Show NATIONAL NA AFFAIRS I Reviewed by CARTER FIELD Sidelights on a poll pall u of f Washington rT correspondents favoring falor Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination lI U. U U S. S gold II proposed l as S a n war proven proven- thc live t. t- t t v Government Gott agen agencies I cies c c. c are arc centering on un a ii rive drive d ri cc i against public III utilities In a recent poll of or Washington correspondents by Newsweek It was disclosed that th a n heavy majority of or the news writers in the capital think that President Roosevelt will be and that Sen Arthur H. H of at Michigan will be bo the Republican nominee The poll was confidential as to the views of ot any individual corre corre- I o So that the writer for tor the most partisan Republican organ could express his view freely treely that tha t Roosevelt Poosevelt would be nominated and elected whereas the correspondent for the Dally Daily Worker could predict the nomination of ot John Nance Gar Garner ner net by the Democrats and of ot James JamesW W W. Wadsworth by the republicans It If that is what he wanted lo to say There would be no repercussions This makes the poll 1011 a most Inter Interesting esting topic for conversation and presumably B R fair cross section of at atthe the views of the men whose occupation occupation tion it is to be expert observers Anyway they tiley arc ure being paid for it I Furthermore I this writer takes no exception to the list of 01 correspond correspond- correspondents eats selected by Newsweek for this poll He lIe Is rather effectively barred from such criticism because he was one of those polled I Yet tile the odds of ot the only bets the writer has heard about as to the nomination of Roosevelt for tor a third term are three to one against Whereas it Is almost impossible to conceive events between now and next July which will make Senator stand against repeal of or the arms embargo in the extra session helpful to his chances Actually the writer agrees with the majority of correspondents polled that the nomination of at Roose Hoose Roosevelt Roosevelt velt by the next Democratic tic convent conven convention conventI tion is likely despite the third term I issue Yet there Is no denying that most recent indications especially the swing of the left wing New Deal Dealers ers to Paul V. V McNutt are to the contrary Convention Situation Force farce Roosevelt l The question is whether the con can convention convention situation will not be such that t Roosevelt will have to take the nomination himself or see it go to lo some candidate who might not car car- carry carry ry on the New Deal policies The smart money is apparently on the side of his stepping down Rut nut some I cf of that smart money is known to tobe tl tobe be Garner money and this writer is far from tram being alone in saying that If it It Is to be Garner or a n third term Roosevelt would go for the tile third term As to there is no doubt that personally he is better known and liked lilted by the Washington correspondents polled than any oth other other er candidate Personally the writer writ er agrees again but the cold logic would indicate that at least three chance These men have a n better D of at New NewYork NewYork are re Thomas E E. wey York Gov John W. W Dricker Bricker of Ohio and Sen Robert Hobert A. A Taft Tatt of Ohio At the present moment subject moment subject to change without notice downtown New York is for tor Bricker and probably ably unalterably strongly against Dewey Dewcy This is something to be reckoned with for tor downtown New NewYork NewYork NewYork York is very potent in two ways Its It's where the big campaign contri contributions come from and socially it t ramifies through the tile country I Big frogs from hinterland little all pools are impressed beyond rhyme and reason when little frogs in the New York pool confide their political opinions And when the lady frogs in New York emit words of political wisdom sound or unsound It has an even greater effect on the lady from the hinterland pools 11 S. S ff eying Power louer t r Seen ax as a. a War If ar Preventive tc Use of this nations nation's gold buying power might have stopped slopped Soviet t a aggression on Finland in its tracks it if a suggestion recently made to President Roosevelt by an internationally known kno financial authority had worked out according to his formula It was based on the fact that the I Soviet produces a very large pot par portion tion of all the gold that the United States Slates treasury is buying from the rest of the world Actually Russia Hussla stands second in the list with the British empire first but Russia Hussla has been gaining and hopes to become No 1 I gold producer before long But Dut the only purchaser for tor this gold running well into the hundreds of at millions of ot dollars is Uncle Sam He lie pays 35 an ounce for it No No- Nobody Nobody Nobody body else practically is buying any The proposal of this expert was that President Roosevelt with no fanfare of publicity so that the So So- Soviet Soviet authorities would be embar embarrassed embarrassed viet let the Stalin government know that if 11 the Soviet govern I ment attacked Finland this govern O government ment would stop stOl buying gold from the Soviet Not that tha but this only I. I would serve s r e notice on all uli II I tin the tini i r governments In It the world n f II i g especially Japan and the nIhon nation n ii 11 it supplying Russia Russin with war mater nuu-n sits that thaI If it they took any flu r gold In payment p for their r pr in t- t tor or in any other way lit tho il wd States Slates would no longer hue bin c g cM M 11 from thorn them The TIll export expert In ht question u it I luti 11 1111 ly Iy confident that if tits this Iud hall tu rt tl f done would not t proceed against Finland lit Hi PC p p. pout MS out that there might night be bt onu iii on en n ng consequences s. s in Ihl Ih l tho t net result rt might ought be b to t tn f Ig ld d U j 1 ll l. l V. V ti h hI world war j d trade trad Hut But this la- la in HIM b. b I would be worth the cot cost Scheme Would Slit it Cost emt 11 II S. S S Government n 1 Dollar One On attractive part purt of the scheme he explains is that It II would not cost dol doi- dollar the United States government gl a lar or the risk of one oar life lite All it would cost would be bl Midi ct exports export a 1 c this country is now 1111 alit to make to III Russia nu and for which Russia is paying In gold Tins This country could still slid sell to Soviet bu II all that they could pay for tl in ul goods The only complication would be that it would no longer take gold The worst complication about the plan Is that It would require consid consid- considerable considerable erable scrutiny to prevent any Ittis- Ittis sian stan gold finding I Its way into our hands and yet at ut the same e time tune not interfere with the British selling us u usall unil usall all nil the gold they could produce While there Is no disposition to change the present gold guld policy un no under der which the United States Stales alone and virtually unaided Is pegging the price of gold at nt 35 an nil ounce even It if it were suddenly decided that this program should be bo abandoned it would not be stopped until after the present war Is over This is the first time that any uny sug suggestion has been made to use the enormous subsidy power of ot this gold told buying to coerce other nations Into a u line of conduct which the United States could approve Government Agencies in Drive t Utilities s 's The utility anti drive is under way A gullible reporter in Wash Wash- again I ington will be told by IY all u u sorts sons or OI public power functionaries that It doesn't mean a thing that ling that it was wa a apure apure I Ipure pure coincidence that Dave Lillen thai that John Carmody John Rankin George Norris and untold been laying down a n barrage against the electric companies No one in high command It Il Is asserted by the underlings pressed any button that ended the truce which many neu neutrals neutrals had hoped would work a per permanent manent peace But hit it does docs not take n a very cynical mind to conclude that there are just too loo many mossy individual actions and Impending Im Impending pending actions and that they all nil fit together too precisely into brio a pat pat- pattern pattern tern for the whole conglomeration to be banditry Instead of ot an un organ organ- organized organized military operation The tim tim- timing timing ing also is important It came cume cameon I Ion on the eve of ot the final date for tor in integration integration I of oC the holding companies companie under the death sentence being ad ad- administered administered ministered now by Jerome Frank of ot SEC It comes just a n few fw week before the scheduled beginning of ot the monopoly committees committee's probe into Investment trusts tied lied up with will 1 the utilities From this last inch dentally the utility halters bailers hope for great publicity from the big name associated in the public mind with Wall Wahl street which they expect will wOl willbe be flashed on an the front pages of every newspaper in the country The strategy is even clearer when one realizes that the new congress will meet In January right January right after tile the public has been thoroughly shell first the shocked by of or the power barons via the T. T N NE E. E E C. C C investigation and second the shameful from a military standpoint as Mr Ickes' Ickes lieutenants assure him will be dem demo ted Colossal Shifting of Equities Planned SEC is guarding its strategy with witha a secrecy so intense that one won won- lees po If It anybody except Jerome u Frank himself knows the details of ot its plan which it is admitted will shortly be sprung and involves a forced integration system which will be the most colossal shifting of ot business equities in history T. T N. N E. E Cs C.'s plans ore are fairly ob oh obvious aimed only at whipping John I Q Citizen into line behind what the I public power group wants from con con- gress 1 But Dut there is a curious indecision in the general staff of the anti forces as to hat what to ask congress t tt II do how do-how how to cash in quickly on all al this tremendous barrage and drive the country further down the road rond of complete socialism in the electric industry As o n matter of ot fact there are arc a few pinks among the reds The pinks would leave lewe all existing steam operations in private hands only insisting that all hydroelectric power should be public But Dut the indecision Is caused by lack of ot conviction that congress will willbe willbe willbe be as amenable as when it was handing out TVA appropriations loan and grant authorizations for Ickes to use in subsidizing municipal electric plants The biggest factor worrying the public power group is the coal industry not t only the mine owners but the United Mine Work Work- ers They dont don't want any more waterpower water plants and they are letting getting more potent on Capitol Hill Hilland and more aggressive all the time IBell Syndicate syndicate Service |