| Show NATIONAL AFFAIRS Reviewed by Sy CARTER FIELD No Ao chance for Joseph P. P I Kennedy to 10 succeed Henry Jr as secre secretary tary tar of o f the tIle treasury r. 1 Kennedy 1 it seems scents is all washed up l Ir Big insurance mire ance companies es next con concern corn cern to be he investigated it Fa governor stirs stir up T 11 1 Deal over flood con con- I WASHINGTON Joseph P Ken Ken- nedy will not be secretary of ot the I Treasury while Franklin I- I D. D Roose Roosevelt sell velt Is President President- Tills This will remain true truo whether Henry l Jr re re- retires retires tires or not In the language of ot the theY thew ward Y w II a r d politicians Kennedy is washed up so far as this ad od administration ministration is con con- corned a Is just ns liS strong ns as at nt any time lima in the thelast thelast last lut few tew years It If he retires at nt all 1111 It will Jr J 1 P. P Kennedy Kenard be ot of his own voll you lion tI on The driving force torce behind the move to get et out of ot the trens treas treasury 1 ury does docs not come from the While White House It comes from Irom Henry Mor Mot Sr father of ot the secretary The elder cider 1 thinks Henry has given enough of ot his time to the government He lIe is proud of ot his son Although the secretary of ot the treasury has hns never made any public pub lic statements which seemed to toI I disapprove of at any New Deal poli poll policies polities ties des always was extremely loyal to the President and carried out White While WhiteHouse House orders to the utmost of ot his ability II ty nevertheless he has stood out cut ns as one of the sound tipples apples in inthe Inthe inthe the New Deal barrel As one une or two New Deal critics have put It he has seemed to be a sane man entirely surrounded by crackpots In most of ot the battles waged In Inside side the New Deal on spending I pump priming relief taxation and harassing of ot business has hns always been bren on the conserva conservative conservative tive live side fighting as ns long fang ong ns as there was a n chance but loyally obeying the decision once made It On Side Sirle of o Orthodoxy in rights Fight Fig 0 on ms Fiscal Affairs Most important of ot nil all the news ot of these encounters these fights lights of ot on the side of orthodoxy in fiscal affairs affairs ns as for tor example budget balancing never balancing never came from It H is very probable that thaus thau's battles inside the New Deal would never have be become S. S come known had It not been bren for tor his r opponents in these battles who who fed the stories out to sympathetic news news- newspaper newspaper paper men while they were still hot with indignation against Morgen Morgan 11 thou's stubborn arguments in favor tavor of ot the old-fashioned old thrift theory of ot economics c Incidentally has been almost n a fono one wolf walt Even some somo ot of those who agreed with his econom- econom economIcs Ics ics tor for example Jesse II n. n Jones of the Reconstruction R Finance corpora corporation tion have not liked him overmuch oV But through It all nil has remained the close friend ot of the President Mrs has hns been the close friend of Mrs Roose Roosevelt welt CIt and ot of their loyalty and devo devo- devotion devotion devotion tion there Is no question whatever Joe Kennedy curiously enough has hns not seemed to 0 realize In what n a whispering gallery he was living I This Is for tor he was obliged to listen to volumes of ot advice about the dangers of ot what he might say while the State Slate department was giving Ing him the th college course In diplo diplo- diplomacy diplomacy diplomacy macy to It subjects all political cal appointees In the diplomatic I li before permitting them to I sail tor for foreign capitals i Kennedy I it is very reliably re re- rei reported reS S i ported has made mode i ported as some very point point- i a ed ed remarks about the New Deal to certain American friends And thes with extraordinary prompt prompt- liness ness have been repeated to r i s 's by by gentlemen who would be pleased fO tt to ta have ave Kennedys Kennedy's foot toot slip Insurance Big Rig Companies Mit I oC i A Soon lo to Ue lle Investigated f Very shortly the monopoly In es r. r committee will turn its Its at at- attention to the big insurance compa compa- compa I 1 ales liver el since there has been a 11 New Deal Dial there has been an eager eager- eagerness ness on the part of the left wingers A to get after these huge financial in In In- Institution The two things that will be gone into very y thoroughly according to the frank Crank statements of those inter inter- interested interested ested d will b b the investment policy of ot the managements of these com corn companies panics and the loans that the com corn companies panIcs make on policies A bitter battle is expected here for tor the in- in inSUl w SUl mm ante ance f have a good deal dealu u of the pride of ot authorship or ors s achievement so to speak in their investments and they feel very ery strongly against liberalizing their policy loan system This last can be dismissed so sok k 5 5 briefly that it will be be stated first Insurance officials usually favor tavor a 6 II per cent interest rate on such C 1 M loans There are two vo major malar eon CIon One Is to make the loans easy to obtain That is for foi forthe the policy holders holder's benefit and to tc tomake make the Ule holding ot of policies an nd ad vantage v Out But the other Is to tb make th tha interest rate high so that the borrower will have havo an nn incentive to tc topa pay pa off the loan thereby clearing his policy polley and thus maintain the maximum ot of Insurance protection which of ot course cour e is the main object of ot the policy polley and the main business of tho the company New Dealers do not like the high rate because one ot of the objectives of ot New Deal Dell economics Is to put interest rates down This policy has already hurt tho the Insurance compa compa- companies companies nies ales enormously It has reduced the Interest rate rale on bonds bonc which formerly paid much greater grenter sums into the Insurance company treasur les ies As a 11 natural result this has reduced very heavily the dividends paid to policy holders or credited on their policies Inthe In form of ot additional additional addi Insurance Terrific Falling Off Oil of 01 Investment in Utilities is Not only has hns New Deal policy reduced re re- reduced re- re reduced tho the rate ot of Interest on gov government government bonds but It has reduced the interest on the bonds of private corporations This phase was planned that way hut Dut another nother phase was not Yet as n Q result ot of government competition with the electric Industry there was a 11 terrific falling fall Ins oft off of ot new Investment In the utilities and antl as ns a result of ot S. S S E E. C restrictions restrictions and other New Deal ac ne activities private corporations Issued so few new bonds that It became a n problem for the Insurance compa companies nies or for that matter any investors Investors tors to place their funds As a result bonds already out outstanding standing which were known to be good advanced In price thus lowering low ering the return on any new pur purchases purchases chases that the insurance companies might make malIc Aiken Ail Stirs mT New NU Ural Deal Circles There is more bitterness Inside New Deal circles over the stand taken by Gov Coy George U D. I Alllen Aiken of Vermont on the flood control and power situation than Is generally realized Tho real tip oil tip ol ut of t the feeling Is revealed In the outburst on the tile floor of the house just after Aillen Aiken took his stand by Rep John Joint JohnE E. E E of ot Mississippi Rankin charged that Aiken Alken was making a bid for the Republican presidential nomination nom Inn with tho the backing jacking of the New England power trust rust Rep Charles A A. Plumley of ot Ver Vcr Vermont mont moat defended his governors governor's attl tude saying that it was a question ot of if whether the federal government had tad a n right to take state stale property without the tho states state's consent Actually neither presented the whole hole picture and the White House Houses Is s not giving it either cither Boiled Dolled down New Jew England has hns a serious flood problem It Is bigger than any anyone one state Headwaters in both bolh New Hampshire and Vermont pour Into rIvers particularly the Connecticut which flood out territory in Massa Massa- Massachusetts and Connecticut Hence there is plenty of reason for or regarding this whole Connecticut valley alley as ns one problem and a n ted fed fedral oral ral problem rather rother than a problem for or the Individual states concerned Actually there would be no dispute about this if It it were not for the pow power er or angle iron ironi Jr i Connecticut alley ralley Miniature 1 T. F V A. A But the New Deal Dent would like to tomake tomake tomake make a miniature TVA of ot the Connecticut Con valley Whether it goes far or not It Is determined to control the power situation Involved In any dam construction for the purpose of at flood relief The purposes of ot the administration are perfectly simple It wants to handle that power It wants to fix rates somewhat hat com com- comparable comparable parable to TVA rates It His Is not surprising that the White While WhiteHouse House and public power advocates nd do not understand this this- situation On the surface it would seem as ns If It most of tho the New England Englanders l- l ers and nd particularly z the tho Vermont con sumers would be as r reager eager for tor cheaper electric rates rotC's as the a a people of at the Ten Tennessee valley towns But Dut for some reason there it h very vcr little gen Sen Norris evidence of at this us de do despite spite the allegation that th the electric rates in Vermont are arc much higher than th those charged by the private ate companies in the Tennessee valley prior to TVA TV A. A But an on extraordinary states' states rights feeling has developed eloped in Vermont They will do their UH ir own 11 regulating they seem to say sa It may be recalled that a while back Governor GO Alken Aiken was hailed in inmany Inmany inmany many quarters as ns a new type of Republican Re Re- Republican Republican publican a B member of a progressive progressive sive sl group which was ns going to lead the G. G G O. O P. P out of its reactionary reactionary morass In fact tact he was fre frequently mentioned as a presidential possibility So the fact that he is attacking the New Deal on the electric power question which is one of ot the very vry first among the many progressive issues Is very annoying to the White WhiteHouse Whitehouse House louse to Sen Seon George Geore W W. Norris who himself was once regarded as ashe the he liberal White Hope of the he Re Re- Republican publican party part and to John Rankin leader eader of the utility batters in the I house louse CI 0 Bell Syndicate Sen Ice |
