Evening star. [volume], August 08, 1945, Page A-9, Image 9

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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TheGreatGameof Politics
Writer Criticizes Report of Truman Plan
To Put Minton in U. S. Office
By Frank R. Kent
The persistent and printed re
ports that President Truman in
tends to bring ex-Senator (now
Judge Sherman Minton of Indiana,
either into his
Cabinet or to
place him in
some other high
Government po
sition is not re
assuring from
whatever angle
it is viewed—
except, perhaps,
Mr. Minton’s.
Among the
positions with
which Mr. Min
ton’s name has
been connected
recently are
those of Secre- rr.nk r. Kent,
tary of War and Secretary of the
Interior. There is nothing about
his career, his record or his per
sonality to justify enthusiasm
about the prospect of his eleva
tion to either.
On the contrary, the mere idea
depresses a considerable number
who knew him during the years
he was in the Senate. For, it is
entirely accurate to say that Mr.
Minton was not loved by his col
leagues. It was not at all because
he was an ardent New Dealer that
the anti-New Deal Democrats and
Republicans had a distaste for him.
Some ardent New Dealers were
personally popular with both sides.
For example, as earnest a New
Dealer as Assistant Secretary Arch
ibald MacLeish had personal
friends among some really horrid
reactionaries. What aroused feeling
in the Senate about Mr. Minton
was his ability to put his. argu
ments in the most offensive pos
sible way. This was his peculiar
gift.
Called One More Politician.
The explanation advanced of his
expected appointment is that he
wants to get back into political
life and that Mr. Truman, who
served with him in the Senate,
liked him, which is surprising be
cause they are so completely dif
ferent personally — and not en
couraging.
But, aside from the personal angle,
another reason for something al- (
most like dismay which the like
lihood of Mr. Minton entering the
cabinet stirs among those anxious
to see the Truman administration
strong and competent, is that he
is just one more politician.
The feeling is growing here that
Mr. Truman is rather badly over-!
loading his • administration with j
politicians and that the need for f
some one of administrative ability j
and experience in that body is be
coming clearer with every new se
lection.
Within a little more than three
months the President has made six
cabinet appointments. Though;
there is justice in the claim that,;
individually and collectively, they!
are an improvement over the Roose- j
velt group, the Truman appointees
come very far, indeed, from consti
tuting a great cabinet, and Mr.
Truman has disappointed those who
hoped he would surround himself
with advisers chosen from the ablest
and most experienced men available.
Any analysis of the six Truman
chosen cabinet members reveals that
their ability and experience almost
exclusively has been in the field of
politics. So far as business and ad
ministrative experience is concerned,
they have had little more thtm Mr.
Truman himself — some of them
even less.
Byrnes’ Ability Noted.
There, for example, is Secretary
of State James F. Byrnes, whose
whole background, until he went on
the Supreme Court, was political.
He is recognized as a very shrewd
politician, but his warmest friends
do not clothe him with administra
tive ability.
Then there is Secretary of the
Treasury Fred Vinson, an old-line
Kentucky politician; Secretary of
Agriculture Clinton Anderson, who
has been in politics most of his life;
Postmaster General Robert Hanne
gan, a Missouri machine politician;
Secretary of Labor Schwellenbach,
a Washington politician and sena
torial intimate, and Attorney Gen
eral Tom Clark, who is a Texas
politician.
There is nothing especially the
matter with any of these politicians.
Some of them are pretty good fel
lows who should make pretty good
records. They are not brilliant, but
they are decent and sensible. But, if
to this list of six politicians there
is added another politician in the
person of Mr. Minton of Indiana
(and Indiana politicians are reputed
more purely political than, those
from any other State), it does seem
that will be almost too many poli
ticians for the good of Mr. Truman,
the good of the administration and
the good of the country.
Politicians, of course, are not
necessarily inferior individuals, and
it is an undoubted asset to have
men in the top layer of government
who know politics and politicians.
But it is easily possible to overdo
politics. Certainly it is possible to
have too many politicians, not one
of whom is an administrator, in
any President’s cabinet.
It may be Mr. Truman does not
realize that his appointments,
limited so far to friends from
Missouri and politicians with whom!
he served in the Senate, indicate his I
rather narrow horizon and are be
ginning to border on the ridiculous.
If the reports concerning Mr.
Minton prove correct, the President
will have created a cabinet for him
self not in the least representative
of the country but exclusively
representative of the Jobholding
class of politicians with whom he
associated in Congress and Mis
souri.
When that picture is more fully
presented, as it is sure to be if the
Minton appointment goes through,
it wiil not enhance the Truman
prestige or reputation. And it will
not make for the common-sense
competency in administering the
government which is the big thing
hoped of Mr. Truman.
Answers to
Questions
A rc der can get the answer to any
ouestion of fact by writing The Evening
Star Information Bureau. 31b I street
N E . Washington 3. D. C. Please ln
<-lose 3 cents for return postage.
By THE HASKIN SERVICE.
Q. Was Gen. Marshall due to be
retired in 1944?—H. K. S.
A. On December 4, 1944, the late
President Roosevelt signed a bill per
mitting Gen. George C. Marshall,
Chief of Staff of the Army, to con
tinue on the active list for the dura
tion of the war and six months
thereafter. Gen. Marshall became
64 on December 31, 1944. Without
the legislation he would have had to
retire on that date.
Q. If a man in the service is
separated from his wife, will he be
obliged to provide for her support
as well as for that of his child?—
J. T. E.
A. The family allowance is not
payable to a wife legally separated
from her husband unless the court
provided for maintenance or sup
port.
Q. What is the origin of the word
"derrick”?—P. R. I.
A. Derrick was a hangman at Ty
burn, England, in the 17th century.
His name soon became a synonym
for gallows and subsequently was
applied to hoisting machinery in
general.
Q. Is it true that some of the
finest garnets found in New Mexico
are brought to the surface bv
ants?— S. N.
A. The Bureau of Entomology says
that some species of ants, in con
structing their nests, bring stones,
pieces of fossils and any small, loose
object to the surface of the soil.
S. A. Northrop in Minerals of New
Mexico, B. 379, Univ. of N. Mex.,
Geol. Ser. 6, No. 1, 1942, says that
garnets are brought to the surface
by ants. These garnets are small
and are of no commercial value.
Q What American bird lines its
nest with snake skin?—W. E. R.
A. There are several American
birds which use snake skin in their
nests. This is not exactly used for
the purpose of lining them and, in
fact, the exact purpose cannot be
accurately guessed, though it may
be with an idea of adornment. The
great crested flycatcher always uses
snake skin and the tufted titmouse
often does.
Q. Can a boy of 17, a graduate of
high school, enlist in the Navy to
become an airplane mechanic?—P. P.
A. Two programs for which he
might qualify are open now: The
V-5, which leads to pilot training,
and the CAV-6, which is for combat
airerewmen. Training in the CAV-6
program is primarily for gunners.
It includes some mechanics and
radio.
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Belgium Will Participate
In Occupation of Reich
by the Associated Press.
BRUSSELS, Aug. 8 — Premier
Achille van Acker announced before
Parliament yesterday that Belgium's
army will participate in the occupa
tion of Germany and that the gov
ernment intends to demand a share
of reparations.
The government will "firmly claim
for Belgium the reparations which
justice compels vanquished Ger
many to pay the country she has
devastated and ruined,” he said.
The Premier also said he soon
would submit the Charter of the
United Nations for ratification.
He announced general elections
would be held next March.
LONDON, Aug. 8 UP).—The Lux
embourg radio said yesterday that
the Palestine Brigade, in which
many Jewish refugees served, will
participated in the occupation of
Germany.
FLOOR MACHINES
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Yanks Allowed to Send
Pets Home on Ships
Bs the Associated Press.
ROME, Aug. 8.—Previous frtmtic
efforts of American soldiers to stow
away their pet dogs on transports
headed for the United States will
not be necessary any longer.
Allied headquarters said yesterday
that pet dogs could be shipped home
on War Shipping Administration
vessels, provided the owners ob
tained approval from their regi
mental commanders and paid the
freight. The pets still will be banned
from Army transports, however.
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OPEN THURSDAYS, NOON TO NINE
On THE AIR “Tha Listaninf Pott" avary Tuasday, Wadpc»«ay, Thursday, Friday mornipf at 10)45 E.W.T. an WMAL
/
/< Open This Week’s Pest
L Fer a Rare and Gripping Mystery Stery
■jjL
b Charlotte Armstrong
IF you naturally like “first nights," best sellers, hit movies
—be among the millions to start “The Unsuspected” in
this week’s Post.
We have put Charlotte Armstrong in our own editorial
hall of fame for one of the outstanding writing performances
of the year ... and especially for creating a truly different
mystery story, a story in which all the sacred rules are
ignored, all the orthodox patterns discarded.
You are never in doubt as to who the guilty person is.
And your suspense is more intense because of that. Here
is sparkling change—intriguing technique—something new
and fine and very exciting. It is recommended in the be*
lief that it will make you squirm from suspense as much
as we did.
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I CELlULOID h T. F. Woods ■
the little deck of a n'^.'ncler who ■ T ONG considered a kiss of death at the movie bo* office, the
rtter. -fhe naval com iment in ■ newsreel today finds a warm spot in the hearts of millions,
oneered this “ne* * _ vjew of the ■ Viewed by more than 10* million people each week, newsreels
icide” giyes >oU a a3(! j'p night m>- B have brought the war to Main Street, given thousands thwpleas
a'hniaue that stopped • ^ne pas- B ure of seeing absent veterans on the screen, recorded war for
dcrs—• rid* °r B future historians and students. A significant history of the
lr5, ,alV of the future. B astonishing rise of a new form of journalism.
SPECi/U/ 1 _
THE THIRD: ~ — llllMUlMMMl
TOPS IN HONORS the Saturday evening
by Collie Small
TJEGINNING a series of *V57*" / -I/
SSSSK= /tea Oanemtf fit
by war correspondents t /-imi
ST.",d Ctefaxe at POST aiioust „,,M*
Millions of pairs of nylon hose will be made from coal. Making them will make jobs.
. 'I in. .Minium mu. nm——a .
A Cigarette bums harmlessly on a fire-proof table-top made from coal More jobs in the making I
The new, fast, coal-buming, steam-turbine electric—big source of postwar jobs.
Power to turn postwar wheels. More jobs from coal.
How Many Postwar Jobs-from Coal?
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES will there be
for jobs after the war is won? Jobs
for returning soldiers, for sailors, for de
mobilized war workers?
No one can say, exactly. But this much
is known: business is planning to meet
quickly the demand that will exist for all
sorts of things after victory — and out
of which jobs will come.
Take the coal industry. Not only will
coal continue as one of our basic sources
of power, but from coal research have
CQme a host of new products that will
even further increase its use.
w
Before the war, nylon was made from
coal. So were the life-saving sulfa drugs.
During the war, new medicines, chemicals,
plastics and things beyond imagining have
grown from research in coal.
Postwar, you will find sheer, wrinkle
proof dresses made from coal. Sturdy X
shoes made from coal. Shimmering, fir..
jiroof table-tops made from coal. There
are even revolutionary locomotives — in
cluding the C It O-planned steam-turbine
electric-that operate on coal and develop
undreamed-of smoothness and efficiency.
All this will increase the demand for
coal—and demand for goods makes jobs.
After the war, there will be lots of op
portunities. So, if you are on a war job,
stay on it until Uncle Sam says it’s fin
ished. Victory must come first
If you have a war job, stay on It-there’ll be tots of opportunities after Victory!
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