| Show Round Merry e By Drew Pearson and Robert S. S Allen WASHINGTON WASHINGTON-If If you could open a certain door to a private conference room in the war department you would get a dramatic picture of aid to Britain Here there is no debate of pros and cons Here aid to Britain is already in action It is a meeting of the tank committee made up of ordnance experts of the war department plus U. U S. S manufacturers of tanks and in addition addition addi add tion representatives of the British purchasing commission All AU are sitting in the same room Purpose of the tank committee is to help the British and nobody makes any bones about it itOn On walking into the room you mi might ht suppose suppose suppose sup sup- pose the remarks of the generals and business leaders are being bro broadcast for the public because because because be be- cause microphones are placed all along the conference conference conference con con- ference table But the mikes are solely for recording the conversations for confidential files Stenographers take shorthand notes and anda a recording machine takes down every word spoken during two and a half hours of discus discus- sion The discussion deals with coordination of industry in the production of tanks tanks for for Brit Brit- ain am The presiding officer is Brigadier General G. G M. M Barnes Barne of the U. U S. S army but it is the British interest that is served Complete Industrial Cooperation Half a dozen manufacturers of tanks are present present four four of them producing tanks for the British the others giving advice All cooperate opening their books lending plans offering to supply parts The old concept of competition is forgotten These companies may be keen rivals in other fields but here there is no ri ri- ri valry First the British order of must be filled Lying ahead in the wide open spaces of the lend lease bill are limitless more orders more rs-more more tanks than any country ever saw including Ger Ger- many Why talk of competition The room is quiet save for the one voice speaking The microphone carries his words to the slowly revolving disc A production manager manager manager man man- ager of Baldwin Locomotive or Steel is telling the representative of Pullman Standard Standard Stand Stand- ard or Pressed Steel Car that he has plenty of this part or that or he can supply extra parts in return for another part he is not tooled up to make It is a great pooling of industrial effort an effort to produce in high gear as many tanks as the British can ship across the Atlantic And what is most significant these significant these are tanks to carry the war to the Continent tanks Continent tanks by which Britain will take the offensive Party Big Biff Shots vs Willkie It is supposed to be a dark secret ecret but Republican Republican Republican Re Re- publican circles are churning over reports that certain G GOP 0 P big shots inspired a cliQue of Young Republicans to oppose Wendell L. L Willkie at the re recent ent convention in Des Moines To be specific the G GOP 0 P leaders who are opposing Willkie are Joe Pew of the Sun Oil family and longtime long- long timp time financial angel of Pennsylvania ism Ernest Weir of Pittsburgh lead of the Weirton Weirton Weirton Weir- Weir ton Steel company and a row of r Iron and steel corporations which have embroiled in I feuds with or organized labor Herbert Hoover who never did enthuse over Willkie and whose whose- isolationist views were given a severe jolt by Willkie's trip to London There are even reports that one of the above went to the extent of contributing cash to pay the expenses of certain Young Republican leaders leaders lead lead- ers era to Des Moines in order to tp lead an attack on Willkie The attack however r failed The Des DesMoines DesMoines Moines meeting ended by passing a resolution approving Willkie's position Round Merry that brat asked a reporter pointing pointing point point- ing log to a frayed rotogravure picture of a baby pasted on the wall of the civil aeronautics authority authority authority au au- au- au press section That crisply replied Miss Patricia C A A press official is Franklin Delano Roosevelt aged two Senate clerks say that at least two-thirds two of the senators are doodlers Con Congressmen esmen dont don't get a chance to doodle because they dont don't have desks in the house On March 4 all records for capitol secretaries will be broken when Garrett Garrett Garrett Gar- Gar rett Whiteside secretary to Senator Hattie Caraway celebrates his anniversary of ser ser- vice Beginning in 1907 he has served four Arkansans Arkansans Representatives Representatives Ben Cravens and Otis Wingo and Senators Thaddeus Caraway and Hattie Caraway About three-fourths three of the money involved in tax appeals is returned to taxpayers according to a recent pr private analysis by treasury Of in tax assessments before the board of tax appeals only or 23 28 per cent was wa va collected by the government in the year ending October 1940 Distributed by United Feature Syndicate |
