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Show I NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS Written for Tho Telegram By Ray Tucler 1 WASHINGTON Admlnlstra- ' tion liberals are staging a backstage back-stage rebellion against the fascist fas-cist system of regimentation planned for American Industry, agriculture and labor in the event the United States goes to war. They figure, perhaps rightly, right-ly, that every new deal gain on the economic and social fronts will be wiped out under such a set-up. Instead of rigid controls over prices, wages, profits and everyday every-day living conditions, the liberals lib-erals advocate reliance upon compulsory and patriotic acceptance accept-ance of wartime regulations. They recall that no laws were necessary when Herbert Hoover was proclaiming meatless and wheatless and sugarless meals. In some Instances profiteering, for Instance they Insist that a grant of extremely flexible powers pow-ers to the central government would be sufficient to check profiteers. prof-iteers. Existing AAA machinery. In their opinion, could regulate the supply of food and thereby Influence prices. Federal reserve, re-serve, treasury and S E C, they maintain, can draw upon present law to make business. Industry and Wall Street behave. Temporary Tem-porary modification of labor laws is proposed as a means for throwing the production machine ma-chine Into high gear. Lined up against these "free staters'' are the hard-boiled realists of the war and navy departments supplied sup-plied with arguments that the first need Is, not to save new deal reforms, but to save the country. If this conflict ever materializes, it will make the supreme court battle look like a pillow fight. While President Roosevelt has kept aloof from the conflict raging around him, his attitude puzzles proponents for both the fascists and free state. He still ' proclaims fealty to his original alms, but he has permitted his war advisers to frame a system of regimentation which will make almost everybody a "for gotten man." Huddling privately In their homes and clubs almost nightly, the liberals suspect that the war may kidnap the president from their midst. Recognizing Mr. Roosevelt's political astuteness, astute-ness, his streak of opportunism, his sense of timing, they figure he may make the conflict a pretext pre-text an occasion for courting big business interests hitherto hostile. The set-up of certain emergency agencies already affrights af-frights them, for these are loaded load-ed down with conservatives. At the same time, his friends note, F. D. R. could try to hold his liberal allies with the explanation explana-tion that scrapping the new deal is merely a military measure. In short, the liberals fear that the president will take advantage advan-tage of the foreign crisisto .xe-. .xe-. pair his political fences to poise himself for 1940 if he should deride de-ride to run again. They admit that he wouldn't be human if he didn't, but they don't relish the prospect. When congress reassembles In special session. President Roosevelt Roose-velt will hesr serious and facetious face-tious suggestions that he practice prac-tice what he preaches with respect re-spect to "national unity." His congressional critics think that the present arrangement Is slightly lop-sided. There will be demands that he rearrange his cabinet so as to give representation to old-fashioned Democrats and Republicans, Repub-licans, and the G. O. P.-ers won't accept such men as Messrs. Irkes and Wallace as substitutes substi-tutes for the real thing. Off-the-record demands, soon to be ' voiced on the senate and house floors, will propose admission of three Republicans (bona fide ones) and two conservative Democrats. Dem-ocrats. If Chamberlain can make up with Churchill and Eden. Capitol Hill troublemakers trouble-makers figure F. D. R. can call It quits with Carter Glass and Pat Harrison also Vice President Presi-dent Garner. Political Jests frequently blossom blos-som ' into reality or something like it. And one tentative list of candidates for a coalition cabinet cab-inet include Herbert Hoover for commerce, Alt Landon for agriculture. agri-culture. Will H. Hays for post office, "Lew" Douglas for treasury, treas-ury, Hugh Johnson for war. Anyway, the idea is providing a few laughs among polltlcos in these serious days The shyest Republican presidential presi-dential candidate of them all-Senator all-Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg Is the only man of the party's 1940 brood who ctands to gain from the European crisis. Veteran Vet-eran politicos on both sides privately pri-vately agree that it gives him a heavy handicap over all his rivals. The Michigan senator has been a senator for 11 years, serving on the foreign relations committee commit-tee for much of that period. He also took a leading part in the Nye munitions Investigation the cradle of the existing neutrality neutral-ity act More than any other man mentioned for the nomination, nomina-tion, he has specialized in foreign for-eign affairs. It gives him an advantage over fellow-Senator Taft, whose prominence on the public stage has so far boosted him above Mr. Vandenberg In most ot the polls. Principal political victims of the war appear to be men like Tom Dewey, Governor Bricker of Ohio. Bruce Barton, etc. Their inexperience in the national nation-al or International arena will undoubtedly un-doubtedly weaken them with the convention delegates and the voters. The Irony of the Vandenberg Van-denberg advance Is that he still insists he prefers his present residence to the White House. Any sensible man would if the war lasts long, whether we get in or. stay out. Copyright 1939. McClure Syn. |