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Show Merry-Co-Round By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT 8. ALLEN WASHINGTON The backstage maneuvering maneuver-ing to get Madame Secretary Perkins to take over the new social security outfit created by reorganization, and to get Honest Harold Icke to step from the interior department over to the new construction agency, probably will not get far. Both could have the Jobs if they wanted them, but no apark of enthusiasm is apparent in the breast of either. Miss Perkins is suspicious that certain forces are anxious to euchre her out of the cabinet cab-inet In this she is right Labor leader would like nothing better than are her in charge of social problems, thus permitting potent Ed Mc-Grady, Mc-Grady, once her assistant secretary, to come back in full charge of the labor department. The situation in regard to Ickes is different. differ-ent. The president needs a man with a reputation repu-tation for forthright honesty and no political machinations as the head of the new organization organiza-tion which will take over P W A, W P A, public roads, etc. But Ickes has his heart set on doing a real job on conservation and doe not want to leave the interior department. So the most likely head of the new construction-spending agency is Colonel "Pinky" Harrington, Har-rington, who inherited W P A from Harry Hopkins. Hop-kins. Jesse Jones is a sure bet as head of the new lending agency which will take over federal fed-eral housing. Home Owners' Loan corporation, etc., as well as the RFC; while Arthur J. Altmeyer, now head of the social security board, is slated to take over the new social security agency. Aaother Boake Carter Elliott Roosevelt, turbulent second son of the president, was invited to apeak before the Advertising Ad-vertising club of New York recently for five minutes. A group of other young business executive ex-ecutive under 30 also were asked to apeak on the opportunities In business for young men of todsy, tell how they started and where they were going, each being allowed two minutes. Among the guests in the audience were a number of prominent business executives and newsoaper writers, including Boake Carter. Elliott spoke for 20 minutes, thereby cutting cut-ting several of the other speeches off the air. After burbling along about himself and what he had done, Elliott confessed that his real goal , in life was to be a great newspaper columnist. "My ambition," he said, nodding toward the guests' table, "is to be another Boake Carter." Shadow of Townsendlsm For some unexplained reason the most important im-portant of the social security amendments offered of-fered by the house way and means committee ha completely escaped attention. It is a far-reaching liberalization of the annuity system, and illustrate the powerful influence that the shadow of Townsendism exerts ex-erts on the secret councils of the lawmakers. The amendment was framed for the express purpose of placating the calmor for more generous gen-erous old-age benefits. The plan, in effect, would give every contributor con-tributor to the annuity system a government trust fund worth thousands of dollars, by paying pay-ing benefits to his wife and minor children in the event of his death. This is the way it would work: A man with a wife and two children, one and two year of age, die before reaching the age of 63. He ha been making $150 a month, on which he has paid $38.50 in annuity taxes and his employer the same amount, a total of $117. The two children immediately start receiving $47.04 a month, until they are 18 years of age if they remain In school, or until they are It if they do not The purpose of this is to induce children to complete high school training. The total trust fund thu left these two minors by their father amounts to $10,000. And that isn't all. After the widow reaches the age of 65. she become eligible to an annuity of two-third of her husband's original pension as long as he lives. The minimum payment under un-der the amendment is $10 a month. Social security expert estimate that payments pay-ments under the plan would come to $27,000,000 in 1940: $69,000,000 in 1941; $176,000,000 by 1945; and $235,000,000 by 1953. Maverick Cease-Back The president stayed up until after midnight to get the return on the election of Maury Maverick as mayor of San Antonio, and went to bed jubilating over the victory of the (crappy New Dealer. Maverick' come-back to the powerful position posi-tion of boss of the third largest city in Texas mean a number of things. It spells finis for Paul J. Kilday, who defeated defeat-ed Maverick for reelection to congress last year by a few hundred votes, through the aid of the political machine which Maverick upset last week. It spells a lot of trouble for Vice President Gamer and his anti-Roosevelt pals, who were figuring on an easy grab of the Texas delegation' delega-tion' to the 1940 convention. Garner didn't lift a finger for Maverick in 1938, and it's certain that the latter is not going to sit idly by and, let him walk away with the delegate. Finally, it means bad news for Senator Tom Connelly, who comes up for reelection next year and who is unpopular around the White House for numerous anti New Deal stands. While Maverick is not to run (gainst Connelly himself, he is sure to help some other candidste. Distributed by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. |