 Laund gene watches have won 10 World's Fair Grand Prizes, 28 gold medals and more honors for accuracy than any other timepiece. Laund gene, the world's most honored watch, is made and guaranteed by the Laund Gene Wittner Watch Company. It's time for the Laund Gene Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour brought to you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A presentation of the Laund Gene Wittner Watch Company, maker of Laund Gene, the world's most honored watch, and Wittner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Laund Gene. Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Laund Gene Chronoscope? Mr. William Bradford Huey, editor of the American Mercury, and Mr. Henry Haslett, editor of the Freeman and contributing editor to Newsweek Magazine. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable Clarence J. Brown, United States representative from Ohio. The opinions expressed are necessarily those of the speakers. Mr. Brown, our audience knows you, of course, sir, as a very vigorous Republican from Ohio and a longtime friend of Senator Taff. Now, I understand you've been traveling a good deal since Congress adjourned. Well, Mr. Huey, I have been in, I think, 21 or 22 states since Congress adjourned and have talked to a great many people. Have you been sort of keeping both ears to the ground out there? And if so, what have you found? Well, I've listened, believe it or not, that's unusual for a congressman, but I've actually listened more than I've talked in the last two or three months. And I've found some very interesting things I believe I can say to you that the American people are more interested in matters political and governmental today than they've ever been in the past. You expect 1950 to be a record political year as far as interest is concerned. I really believe so because the people are very much concerned about that which has been going on in government. I'm sure that one of your concerns on that trip, sir, was the fortunes of Senator Taff. Oh, yes. As Senator Taff's longtime or lifelong friend and as a Republican National Commitment for Ohio, of course, I'm very much interested in his welfare. And I found a lift to his candidacy that never existed in the past and I found a great many people supporting Senator Taff to in the past have supported other candidates for president. What reason do they give now, mainly? What is their feeling about Senator Taff? What's the main thing that they see in him now as a candidate? Mr. Hazard, I think the one thing that makes Bob Taff stand out in the minds of the average American today is his inherent honesty, his intellectual honesty, his personal honesty, the fact that he's told the people the truth as he sees it, the frankness with which he's discussed all sorts of public affairs, and they like it. And some people put that above whether they agree with them or not on a specific issue. Well, yes, I've had people say to me that they didn't agree with Bob Taff on everything he said or everything he did. But there was one thing that they did feel about him and that is that he was honest and that he expressed his own opinions, frankly, and fully to them, and that they could depend on him to do that which he believed was right. How about this isolationist tag that's been put on him? Do they feel that he is an isolationist now or what? No, but I honestly, Mr. Hazard, don't believe that isolationist tag is quite as damning as it was a short time ago, because somehow or other the glitter is worn off of some of the programs and things that we've been doing in the name of internationalism. And I think that the American people are agreeing with Senator Taff, and especially that which he expressed in his book, to the effect that the time has come when we must conduct our foreign relations in a light and self-interest. And of course that's what Senator Taff has always proposed, that we should think just a little bit about the United States as well as about the rest of the world. Now as a veteran member of Congress, sir, you mentioned their foreign policy. I know that you've had a great deal of interest in it. Are you in favor of our present foreign aid policy, sir? No, sir, I voted against the last foreign aid bill because that was to start a new economic aid program and military aid program. And I objected very strenuously to carrying on the economic aid program any further. You don't think you're guilty of isolationism? No, I do not. Especially on economic aid when you're taking into consideration the fact that Europe is now producing about 48% more goods than they produced at any pre-war year, during any pre-war year. And I believe that we have to stop pretty soon. We just can't finance all the economic and other aid. Do you think that people of Ohio are generally opposed to the foreign aid program now, sir? Well, I think they want to cooperate, providing other countries cooperate. But certainly there's a feeling in Ohio and in other states that I've visited that cooperation avenues should be a two-way street. They're a little disgusted over helping other countries who in turn do not meet their obligations in the United Nations and elsewhere. I'd like to ask you, Congressman, about this corruption issue. Now, I'd like to begin by asking about what you thought of the President's action in investigating his own administration. Do you think that that is a way of diverting attention from what Congress has brought out, or do you think it's a sincere effort to clean up on his part? Well, I can't, of course, pass on the President's sincerity, Mr. Hazard. But, of course, I'm sure you know that it's always been one of the fundamentals of politics if you're going to have to have an investigation, investigate yourself if you can rather than have someone else do it. And certainly the President has been a little slow in starting his investigation. These things have been called his attention for a long while. Well, do you think the congressional committees will lay off now that they'll stop? Oh, no. I think I can predict that there'll be more congressional investigations never before and rather peculiarly. Every time a congressional committee or a congressman looks into any given department or situation and lifts up a rock, he finds some sort of a worm crawling out underneath it. It's there everywhere they look. And that's the thing that discourages me and gives great concern to me as to what's happening to this country. There's a moral degeneration within government that's a dangerous thing. Since you've been in Congress a long time, sir, would you say that there is more corruption in Washington now than any time that you've been there? Well, in my honest opinion, I think this is the most corrupt administration the United States has ever had. And why do you think that's true, sir? Where would you place the blame? Well, I place the blame primarily on the fact that you had an administration that seems to think that the principles of government as espoused by the Pendergast machine in Kansas City was entirely all right, that each of the boys ought to be able to have their cut here and there. I don't want to accuse the president of that, but certainly there's been many things that have gone on. You think the president's attitude could have stopped? The president's attitude toward corruption in the past has perhaps contributed to the president's situation. Oh, yes, it goes back, you know, to the red herring thing. Instead of cooperating with Congress and exposing his other communists, why he called it a red herring, the Graham case where his personal position at the White House was engaged in grain speculation, the deep freeze situations, the White House to know we're getting the fur coat and all of those things have led other people in government to think that perhaps it was all right. It's the fact that these past things have been tolerated in your opinion. That's right, that's right. I heard it said, sir, that perhaps Congress is at fault because you pay these people so little down there. Well, I presume that some people may think that Congress ought to furnish each person who's employed in the government with enough salary to buy mink coats, but I've been able to buy one for my wife yet and nobody's offered me one. Well, do you think one of the results of the president's investigation of corruption will be the clearing of people that otherwise wouldn't be cleared? Now, the State Department cleared Mr. Service for about six times, I think, before he was finally let out. I hope that this investigation is a little more thorough and far-reaching and gets greater results in some of the investigations of communist activities in government. And I believe that perhaps with this man Murphy that you're sending down from New York that we may get a better job done, I hope so. Do you think that corruption will be the number one issue in 1952, sir? Well, I think it'll be one of the great issues. And tied in with that will be the waste and extravagance of this administration, the heavy tax burden and I found people everywhere interested in this tax burden it's reaching down to the little man and it's making the youngsters of today who because of taxes can no longer hope to buy a home or to start a new business that they're terribly interested in the tax burden and the tax question and this waste and extravagance and they're also interested in the Korean War. In the past, I believe you'll agree, sir, that there's been a general defection of youth away from the Republican Party. Well, I believe that you're going to have greater support for the Republican Party from the youth of America and from the independent groups than ever before. Now, right in this city, I understand you have a nonpartisan youth organization set up in support of the Republican Party and in support of Senator Tass's position. You think the Korean War and taxation are some of the contributing factors? Yes, I would say that I would say the corruption, the waste and extravagance in government, the Korean War, the tax burden are the prime issues. How about inflation? Well, of course, inflation is part of the waste and extravagance and the heavy burden of taxation. Yes, sir, very much so. Well, do you think that Congress will pass essentially all the appropriations that Mr. Truman will call for in the next session? No, Congress didn't give him all of the appropriations he wanted in the last session and they're going to be tighter this year than ever before because the boys, even the Democrats, have been back home and they've been hearing from the home folks and neither will Congress pass a new tax bill. I understand the President expects to ask for another tax major raised from five to ten billion dollars more, but he won't get it. Well, Mr. Truman is planning to spend something in the neighborhood of 85 billion dollars on the advanced notices of this now and I was wondering what you thought Congress would actually do. Well, I don't believe Congress will go along for that amount and I think you'll find a new session of Congress that starts on January 8th demanding a further cut in appropriations. I certainly shall vote for such cuts in appropriations as I have in the past. Well, as a last question, I'd like to, what are the Republican prospects then in 1952, as you've seen? Well, I think that the Republican Party will win in 1952. They'll certainly win if they make a fighting campaign. You can't win on a Me Too campaign, but you can win if you take the issues of the people and stand for the things that are right and against the things that are wrong and there are plenty of things that we can do that's right and there's plenty of things we can point to that have been wrong. Well, thank you very much, Congressman Brown, for being with us tonight. The editorial board for this edition of the Lawn Jean Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Henry Hazlett. Our distinguished guest was the Honorable Clarence J. Brown, United States Representative from Ohio. One of the most interesting monuments in New York is in Herald Square. It's a replica of the clock of medieval days which was simply a striking mechanism. There was no dial, no hands, just tolling bells to mark the time. And way back in the distant past, the word watch was first applied to a timepiece where the time could be read rather than heard. And way back in 1866, that's 85 years ago, the first Lawn Jean watch was made. It was added to the ideals that forever and forever the name Lawn Jean would be placed only on the finest watches which mechanical skills could produce. How well successive generations of Lawn Jean watchmakers have followed this ideal is reflected by the public honors Lawn Jean watches have won. Ten World Fair Grand Prizes, twenty-eight gold medals, and highest honors for accuracy from the leading government observatories. The Lawn Jean watches now being shown by foreign jewelers throughout the land reflect in every detail of performance and beauty the perfection which today's Lawn Jean watches have attained. It's a fair statement that throughout the world no other name on a watch means so much as Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch. Here are products of the Lawn Jean Wittner Watch Company since 1866, maker of watches of the highest character. This is Frank Knight reminding you that our program is brought to you three times weekly, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So once you join us again Wednesday evening at this same time for the Lawn Jean Chronoscope a television journal of the vital events of the hour just on behalf of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch and Wittner, distinguished companion for the world honored Lawn Jean sold and serviced from coast to coast by more than 4,000 leading jewelers who proudly display the emblem agency for Lawn Jean Wittner watches. This is the CBS television network.