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Show NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS By Ray Tucker Telegram's Washington Columnist WASHINGTON Navy offl- " rials, struggling to speed up construction, con-struction, recently received a lesson les-son in practical politics. They were forced to delay action on a 300-shlp proposition while certain cer-tain midwest members on Capitol hill let off political steam. Navy lawyers had advied the 'department that it did not need SMH-Ial authorization to build submarine chasers, mine sweepers sweep-ers and mosquito boats. Seek-big Seek-big speedy and secret action, the admirals submitted their requests to the appropriations committee without first obtaining approval from the house naval affairs committee routine procedure in mast Instances. Then arose howls of complaint from Michigan, Illinois, Il-linois, Minnesota and Ohio members. mem-bers. They charged that their section was being discriminated against in the award of national defense contracts. They inserted charts Indicating that average per capita defense expenditure for the nation was $73.37, while it was only $15.59 for nine middle western states. The complainants protested eloquently that no selfish, sectional sec-tional Interest motivated them. Nevertheless, they insisted that all these shlpt be built on the Great Lakes rather than on the two seaboards. Rulet Chairman Adolph Sabath of Chicago was pathetic. There were tears in his voice as he described how individuals, in-dividuals, manufacturers and chambers of commerce back home were attacking him and midwest colleagues for letting all the Juicy awards go to other sections sec-tions of the country. They had to get out from under, and the navy had to help them. The navy, as middle western congressmen know, has a prejudice against small firms and a distinct partiality toward the large shipbuilding corporations on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The honorables were afraid that their states would be discriminated against unless the admirals were placed on congressional con-gressional record as to their building program. So the house naval- affairs committee com-mittee Intervened, blocked the direct action planned by the navy and the appropriations committee, commit-tee, and held hearings on the $300,000,000 program. Secrecy flew out the window as the number num-ber and types of the various classes of ships were described in detail. The attempt to appease ap-pease the middle westerners also caused perhaps two weeks' delay. But the admirals were forced to state for the committee record that these ships would be built at Great Lakes shipyards.' Sim ilar promises were given on the floor by Chairman Vinson and other spokesmen of the naval affairs committee. Not until then were the middle westerners satisfied. sat-isfied. Republicans demanded delay on this building bill until after the leae-lend measure was acted on. Thr-y argued that there was no serine in constructing these .TOO ships if the aid-to-Uritain proposal pro-posal would permit the president presi-dent to give them away. But administration spokesmen brushed them aside, insisting, there was no connection between the two proposals. The establishment of a federal fed-eral reserve system for machine tools probably will he the eventual even-tual solution of the problem of contract subletting and decentralization decen-tralization in the United States. It will combine the best features of the methods under which Britain and Germany have intensified in-tensified wartime production in areas reasonably safe from air attack. The midwest war resources board, with headquarters in Kan-sat Kan-sat City, already has supplied a model. This organization consists con-sists of manufacturers, engineers and business men cooperating on a voluntary and non-profit basis. They make a regular check of Idle machine tool plants, large and small, in their section. They keep certain agencies at Washington, Wash-ington, and army-navy contractors con-tractors in their regions, Informed In-formed of their findings. Then they urge the dittributors and receiver! of contracts to take advantage ad-vantage of their unuted facili-ties. facili-ties. Other places, notably Rhode Island, have adopted the same system: Local chambers of commerce com-merce are beginning to awake to this opportunity for employment of idle men and machines. So far the movement Is embryonic embry-onic and fragmentary. Washington Washing-ton defense experts prefer to see it operate on a voluntary basis at first. But they look forward to the day when the Knudsen-Hillman Knudsen-Hillman agency may set up similar simi-lar regional clearing houses through the country. Harry Hopkins' role, when he returns from abroad, will be to serve as a walking and talking delegate for all-out aid to Britain. Hopkins is one of the most likable lik-able and companionable men at the capital. He is an excellent conversationalist He Is almost irresistible when he turns on his personality. Even when he was Under sharp attack as W P A administrator, ad-ministrator, his most severe senatorial sena-torial assailants were happy to have him at their homes. He also Is a susceptible fellow and emotional. emo-tional. The British have turned out the guard for him, as anticipated. antici-pated. So he undoubtedly will return completely sold on their ability to hold out their match-lest match-lest grit and the horrors of Hitler's Hit-ler's kind of warfare. He also will collect he always does-some does-some appealing sidelights on the personalities of Britain's military and political leaders. Thus he will come back fortified forti-fied as an arsenal of propaganda. At dinner and tea parties and private gatherings, which industrialists, indus-trialists, financiers and members of congress will be privileged to attend, he will entertain them . with reports from England. Wendell L. Willkle's present attitude hawilder several Republican Repub-lican friends who sat with him during one of the most dramatic but unpubllcized conferences of the recent presidential campaign. Together with other post-election, happenings, it makes him the mystery man of present-day American politics. Mr. Willkie, in a moment of deep confidence, told these men that his three "disillusionment" were William S. Knudsen, former Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy and former National Chairman James A. Farley. He was convinced con-vinced that If they told their innermost in-nermost thoughts and convictions to the American people before November S, he would be elected over President Roosevelt He conveyed the Impression that mutual mu-tual friends had begged at least one of the trio Mr. Knudsen to speak out. None did, and thereby they contributed to the Willkie defeat in the latter's opinion. The GOP nominee wanted Mr. Knudsen to describe the "breakdown "break-down of the national defense program." He wanted Jim to tell of his relations with the president and how he really feft about the third term. He wanted Mr. Kennedy to express the sentiments sen-timents which have fallen recently recent-ly from his lips namely, that the United States should stay out of war at all coats. In short he wanted a frontal attack on F D R's foreign policy and rearming rearm-ing program. At least one new deal experiment experi-ment has paid out 100 per cent on the dollar. The inaugural committee headed by Joseph E. Davies has announced that every contributor to financing the ceremonies cere-monies will get his money back. In past years they have been lucky to recoup 60 per cent It was the breaking of the third-term precedent which kept" the committee solvent Scores of people building or repairing homes around the capitol and some from afar have entered fancy bids for the lumber which built the Inauguration stand and the Court of Freedom from which the president reviewed the inaugural in-augural parade. Even those who opposed F D R's reelection had a hankering for third-term wood. Copyright 1941, McClure Syndicate |