OCR Text |
Show I NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS I . , Written for The Telegram By Rey Tucker 1 WASHINGTON The brake Which aeveral prophets persuaded President Roosevelt to apply to th "boom" last spring threaten grave consequences to the new deal financial setup. It has also provoked a backstage row between be-tween Secretary Morgenthau and the federal, reserve chairman. It was Mr. Eccles who sold F. r. R. the notion that th nation fared aerioua danger of uncontrolled uncon-trolled industrial expansion and price inflation during Mr. Mor-genthau's Mor-genthau's absence from Washington, Washing-ton, incidentally. Mr. Roosevelt sounded a public warning, curtailed cur-tailed heavy W' I' A spending, increased in-creased reserve requirements, raised rediacount rates. Hardly a aingte prediction has been fulfilled, ful-filled, and the outcome may dry up the government's source of new f umls. Now that crops are moving and private industry expanding, th banks have been flooded with demands de-mands for short-time loane. But because of the increased reserve requirements they have been selling sell-ing government bonds instead of borrowing from the reaerve or other institutions on their commercial com-mercial paper. That ha depressed the price of federal securities and hampered the treasury's early fall financing. So the frown on the Morgenthau countenance wa deeper than the Grand canyon when he landed at the capital after a fast flight from Ban Fran-ciaco. Fran-ciaco. see The business outlook for the final quarter of 1937 is fundamentally funda-mentally favorable, despite aeveral aev-eral unsettling factors. The economic eco-nomic sharks at the capital look for a steady upward trend due to general fall activity, larger automobile auto-mobile sales after model change-overs, change-overs, crop movements, Increasing production. The chief cloud consults of a fall in farm income, though It wheat and 10-cent cotton (maybe (may-be morel will maintain agricultural agricul-tural purchasing power at a fair level. Larger crops, though marketed mar-keted at lower price, will mean greater diffusion of apending money, too. Industrial payrolls are far higher than a year ago, ahowing a much greater gain than reemployment, and retail trade has not suffered as sharp a seasonal sea-sonal slump aa usual. Higher prices In foods, finished good (clothing and furniture) and in articles affected by the price resale re-sale law have produced a hint of consumer resistance. Economically, we ara sitting on one of our loftiest peace-time peaks and we have been relaxing there ainre April, when production hit the Index figure of US after a two-year climb from M in the spring of 193S. The maintenance of that figure for almost six months, despite foreign ware and domestic turmoil (strike and radical rad-ical legislative proposals) ha made "cheerio" again a word of common usage on Main street and Wall Street e e Political wis boys (and certain ahrewd labor leaders) regard recent re-cent tart exchange between new deal spokesmen and C. I. O.-er J oh it L. Lewis as only an excellent exhibition of ahadow boxing designed de-signed to allay feara based on the close friendship between the White House and the United Mine chieftain. Privately, the president and the C. L O. generalissimo appear to respect but suspect each other' aims, aa is natural for two strong minded individuals. But each knows how far he ran go without antagonising th other irreparably, irrepara-bly, and defeating their common legislative program. In every public utterance Mr. Lewis haa profeased his confidence 'in the man In the Whit House. He haa denounced ths politioos inside snd outside congress who (piked th presidential plana, giving expression expres-sion to emotions felt, but not publicised pub-licised by the president. Mr. Lewis has a definite political politi-cal program or rjbgrom for 193 ; namely, the defeat of certain governors and congressmen who fought him when be most needed their assistance. In most Instances In-stances he must use the Democratic Demo-cratic (or new deal) party 'to gain revenge and to prepare for a labor ".putsch" in 1940. And in these political sorties he will have K. D. R.'s beat wishes for success. suc-cess. e e The curious blend of idealism and Tammany politics which characterize certain dark corners cor-ners of the new deal is moat strikingly strik-ingly Illustrated by th office holding experiences of Carl E. Moore of Cleveland. He happen to be the political crony of Senator Sen-ator Robert J. Bulkley of Ohio, a Roosevelt classmate at Harvard and a fairly consistent Whit House supporter. As internal revenue collector at Cleveland, Mr. Moore experienced experi-enced aeveral stormy years because be-cause he participated 'In th organization or-ganization of a liquor corporation. The righteous Henry Morgenthau was shocked, and Mr. Moor and two other treasury agent wer ordered to surrender their profit. Eventually, Mr. Moor (topped out, too. Now he bobs up as Cleveland district manager for the Guffey coal commission, and In that post will have more leisure leis-ure to manage the Bulkley reelection reelec-tion campaign next year. The coal commission, oddly enough, falls under the jurisdiction jurisdic-tion of Harold L. Ickes, who long ago issued a bristling order against political activity on the part of his subordinates. But the man in active charge of enforcing enforc-ing this ban Is Undersecretary Charles O. West, Mr. Bulklry's Intimate In-timate friend and frequently mentioned men-tioned a th John L. Lewis candidate candi-date for governor of Ohio next year against the anti-Roosevelt Martin L. Davey. e e e The jaws of treasury attache opened wide when National Chairman Chair-man Farley ahowed up in bib and tucker for the ceremony which marked the awearing-in of Dr. Edward G. Dolan of Connecticut, the new register. They wer glad that Secretary Morgenthau was not present to wltneas the strange eight. With the exception of Secretary Ickes, Mr. Morgenthau haa the sharpest prejudice against po-litlcos po-litlcos of any cabinet officer. He doesn't talk their language. He shudders at the alightest suggestion sugges-tion that they have any voice in hia bailiwick. All appointments under him are supposed to be based on golden merit, and not politics. Mr. Dolan, however, was one of th original Roosevelt men in the Nutmeg state. He incurred many enmities among machine politician politi-cian (Senator Lonergan almost blocked his confirmation), and among ambitious F. D. R. coat-tailers. coat-tailers. So "Jim" wanted to let the Nutmeggera know that he was for Dr. Dolan first, last and all the time, and took thi method of ahowing where hi affection lay, no matter how Mr. Morgenthau Morgen-thau felt about It. For the sak of the "Sec" it should be said that the office of treasury register is about as Important as that of head janitor. e NOTES: Cotton exports are larger this year than last, but still nearly 2.900000 bale below normal . . . President's veto leave Washington without plans for modern airport . . . Federal workers oelieve in the constitution constitu-tion they get a half holiday on Ita birthday , . . Army engineers shake their heads at the flood problem they say even after 80 reservoirs are built in Ohio River valley, flood Mag at Pittsburgh will be reduced only feet. Cincinnati Cin-cinnati 7 feet and Paducah 2 feet. Copyright, 193T, for Th Telegram |