after another of f the listeners showed that Wallace's Wallaces Wal Wal- laces lace's ces ce's views were well received received- Were ere anything but inimical to busi busi- ness ess Many of the ideas he advanced adt ad- ad t pranced were accepted as sound sane and sensible So far so far so good jWallace Wallace allace reached the end of his prepared prepared prepared pre pre- pre pre- pared script and then suddenly I overcome with this strange defensive defensive sive complex this suspicion said something to this effect Tonight l jl have probably wasted your time and arld mine for I realize that you Couldn't couldn't possibly agree with me nor I with you The whole effect was ruined fined fined Ie c Intimates Admire in i f. f aces ace's Integrity n B I p Men who know Wallace best agree It r jat at he is absolutely honest that 1 f the e is unselfish that he can be a at t 1 ivery ery deep student of a subject which u 15 interests him that he has a power power- ul ambition to be a leader of the them theiA m iA forces that will preserve old-fash- old boned American free enterprise an and d Jr Competitive capitalistic endeavor But he is willing to adopt strange methods to achieve this Remember Remember Remember ber the little pigs pigs In making clear to his friends that it was his ambition to be secretary of commerce he convinced them oj o ohis his belief in five propositions They were that 1 He Be believes the capitalistic system cannot survive another war 2 He Be believes the capitalistic system cannot survive another financial depression such as we went through In the early 3 He is convinced that the country Is headed for another such depression 4 He Be believes that this Catastrophe catastrophe catastrophe ca ca- can be avoided if U certain certain certain tain simple measures are taken 5 He Be believes that this end end end- the perpetuation of free enterprise enterprise enterprise enter enter- prise justifies almost any means As soon as Wallace became secretary secretary secretary sec sec- of commerce he attempted to reorganize the department along lines which had made the department department department depart depart- ment of agriculture so successful insofar insofar insofar in in- as operation co-operation between government government government gov gov- and farmers is concerned One of the first steps was to try to establish a system of field agents similar to to agricultures agriculture's county agents Good men were hard to find it takes time to build such a system The personnel recruited I under such conditions and within so short a time would be bound to in include in- in include clude many incompetents and thus open the system to immediate attack attack attack at at- atI I tack by an unfriendly congress Nevertheless Nev Nev- N Nevertheless ev- ev Wallace Vallace pushed the idea as far as he could during his tenure of office This his critics say t showed his inability to perform in a afield afield afield field with which he was unfamiliar showed his lack of political sense or if you will his failure to grasp the complexities of personal inter-personal relations Like many other men who have been thrust into high government offices offices of- of of of- I without sufficient political experience experience experience ex ex- exI I he attempted to absorb I that experience vicariously The very fact that he lacked an understanding understanding understanding under under- standing of political and personal relations caused him to accept advisors advisors advisors ad ad- visors and counsellors who frequently frequent frequent- ly led him astray Perhaps if he had been less advised his conduct I would have been ben less es ill I Nations Keep Jealous Eye on Antarctica Adm Richard Byrd is about to take off ofT again for Antarctica with witha I Ia a horde of anxious nations worried worded to death lest he run away with the five million square miles of ice- ice capped rock which covers the south polar regions as the dew covers Dixie but different The foreign claims are legitimate enough for daring explorers have been nibbling at that price of frostbitten frostbitten frost frost- frostbitten bitten plateau bigger than Europe ever since John Briscoe actually discovered discovered discovered dis dis- covered what was given the name of Enderby land in the early nineteenth century Many others followed but few took the keen interest in the Antarctic waste that Admiral Byrd did although he didn't turn in that direction until after he had flown over the North Pole Which reminds me of a dull Sunday Sunday Sunday Sun Sun- day May 9 1926 I was keeping wa watch in the Washington office of a feature syndicate which had the rights to Byrds Byrd's adventures We Ve knew he was going to hop off ofT for forthe forthe forthe the pole from Spitzbergen with Floyd Bennett soon but we didn't know when Messenger boys had a habit of dropping unimportant messages on the particular desk I occupied and I hardly glanced up when one still soggy was tossed within my reach I finished the last episode of the comic strip I was studying and opened the envelope It contained contained contained con con- one word polaris That was the code word that meant that Byrd had flown over the North Pole and was back alive On November 29 three years later later later lat lat- er he flew over the South Pole The flight was only a small part of extended extended extended ex ex- tended explorations made on two separate expeditions Now Byrd is of off again with jealous jealous jealous jeal jeal- ous competitors watching him with jealous concern His expedition probably will be met with mixed emotions by the penguins who are the only looking human-looking inhabitants of Antarctica Byrds Byrd's first visit was wasa a novelty to those decorous birds who never go out except in formal evening attire but I imagine homo sapiens has become to them just dust another another another an an- other sap who has to go in when it snows |