Well Chosen

President Parks Politics In Selecting Defense Board

It is going to be hard for the most determined "Roosevelt is always wrong" man to pick any serious flaw with his selection of a National Defense Commission. They have been seeing things all over the place and reporting that he was about to appoint some dreadful New Deal hack politico to run the works. In his column today, General Hugh Johnson takes very seriously the rumor that Harry Hopkins had been broached for the job. Maybe he had been, for all we know. Maybe the "always wrong" boys made the President think better of it. They'll claim as much, anyhow.

But in any case--. Leon Henderson is the only New Deal insider on the board, though several of the others, of course, have more or less sympathy with the New Deal.

Stettinius is the key man in the basic industry for armament, steel--can call up the best brains in the industry for his purposes and speed production at will. In addition, he is also a key figure to the financial structure of the nation.

Knudsen seems to be the acclamation choice as the finest production genius in the country, particularly in the key motor industry. Moreover, he seems to be equally gifted in persuading men to his purpose. Even General Ironpants will have to applaud his choice, for he had already called for it himself.

Hillman is one of this sanest and most intelligent labor leaders of the country, has stood apart from the ferocious Lewis-Green feud, has the confidence of all factions and industry.

Davis and Budd both know their fields as thoroughly as anybody and have done good work in their jobs. Miss Elliott has made a specialty of the consumer and his problems.

And as for Henderson--the appointment of the SEC Chairman to the board is by no means a bad idea. If only to emphasize what nobody should lose sight of, that the country will not stand this time for the repetition of the profiteering of the last war.

Text

Which Is Not Without Present Application

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him the his power, and his seat, and great authority.

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon that gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying:

Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?

And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his voice in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and towns and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Here is the patience and the faith of the Saints.

Casualty

The Cotton Farmer Now Joins Tobacco Grower

The British Government has ordered the suspension of all importing of American cotton after May 30, save under special license for special cases. The reason, of course, is the necessity of conserving British cash resources for buying war materials in the United States. The Government explains that since the war began it has imported more than 1,900,000 bales of American cotton, more than has been used by the mills of England in any one recent year.

Thus the Southern cotton farmer goes to join the Southern tobacco farmer, as the result of a war which the isolationists have assured us is "not our damned business." Last year the total exports of Southern cotton fell to the appalling total of less than 4,000,000 bales. And now at a stroke, one half of that remaining market is wiped out.

But that, masters, is only the starter. If Britain stays in the war and American credits are opened to her, the market may come back after a year. But if she loses the war this year or next year or anytime at all, the market is gone for good. It is no part of Adolf Hitler's plan to buy materials from us, but to lay hands on territory which would produce them under the Nazi flag. And with a victory for Adolf, the fall of the British, French, Dutch, and Belgian empires, nearly the whole of our export trade will be wiped out--a loss representing a minimum of three billion dollars a year, and a loss which will have its repercussions throughout American industry and agriculture.

Nor is there any reasonable ground for believing that we can replace this lost market with Latin America. We cannot buy what Latin America has to sell for the good reason that we already have surpluses of most of it--wheat, beef, and so on. Hence South America cannot buy from us, either. And probably wouldn't, anyhow, for the excellent reason that our goods are necessarily higher priced than those which will come from the new Nazi state if it arises.

But the war, of course, is not our business.

Bad Faith

Bob Reynolds Uses Alarm To Put Pet Bills Across

"A few weeks ago," gloated Bob Reynolds yesterday when the Senate adopted two amendments he sent up. "I cannot have made such proposals without being told that they were unAmerican."

They are unAmerican.

In addition, they are cruel.

And besides that they are stupid--as stupid, in a spuriously plausible way, as their sponsor.

The first of the Reynolds amendments, to bar employment in interstate commerce of Communists and Bund members, we attacked yesterday on the premise that it would place every working man at the mercy of spiteful charges and put employers in a quandary. "Communist" and "Nazi," we said, are terms used indiscriminately to describe a fellow who doesn't think exactly as you do.

But the second amendment is worse and more inept than the first. It would forbid any interstate industry to have more than ten per cent of aliens among its employees.

The gross un-Americanism of this Reynolds brain-child becomes apparent when you translate it into terms of a hard-working family here in this country by our own permission, and quite legally, rapidly and cheerfully Americanizing themselves, already with their first naturalization papers taken out.

For no exception is made in the case of aliens who applied for citizenship, any more than a distinction is made between aliens of good character and bad.

The latent cruelty in the proposal shows up when you combine with it the legislation, already passed by Congress, to forbid relief to aliens. Is it necessary, in order to preserve this fine thing we call democracy, to take a man's job away from him and then deny him and his family succor?

The stupidity of it is most glaring of all. Consider that this country's about to embark on a gigantic defense undertaking which will require heroic efforts of its key industries. Consider that some of those key industries, like steel and machine tools, employ great proportions of skilled alien workers.

In that light, this amendment, which the Senate hysterically adopted, is exposed not as an anti-Fifth Column measure but a measure to play right into the hands of the enemy.

We are not saying that Bob Reynolds has made himself a willing party to any such treasonable plot, but his motive is shabby enough in any event. It is to take advantage of the agitation over Fifth Columns and Trojan Horses to sneak through his cherished bills to exalt Americanism of the Vindicator type at the expense of humble, but equally worthy, people who happened to come later to the land of opportunity.