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Show MONEY & MARKETS By James McMullin The Toleerem't Emcluiive Observer A1m WaH Street NEW YORK A backstage story sheds an amusing light on a pathetic Wall Street attempt to play politics. Adolf Berle Jr. ex-braintruster ex-braintruster is a member of the pew committee nsmed by PresK. dent Charles R. Gay to study the question of stock exchsnge reorganization. The original plan was to elect him chairman, 4n the naive hope that it would impress im-press Washington favorably to have the inquiry theoretically directed di-rected by a new dealer. This was supposed to prove a new spirit of liberalism or something. In ths nick of time, the committee com-mittee and its sponsors discovered discov-ered that Berle is not a Roosevelt man any more, but a LaGuardia man. Even politically benighted stock exchangers know that ths president and ths mayor are no longer buddies. Alarmed at ths possibility that their happy inspiration in-spiration might backfire because of this, the boys hastily sidetracked side-tracked Berle. Taking no chances, they didn't even make him vice chairman or secretary of the committee. com-mittee. The chalrmaiTchoseiTTniteaa Is" Carls C. Conway of Continental Can. As an industrialist, he is supposed to invest the proceedings with an atmosphere of disinterested disinter-ested detachment which an investment in-vestment banker or a stock exchange ex-change member as chairman couldn't achieve. There's a widespread impression impres-sion that all is sweet and serene between the SEC and the New York stock exchange, now that an exchange member has been appointed to the commission and the exchange itself has named a committee to study possible reforms. re-forms. That's a laugh to insiders. The war is back underground, but it's a long way from over. Chairman Bill Douglas of the S E C is perfectly aware that the committee is a device to delay de-lay reform and camouflage ths bitter-end opposition to stock exchange ex-change reorganization of the private pri-vate club faction which rules the exchange. He doesn't wish to appear highhanded high-handed and will give the committee commit-tee and the exchange a reasonable reason-able time several months to show goods. If they don't and it's a 20-to-l shot that they won't he will crack down, beginning with much more rigid rules for specialists and member trading. The SEC has ample authority to do this under Its existing powers. pow-ers. Several weeks ago this column reported the possibility that fire-eater fire-eater Burton K. Wheeler might let up in his discomforting investigation in-vestigation of railroad finance. Recent developments tend to confirm con-firm this forecast. The senator is reported to feel that while his , ommittee has ferreted fer-reted out plenty of unhealthy situations, sit-uations, the time has now come to do something on the constructive construc-tive side. Some of his colleagues are reluctant to vote an added appropriation to fish further in stale waters, and Wheeler himself him-self evidently agrees that he has enough facts. The Montanan has learned that plenty of money is ready to come to the assistance of distressed railroads provided the present uncertain situation is untangled. He apparently sees a cnance to garner credit for helping to stem the recession. The above story lends added strength to persistent reports that Max Lowenthal. braintruster of the Wheeler committee, is slated for the axe. Wheeler himself has privately agreed with certain critics crit-ics who have complained about Lowenthal's destructive tactics. The committee has lately been delving into the ancient 1925 St. Paul reorganization. That subject sub-ject happens to be Lowenthal's hobby-horse. In 1933 he wrote a scorching book on the subject in which he called a spade a pick-axe. Some observers figure that Wheeler, when he finally allowed Lowenthal to unlimber on his favorite fa-vorite topic, may have had it in mind that Max might explode aomewhere along the line. Such an explosion could easily pave the way for the resignation of .the able committee counsel. American distillers are in something some-thing of a lather because so many movie characters, when asking for a drink, call for Scotch. They don't see why Hollywood can't give such homegrown products as rye and bourbon a better break. How about a little patriotic co--operation, Will HaysT (Copyright, 1937. for The Telegram) |