Evening star. [volume], August 10, 1948, Page A-9, Image 9

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Ferguson'sTalk Called1
Service to the Cause
Of Good Government
American People Dislike ,
Any Attempt of Officials ■
To Cover Up Facts
By David Lawrence
Senator Homer Ferguson of
Michigan, one of the ablest of the
younger men in the Senate, made
a historic speech in the closing
hours of the special session of Con
gress and performed a great service
to the cause of good government.
If there is any one thing that the
American people dislike, it is an at
tempt of pubic officials, who are
paid with taxpayers’ money, to cover
up their work and* hide from the
people the facts about the operations
of their own government.
Mr. Ferguson did not criticize the
President just for withholding in
formation from confidential sources
relating to the loyalty of certain of-;
flcials but he did ask for an ex
planation as to why individuals who
were under scrutiny by the FBI
should have managed to get trans
ferred from one top confidential
position to another, high up in the!
Government, without any evidence
that anybody in the Government;
took the trouble to check up on the
loyalty record itself. This is a
pertinent inquiry and one that can- j
not be obscured by drawing a “red
herring” across the problem, charg
ing that loyalty records are con
naenu&i.
Spoke of -impeachment.'
It Is Mr. Truman’s refusal to let
the facts come out concerning ad-;
ministrative inefficiency rather than!
the lovalty details themselves that'
was the subject of Mr. Ferguson’s
comprehensive speech.
The Michigan Senator spoke of
"impeachment” but he did not say
he was advocating such a course
now, or that he was referring to Mr .
Truman personally. He was arguing
In impersonal terms that the con
flict between the executive and leg
islative branches of the government
as to the disclosure of information
In the executive agencies’ files was
growing to such an extent that he
feared some day impeachment would
be the only answer.
Mr. Ferguson pointed out that
gradually over the years Presidents
have been refusing to give Con
gress needed information about the
work of their subordinates. The
Michigan Senator was promptly
criticized by some who didn't read
his speech for suggesting the im
peachment method. Actually no im
peachment of Mr. Truman need be
contemplated because the American
people will do their own impeach
ing in November and decide whether
Mr. Truman should be continued in
or removed from office.
The tendency to regard the word
“impeachment” as something highly
offensive is a mistake which is not
made in parliamentary democracies
where a "vote of no confidence” by
the legislative body leads to removal
of the executive overnight.
The constitution gives the House
of Representatives the power by
a majority vote to impeach a Presi
dent of the United States, but it
gives the Senate alone the power
to try an impeachment case and
stipulates that judgment must be
by a two-thirds vote. The Chief
Justice presides.
Need for Clearer Method.
The Constitution specifically says
that impeachment shall be for
“treason, bribery, or other high
crimes and misdemeanors.” The
refusal of a President to tell what
he does with public money or what
is happening inside the executive
agencies of the Government, par
ticularly from the standpoint of
administrative efficiency, could be
construed as a disregard of the
okth of office and a case begun on
that basis. But there is need for
a clearer method of removal when
ever the executive and the legis
lative branch are in disagreement,
thus opening the way to a system
of responsible government such as
Canada and other democracies en
joy.
Mr. Ferguson, far from advocating
Impeachment, thought it was a poor
way out of the present dilemma.
He' said:
"There has always been a blur in
the line between the claims of con
gressional jurisdiction and the
President’s claim to executive Inde
pendence. But I should like to
point out that under the pattern
of executive domination now de
veloping, Congress is rapidly being
pushed into the Intolerable position
of having either to legislate through
a blind spot or compel the President
to answer for his conduct in an im
peachment proceeding. Those are
the only two remedies. We do not
want representative government re
duced to such a ridiculous position.
"It does not seem reasonable to
me that the American Government
should be forced to function in this
. dilemma. What is more, I am sure
that there is nothing in the presi
dential office, his powers or the
historical precedents which by any
latitude of free construction justifies
the placing of Congress in such an
extreme position."
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This Changing World
‘Rescue’ of New York Russian Teacher
Follows Soviet Pattern in France
By Constantine Brown
The “rescue" of a Russian teacher
sy the Soviet consulate general in
Mew York follows a pattern adopted
years ago by the Russian Embassy
in Paris.
Beiore worm
War II the Rus
sian Ambassador
in Paris made
the front pages
of French news
papers with the
daring exploits
of NKVD agents
attached to the
Embassy.
Those agents
frequently
entered the
homes of White
Russians or of
Soviet citizens
Constantine Brown.
who had acquired wo «”*•
for the free air of France, forcibly
removed them and sometimes their
families to the Embassy, where they
were kept until a Soviet ship put
Into one of the channel ports. When
a ship arrived they were driven in
nigh-powered automobiles under
heavy armed guard, placed aboard
and taken to the USSR for purging.
French Reluctant To Act.
The French Surete Generate
(which correspondents to our FBI)
ried to stop such exploits when they
aecame known, but were discouraged
to do anything but investigate by
the French government, which at
that time was reluctant to take steps
which Moscow might consider •‘un
friendly.’’
Disclosures in the press, however,
greatly reduced the number of these
rescues until after the war, when
the dungeons of the Soviet Embassy
once more were filled with persons
wanted by Moscow. Only a few
months ago the French government
olosed a "camp” near Paris, where
the Embassy’s overflow of prisoners
was being held. The top NKVD
officers were expelled from France.
The operations in New York are
not much different from those in
Paris, except that Jacob M. Lo
makin, the Soviet consul general,
is somewhat more daring than an
Ambassador would be in the same
circumstances. A consulate does not
enjoy the same diplomatic immunity
as an Embassy, and if necessary the
consulate can be searched and the
consul arrested.
A consul does not possess the
same diplomatic character as an
ambassador or a member of the
staff of an embassy or legation.
While the privileges and immunities
of members of a diplomatic staff are
clearly defined, those of consuls are
not so clearly established and con
siderable difference of opinion ex
ists on the subject.
Contention of Jurists.
Some jurists have contended that
consuls, their families and dwell
ings enjoy extraterritorial rights,
but, unlike ambassadors and their
aides, are subject to the jurisdiction
of local authorities in some mat
ters. In many cases consuls have
been arrested on different charges.
A consulate has principally a com
mercial character, and is not
granted the same advantages as
an embassy or legation. For in
stance, no consul in the United
States is permitted to import liquor
duty-free. In most cases the em
bassy provides the consulate mem
bers with such “necessities.” While
this technically is a breach of the
law, American authorities have
never raised the question except
during prohibition days, when the
State Department ordered out of
the country a number of consular
attaches because they were com
mercializing the liquor courtesy.
Although from the strictly legal
viewpoint any person held in a con
sulate could be removed by Amer
ican authorities, it is highly unlike
ly that the State Department—in
view of present strained relations
with the U. S. S. R.—will permit
any such action, regardless of how
much the House Un-American Ac
tivities Committee insists that the
■‘rescued" teacher be freed.
Moscow is likely to take a very
serious view of the situation If the
New York police or the FBI are or
dered to remove the persons the
consulate is holding at present. Such
action, it is feared, might give the
Kremlin the occasion for creating
a major crisis, which the United
States, together with the Western
European powers, is anxious to
avoid._
'Political Hav’
*
Mrs. Roosevelt Believes Electorate
Is Not Ready for Woman President
By Doris Fleeson
A notable expert does not share.
President Truman's blithe optimism, I
expressed to girl visitors at the
White House, about the prospects;
for a woman __ .... I
President.
Mrs. Franklin
D'. Roosevelt be
lieves the elec
torate is a long
way from ready
for a woman
President. She
also expressed
the view, during
the brief flurry
about her going
on the Truman
ticket, that thi~
country does not
yet want a wom
an Vice Presi
Doris Flceson.
dent who might become president.
Mrs. Roosevelt is the only woman
now in public life who could get
serious consideration for a national
ticket. Women must face it: Men
tion of others has produced only
wisecracks.
Tune Is Familiar.
The President's new feminism
elicited wry smiles among Demo
cratic women. The tune is familiar
but they have had a disappointing
struggle to get practical recognition
to it. During the special session
when political hay was being made,
at least so the White House hoped,
the women were completely neg
lected.
The President hurled hundreds of
nominations at the Senate of which \
the merest trifle were women. A
typical day, July 29, he sent up 75
diverse nominations, for the foreign
service for departments, for com
missions, for UNESCO. Only three
were women: One delegate and one
alternate among 10 UNESCO ap
pointments and one among 12 named
to the Foreign Assistance Public
Advisory Board.
At the same time inspired stories
appeared that the iron curtain was
being lifted at the White House,
that something new was being added
in the form of a professional cam
paign staff. The staff was named—
20 men of more or less national
luster, no women.
It must be admitted that the
women did not try for the only va
cant Cabinet post—Labor. It is
now clear that Miss Frances Per
kins did all that could be done in
that impossible sector: her male
successor was notoriously unhappy
and not even tl*e lure of being able
to flaunt Cabinet membership in
Who's Who seems to tempt any one
else.
But qualified women were gener
ously suggested elsewhere; for ex
ample, for the Displaced Persons
Commission which appeared admir
ahly suited to women's Interests.
But no dice, three men were named.
In Republican quarters, women
campaigners stress Gov. Dewey’s
New York record. The Governor
was chary of women in top spots
but he has been liberal with second
places and career jobs where women
could be noticed, learn and prac
tice responsibility. New Yorkers
are confident that he will draw gen
erously on that cadre should he
come to Washington.
In Congress, women continue to
drop back. Representative Margaret
Chase Smith of Maine will go to
the Senate but her House seat will
be filled by a man and Representa
tive Georgia Lusk of New Mexico
failed of renomination. This leaves
only five women in the House, in
cluding tfte two veterans. Mrs. Rog
ers and Mrs. Norton. Their num
bers may be slightly augmented in
November but only slightly.
LOUIE v —By Harry Hanan
[INFORM ATI Ofj
nm >»"«»* wl
On the Other Hand
Special Session Causes Change
In Timing of New Spy Scare
By Lowell Mellett
There are all sorta of ways of
looking at the performance of the
special session of Congress. One is
from the standpoint of the plain
DeoDle. who ob
tained precious j
little from it ex
cept, perhaps, a
better under
standing of why
the President
termed the 80th
Congress the
second worst in
American h i s
tory and why he
will now, no
doubt, revise his
estimate and
make it the first
worst.
Another way
Lowell Mellett.
01 lOOKing Bw It 15 iruui uic 5WU1U
point of the politicians. Which
party benefits most from the dem
onstration that a Republican Con
gress Is perfectly capable of stand
ing up to a Democratic President
and refusing to do anything he re
quests?
If you regard government as a
political game, it has to be admitted
that the Republicans won the 13-day
contest here in Washington. They
had their way. They defeated the
President. He didn’t get the legis
lation he wanted.
May Be Costly Victory.
Come November, however, if It
appears that the people also wanted
that legislation, the Congress may
find it has won a pretty expensive
victory—that It has won a battle and
lost a war.
This will depend on the success
the Democrats have in making the
issues evaded by the Congress the
issues of the campaign. Which, of
1 course, they hope to do.
The Republicans have a wnolly
different idea. Their purpose is to
i base the campaign, if they can, on
the issue of “communism.” This
was their purpose before the special
session was called and the special
session simply forced their hand.
When the Thomas committee of
the House and the Ferguson com
mittee of the Senate assembled
themselves and began spilling the
dirt, various party spokesmen as
serted that this would not have been
done if the President hadnt called
the special session.
The fact is that the investigating
committees were authorised to
carry on their activities during the
summer recess and that the
Thomas committee, at least, was
fully prepared to do so. It hardly
intended, however, to explode its
half-baked sensations so far ahead
of the election. Its timing always
has been better than that; in fact,
it has been expert. Morning ses
sions have been chopped off quickly
when the afternoon papers had all
the headlines the committee
deemed necessary for one day.
Afternoon sessions have been man
aged with equal consideration for
the morning papers.
Washington newspapermen, fa
miliar with the Thomas tactics, did
not expect any new "revelations”
until late in the campaign—until,
that is to say, it was too late for
the revelations to be examined and
properly evaluated.
Rushed to Party’s Rescue.
The spotlight of the special ses
sion, however, required immediate
obfuscation and the Thomas com
mittee rushed to the party’s res
cue. A number of prominent
names were dragged through the
mire. The owner of one of these
names already has made the com
mittee look a little sick. Some of
the others may be able to do the
same, if given the same opportunity
that Alger Hiss was given. The
Thomas committee has not been
notably decent in this respect—wit
ness the case of Dr. Edward U.
Condon, who has waited a year for
the privilege of confronting the
committee.
Whether or not this particular
operation of the committee blows
up in its face, it would have been
safer, from the committee's stand
point, to have carried it out in Oc
tober and to have postponed the
rebuttal, if any, until after Novem
ber 2.
Be all this as it may, "commun
ism” will be the issue of this cam
paign if the Republican candidates
for Congress can make it so. Gov.
Dewey will have to fall back on
“efficiency in government.’’ And he
won’t mean the efficiency shown
by the Administration In handling
the espionage efforts of our actual
enemies during the war, the Ger
mans, Italians and Japanese.
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McLemore—
Goes Shopping
In Grand Bazaar
By Henry McLemore
ISTANBUL, Turkey.—If you could
see but one thing in Istanbul the
thing to see would be the Grand
Bazaar.
I have been told that there is
nothing quite
like It in the
world, and after
a halt down
visits I am quite
willing to be
lieve it.
It is housed In
a vast enclosure
whose cobble
stone streets
and sidewalks
have been worn
smooth by the
tread of cen
turies of shop
pers. So enor
mous is the
Henrr McLemore.
bazaar, so devious us streets ana
alleys, that people who have lived
in Istanbul for years still get lost
when in its midst. From the time
the doors open in the morning until
they close just before sundown, the
bazaar teems with people. There
must be upwards of 20,000 shoppers
and sellers under its roof all the
time.
Everything for Sale.
There is everything imaginable for
sale and the shops range from little
hole-in-the-wall, lighted by candles,
where second-hand buttons and
nails are sold, to elegant shops that
would do credit to the Rue de la
Paix. For example, right around
the comer from where a Turk sits
cross-legged selling nothing but
empty spectacle frames, we walked
into a shop where King Farouk’s
sister was examining a ring she was
having made—a neat little ice cube
of 26 carats.
When you go into one of the bet
ter shops the proprietor shuts the
door, lowers an iron shutter and
gives you his complete attention. He
seats you on beautiful oriental rugs
and coffee is served to you. Jean
and I found this a pleasant way to
get our morning coffee free.
But it is in the little middle-class
shops, of which there must be a
thousand or more, that the tourist
has the most fun. Haggling is a
game with these Turkish merchants,
and they want you to play along
with them. The first price they
quote is nowhere near what they
really expect to get. It is Just the
kick-off, so to speak, to start the
game. The customer says, "Yoke,”
which means, “No, not on your
Turkish tintype,” and offers half the
asking price. The game gets going
in earnest now, and half an hour
later a compromise will be reached.
Outside the shop, rival merchants
will be grimacing and beckoning
the buyer to come to their shops.
They cast aspersions on the honesty
and character of the man with
whom you are dealing, and if you
get close enough they will try to
lead you away.
No One Gets Angry.
All of this is done in good spirits,
however, with no one ever getting
angry.
The oldest restaurant in Istanbul
is somewhere near the center w uie
bazaar, and it is unique. It la built
in one of the huge pillars of thg
bazaar, and seats six people at on#
time. There is a table for two
downstairs where the cooking is
done, and a spiral staircase leads to
two tables upetalrs. The food is ex.
cellent in the pillar, and people
wait in line to eat there.
The giant auction rooms, where
dealers come from all over Turkey
to buy rugs, are said to handle more
valuable rugs than any other place
in the world. The antique shops
contain treasures from all over the
East—Persia, Russia, Turkey. There
are swords, jewels of all sizes and
descriptions, ikons, silver, furniture,
watches, all done by the masters of
their tunes.
It sho' does make a fellow wish
he had saved up his money and
hadn’t gone to so many ball games
and squandered so much money on
popcorn and peanuts while be was
there.
(Distributed by McNsutht Syndicsts. Ine.)
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