Show THE flIE DAILY DAlLY W WASHINGTON Merry Go Round Trade Tude Mark MarkBy MarkBy By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT ALLEN V WASHINGTON In In many respects the de department department department de- de of agriculture is the most significant and interesting arena in the ringed many-ringed Washington circus Here to a greater degree than in any other branch of the new deal the ruling executives are distinguished by a scientific scientific scientific frame of mind and a dominating sense of social justice Probably no government agency boasting men like W. W G. G Campbell food and drug administrator administrator administrator admin admin- Jerome Frank Fran counsel of the A AA A A Chester Davis chief of the same organization Dr Louise Stanley head of home economics Nils NUs A. A Olsen director of or agricultural economics and Fred Howe A AAA A A consumers' consumers counsel could really be pushed into the background Ruling Triumvirate But topping all bf Of f these in breadth vision and idealism are the three men charged with shaping the agricultural policies of the nation Secretary Henry Agard Wallace Assistant Secretary Rexford Tugwell and Economic Adviser Adviser Adviser Ad Ad- Mordecai Ezekiel come from widely separated separated separated sepa sepa- rated s sections of the country with widely differing differing differing dif dif- dif dif- fering backgrounds and traditions Despite Despi e this diversity of background the three men have much in common which is fortunate for them and the administration Pandora's Box If there was ever a Pandora's box of heartbreaking heartbreaking heartbreaking heart heart- breaking problems handed anyone it was the department of agriculture when the triumvirate took office Even at the height of the boom years American agriculture was suffering from manifold ailments Surpluses mounted constantly constantly constantly con con- prices sank debt charges piled higher and higher Hoover casting about desperately for some stop-gap stop poured out a half billion dollars of public money to stabilize prices through the farm board work It was hardly noticed At this ebb Wallace became secretary of ture He came in as an old equalization fee iee crusader With Wallaces Wallace's incumbency naturally natural natural- ly equalization fee advocates looked forward to early realization of their program They were partially right right chiefly chiefly wrong The farm relief bill bill agricultural agricultural adjustment act drafted act drafted by Wallace Tugwell Ezekiel Professor M. M L. L Wils Wilson n and others contained the equalization fee But that was only a minor part of the measure It authorized far more daring inno inno- Administrative Battle With the bill enacted and George N. N Peek installed as agricultural adjustment administrator administrator administrator adminis adminis- it was not long before a secret but deadly struggle developed among the agricultural agricultural agricultural tural chieftains Peek a veteran champion of the equalization tion fee held that this was the solution of the new deals deal's farm problem He opposed all regulation regulation regulation reg reg- of agricultural output wanted the equalization fee to be used to finance the dumping dumping dump dump- ing of surpluses abroad Also Reek demanded that the A AAA A A follow the N R A by rushing through various food industries codes regardless regardless regardless regard regard- less of concessions demanded by hard-boiled hard interests Against such a program Wallace Vallace backed militantly by Tugwell Ezekiel and the other young brain set his face rigidly The contest was long and wearing A man less patient more temperamental than Wallace would have broken with Peek long before belore he did In the end the fight was smeared over the front pages pages but but only after Wallace won Personalities A philosopher by nature hiding a adeep adeep adeep deep poetic strain Wallace dislikes the thc hurly- hurly burly of the political arena Personal strife is even more distasteful Wallace Vallace dreads inflicting inflicting inflict inflict- ing pain and has quietly suffered the presence of several assistants who are out of step but whom he has not the heart to dismiss That Thatis is a weakness but it docs does not mean Wallace e lacks courage Behind Behin l his is shy smile is a will of steel Rex Tugwell is an original brain truster Slender romantically handsome he could easily be a social lion But he is too busy A brilliant economist author of many tomes on business and industry Tugwell has no rio more taste for the puffy inanities of society than for forthe forthe forthe the noisy battle of politics Tugwell is not a communist hot even a socialist His radicalism ends with belief that every man should have a ahome ahome ahome home and garden Zeke as Mordecai Mordecal zekiel Ezekiel is known to his colleagues also ilso i is shy and introspective Although Although Although Al Al- though frail of ot build he is a tremendous worker and a genius at mathematics Ezekiel had been in government service as agricultural statistician statistician statistician statis statis- for many years cars before Vall Wallace ace took office 1914 by bf United Feature Peature Syndicate Inc |