If my maternal grandfather was alive today, he would quite likely be an active participant here. In his time, the primary means of community outreach was through the nation's newspapers. The "Letters to the Editor" pages, to be precise.
Judging from the box of papers on my desk, I'd say he devoted a fair amount of time to utilizing the medium to express his political point of view. When I discovered this treasure trove, which covers more than twenty years, I decided to transcribe them so they could be shared with my family.
When I came across this particular letter, it struck me that, unknown to me in my youth, he was obviously a strong conservative - a not unexpected position for a successful businessman to take.
Most readers today may find themselves mystified by many of his comments, primarily because they refer to historical issues most of you are likely to be unfamiliar with. For that reason, I will do my best to provide as many reference links as possible.
This letter fascinated me, because I found myself amazed that I hold so many of his concerns about radicals (as my continuing "Snowflakes" articles attest) in common.
As you read this, I hope you will be able to understand how appropriate it is today, and how little the political issues which concerned my grandfather differ from those of today. The letter is undated, but its contents place it in the period from 1937 to 1939. I have made no attempt to correct his spelling, but have broken some paragraphs up for easier reading.
Without further ado...
Will Ellis Miller
We Must Stem This Tide of Radicalism
When Franklin D. Roosevelt was first elected President, he made some very prompt and effective moves to stem the tide of defeatism which had been sweeping the country since the debacle of 1929. Those steps were taken upon the advice of a very wise and frank friend, Eddie Howe, who, at the time was the President’s right hand man, as well as secretary. Confidence was, to a very great extent restored; the stampede toward defeatism was retarded, and even some of the President’s former political enemies heaved a sigh of relief and expressed commendation. Shortly after this, Eddie Howe was stricken and died. Then there occurred one of the most peculiar phenomenons in all political history.
Theorists in governmental and economic affairs, who had formerly promulgated their day dreams in the cloistered air of the college lecture room, began to flock to Washington to whisper into the ears of a much confused President their fantastic dreams of utopia. The loss of Roosevelt’s friend and adviser, Howe, appears to have left him defenseless against these visionary dreamers. Very soon he began to swing toward the left into fields untried and unknown, fields filled with unrealities and economic pipe dreams.
Another peculiar characteristic that developed about this time was Roosevelt’s growing resentment at advice from men thoroughly experienced in political economy, finance and business. He was fast becoming imbued with the Utopian dreams of his advisers and very soon there began that long series of alphabetical connotations which has practically exhausted the English alphabet, and, if carried much further, will necessitate the addition of numerals or the adoption of the Chinese alphabet. Through each of these alphabetical drain pipes the tax payer’s money is flowing in millions. The President and his advisers soon learned that many of these radical theories, and much of the insidious doctrine, was going to be hamstrung by the Supreme Court in its interpretation of the Constitution. That document had been established in a day when “political expediency” was an unknown term to a public official. The interpretation and enforcement of the constitution had been delegated to our Supreme Court. With the full support of the citizens of our country, those rights, as laid down in that great document, were jealously guarded and its tenets enforced without fear or favor. As nothing rouses a radical more than to be restrained in the promulgation of his ideas, there were soon heard disparaging remarks about the Supreme Court, and aspersions were cast upon the personnel and their intelligence. They were designated as “the nine old men” and their decisions were referred to as “horse and buggy days.” In an effort to destroy first, the confidence of the people in that body and the justice of its decisions, and second, to build up, by slow degrees and much studied propaganda, the claim that the Court needed “revising”. Such “revision” could only mean one thing to these radicals: A change in the personnel of the Supreme Court from disinterested and experienced statesmen to mediocre and inexperienced puppets of the New Deal regime. It was quite evident that if the approval of the people was to be secured, it would be necessary to inculcate in the minds of the people the radical doctrine of the New Deal. The second phase of this movement was soon underway: A fire of criticism against the business men whose logic, knowledge and experience had caused them to question the wisdom of such trends. This propaganda was based on the fanciful theory that the interest of the common man, so-called, and the big business man, were diametrically opposed, and that a government could not serve the two classes of citizens alike, because of this supposed conflict of interests. So business leaders became “Torries” and “Vested Interests.” Such a departure from the fundamentals upon which our government had been established and under which it had reached the greatest degree of prosperity known to the world, was productive of class conflict. Radicalism can never exist, much less increase in power, unless its advocates can create in the minds of its followers a feeling of inferiority and a sense of injustice. Unfortunately for our country, the crash of 1929, with its subsequent and tragic loss to millions of our citizens, produced a very fertile soil for the seeds of discontent and those the New Deal were now sowing with a lavish hand, and, I might add, with millions of the tax payers’ money. Soon the whole country was in a turmoil and such fantastic dreams as “The Townsend Plan”, “Thirty every Thursday”, “Man-Kind United”, and a thousand and one other organizations sprang into existence and began preying upon citizens, whose minds had been thoroughly prepared for this sort of thing by the acts of the President and his advisers. The next step in the creation of this class consciousness was taken on behalf of the so-called “laboring man”. With the split in organized labor, John L. Lewis assumed the presidency of the C.I.O. and joined forces with the New Dealers to multiply, by a thousand fold, the discontent and class consciousness which had been set in motion by the New Dealers. This conflagration, fanned by the hard hitting radicals under the direction of Mr. Lewis, and an encouraged by the blessing and hearty approval of the New Deal prophets, swept the country like wildfire. In the mean time, lacking faith in the leadership at Washington, and extremely apprehensive as to the results of such trends in our government, business men throughout the country began to caution against following the New Deal theories, only to bring down upon their heads the condemnation of the New Dealers. During the first few years the country had turned rapidly toward recovery from the depression. Now, with rapidly waning confidence, this gain was quickly dissipated. Unfortunately there was no outstanding leader or organization to oppose the New Deal policy, or to offer a more logical and practical program. With millions of the tax payer’s money at their command, bureaus and commissions created by New Dealers, have multiplied by the hundreds and these alphabetical bees, like stampeding cattle, are fast getting beyond the control of even those responsible for their creation. We believe history will record as the climax of this type of stupidity, the attack on and the final change in the Supreme Court. Under extreme pressure and criticism, some members of the Supreme Court resigned, others died, and in each case they were promptly replaced with mediocre individuals who had previously given enthusiastic assent to every step taken by the New Deal. Perhaps the crowning achievement of the administration was the bill introduced by Senator Wagner of New York, which placed organized labor apart as a class of citizens entitled to the government’s special consideration. The old foundation stone of ”Just and equal rights, special privileges to none” had long been discarded as one of the shibboleths of early American History. One of the most vicious points in the Wagner Act was in establishing a Labor Relations Board to determine when, where and how this special law had been violated and to issue decrees and manifestos providing for adequate redress and punishment. This board soon began to issue edicts and rulings which were plainly the usurpation of judicial authority, and the old doctrine, that a citizen was entitled to be tried by an impartial jury of his superiors<1>, was set aside. It was no longer a case of “Presumed innocent until found guilty”. The Supreme Court now, having been completely “New Dealized”, upheld the National Labor Relations Board and, by its decision, ruled that the board possessed a degree of legal authority, never even dreamed of by the subservient law makers who passed the Wagner Act. One of the most outstanding examples of this was in the recent decision, based on the Labor Board’s ruling, that no man had the right to govern his own business; that if he was asked to employ certain individuals, but declined because of their radical tendencies, or because he felt that they would be a disturbing influence within his organization, he would be violating the Wagner Act and could be forced, not only to give employment to such individuals, but could be required to reimburse them for such financial loss as they had sustained due to his not having employed them. We need not go into the strike situation, or the condition which prevails today in the ranks of organized labor. Led by radicals whose entire minds are filled with the class doctrine of New Dealism, the situation is apparently beyond control of the government. They have demanded wages greater than industry has ever before paid and when one claim is satisfied, they immediately advance another, with the result that we have more strikes in effect at one time during this year than was ever before known in the history of this country. Racketeers like Scalise, Bioff<2>, and others have been apprehended and dethroned, but there were many others of the same ilk to take their place. These same New Dealers, who created this condition, now tell me that we are facing an extreme emergency; that the fate of our country is at stake, but, fantastic as it may seem, they tell us that we must meet this emergency without removing any of the special privileges which have been granted to this one particular class of citizen. At the same, time, millions of our young men are being drafted under this same emergency, and required to go into training and give their lives, if need be, to the protection of their country, for the magnificent sum of $21.00 per month. The same amount, I am reliably informed, is paid as a daily wage to the foremen in the electrical workers union on government construction for supervision only. Apparently the needed sacrifices so often referred to by the President are to be made by one class only, the soldier boy! I believe that our country is facing an emergency, and I believe that there is only one way in which to meet it; every citizen of this country must be accorded exactly the same treatment, and the same protection of the laws, but he must, in turn, show the same obedience to them. This tide towards radicalism, be it designated as Naziism, Fascism, Communism, or New Dealism must be stemmed<3>. There has got to be an “about face” on the part of the heads of our government. Unless the citizens have confidence in their leaders, it will be impossible for this country to adequately prepare for future emergencies. Confidence in and respect for legally constituted authority must be restored. The interests of our country transcend the interests of any individual or group of individuals. No citizen, or group of citizens, has the right to demand special privileges at the expense of other citizens. Respect for our Supreme Court can never be restored until its personnel is composed of men who value the Constitution above the acclaim of a visionary President. Our courts are established for the purpose of settling disputes of conflicting interests between citizens. If I, personally, attempt to settle my own disputes with some other citizen, and in so doing endanger the lives or the welfare of other parties, I will be promptly hauled into court and restrained by the proper authorities. Unnecessary strikes affect the welfare of every citizen, and not just the parties concerned in the dispute. Therefore, to preserve the rights of both parties to the dispute, as well as the general public, there must be enforced arbitration. If we can trust our judicial system to protect our interests and rights in all other matters, we most certainly can delegate to a like body the authority to arbitrate disputes between organized labor and its employers, and insure both just and fair treatment. Suffice it to say, that whatever steps are necessary to take, the citizens of this government are going to demand that we stem the tide of radicalism and class favoritism which has destroyed many European governments, and which will destroy our government, if not stopped. A bill recently drawn by Patterson of the Attorney General’s office, and ready to be introduced in both the houses of Congress and the United States Senate, proposes to give the President authority to confiscate, and take over, any property, tangible or intangible, and to sell it at any price, or even give it away, if he wishes, without let or hindrance from anyone. It appears to me that such a bill should cause Hitler and Stalin to smile! At least, it should cause the American people to wake up to the fact that we are moving so rapidly toward totalitarianism that our rights and privileges are fast disappearing. How long, Oh, Lord, how long will the American people sleep?Notes
- 1. This is interesting, as the Sixth Amendment only requires juries to be impartial. Frankly, I have no idea what my grandfather meant by this. “Jury of peers” appears nowhere in the Constitution.
- 2. Probably Frank Scalise and William Morris Bioff, American gangsters of the period.
- 3. Note that my grandfather makes no distinction here - no matter what they wish to call themselves, they are all the same. I concur with this view.
 | Certified Curmudgeon “The only way a society can avoid being crushed by the burden of its idiots is if the non-stupid work even harder to offset the losses of their stupid brethren.”--Carlo M. Cipolla |  |