Show NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS By Ray Tucker Telegrams Telegram's Washington Columnist WASHINGTON President Roosevelt has asked Harold L. L Ickes to draft a report on the establishment of a centralized government bureau In his recen recent lecture to the White House press conference for publishing General Gen Gen- eral Marshalls Marshall's secret testimony F D R was breaking the bad news news gently At a recent cabinet meeting Mr Roos Roosevelt velt raised the question question question ques ques- tion of the need for a single clearing house for government and defense news He did not seem to have any definite id ideas as and simply tossed the suggestion on the table Mr Ickes spoke up immedi immedi- Ill handle that for you Mister President he said Other cabin cabinet t members glared Finally Mr Roosevelt replied All right Harold you prepare me a report on what you think we ought Aught to do With the aid of Attorney General General General Gen Gen- eral Robert H H. Jackson Mr Ickes is throwing his ideas into black and white While he may not propose any system of censorship censorship censorship censor censor- ship It may amount to the same same thing Friendly officials will be forbidden to talk to reporters and and the correspondents will obtain only such news as the government controlled bureau sees fit to release students of Df Mr Roosevelt Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt detect a striking similarity between his handing handling handling han han- ding of the third-term third issue and his present approach to problems problems problems lems of war and censorship No subject irritated the pr president president sl- sl dent so visibly as any inquiry about his third-term third plans before before before be be- fore he had disclosed them He told reporters who asked the question to don a dunce cap and go stand in the corner He bridles in the same way when It Is suggested that his desire to withhold secret testimony is tantamount to censorship He protests that his ideas are mis mis- understood Democratic contractors on the west coast are flooding Washington Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington with bitter complaints against favoritism to Henry J. J Kaiser of Oakland He has become become become be be- come the administrations administration's fair- fair haired boy in various building fields through his friendship with Harold L. L Ickes and Tommy Cor Con coran For men who hate corporate bigness Ickes and Corcoran have built the Kaiser interests into a colossus His firm was one which helped build Boulder dam and he shares a contract for construction construction construction con con- of Grand Coulee and Bonneville When he tangled with the cement trust trust R F C funds en enabled bled him to creat create his own own cement corporation From profits on cement an another government job Shasta dam he probably will amortize this loan Next he got a contract to build 60 cargo ships for the British and 47 for this country He has pledged potential profits on this deal as collateral against a 9 R F C loan for erection of a new magnesium plant It is designed to break the Mellon in interests interests' interests interests' interests interests' in- in control of this tm's industry Mr Kaiser apparently figures that he has a semiofficial status He declined to contribute to the Democratic campaign chest for fear it might be a violation of the Hatch act This administration has such sucha a taking way with corporations that it makes the Tammany of Dick Crokers Croker's day look like a piker The only difference is that the new dealers shuffle the corporate corporate corporate cor cor- cards legally while hile Dick sometimes had an extra ace up his political sleeve The S SEe SEC E C threw the Associated Gas Electric company also the corporation into bankruptcy bankruptcy bankruptcy bank bank- and its former owner into the hoosegow probably de de- But then it stacked A AGE G G E with favorite S SEe SEC E C officIals officials officials of of- at salaries ranging from to Few years ago ago P ex-P ex W A Administrator Administrator Administrator Ad Ad- Horatio B. B Hackett resigned He joined a b building company got a healthy loan from the R F C and erected one of the capitals capital's l largest office tures The R F C and other federal federal federal fed fed- eral agencies moved in and in-and and the revenue from their rent will amortize the R F C loan soon Senator Burton K Wheelers Wheeler's revelation of Americas America's weakness in the air was not a senatorial guess The facts w were re furnished to him by an authoritative and hand first-hand source which cannot be divulged for obvious reasons When Mr Wheeler gave out the unwelcome news President Roosevelt opined that anybody could deal in figures Henry L. L Stimson flatly repudiated them So the senator wrote to the secretary sec see seers rs tary of war asking him to set forth any errors or inaccuracies in the inventory of American power So far Mr Wheeler has received neither acknowledgment ment nor reply of any kind House Republicans and Democrats Democrats Democrats Dem Dem- have ganged up against Ambassador BIddles BIddle's request that the government reimburse him for furnishings and dart d'art destroyed when the Germans Germans Germans Ger Ger- mans bombed the U. U S S. S embassy at Warsaw A bill introduced by Senator Guffey would re reimburse reimburse reimburse re- re him It It requires only three objectors objectors object object- ors ors to d defeat feat such a measure on consent days Three Republicans Republicans Republicans now are practicing their No yells Then it would have to be approved by the rules committee and that outfit is packed against it Several members members members mem mem- bers admit that they dont don't know what an dart d'art is And whatever it is they dont don't think an American ambassador ought to have it around the house Sounds foreign and wicked Copyright 1941 McClure Syndicate |