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Show I NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS . I I Written for The. Telegram By Ray Tucker I m . interstate commerce eommis- . slon and deparment of agriculture agricul-ture have complicated matters by taking opposite sides in the controversy. The allegedly railroad-minded ICC has cast IU influence on the side of the older form of transportation. trans-portation. For four years it has sidestepped the problem of the issuance of certificates of convenience con-venience and necessity to the truckers. For the same period it has ducked the question of proclaiming pro-claiming a uniform size of trucks. Meanwhile, the railroads have Influenced state legislators to reduce the size, so that the trucks have been placed at a great disadvantage. Some states permit them to weigh 20,000 pounds, but only recently the key state of Texas limited the figure to 7100 pounds. Thus the transportation map has assumed the texture of a crazy quilt. Secretary Wallace he may be a smarter politician than most people realize has rushed to the defense of the truck. His transportation trans-portation regulations, railroad people maintain, give a distinct advantage to their competitors. He has also denounced the system sys-tem under which various states discriminate against the truckers truck-ers by restricting their size, and he has indirectly assailed the ICC on this score. The feud has reached such a bitter stage that F. D. R. may have to Intervene Inter-vene even If it requires a shake-up shake-up in the interstate commerce commission. A few days ago Prince Amir Ghaffart of Persia arrived in a Virginia town to revive local friendships which his father had . established when he went to a boys' school there. He came with trunks and suitcases, and was made at home by the families fami-lies of alumni who maintained the tradition of southern hospitality. hospi-tality. An avowed pro-German, a personal friend of Adolf Hitler, decorated by der fuehrer for photographing strategic positions posi-tions in the Spanish civil war, he lost no time in saying that Hitler was 'a much misunderstood misunder-stood man and that a reorientation reorienta-tion of Germany is essential. A fluent linguist, charming in manner, a good rider, he immediately imme-diately was lionized at small parties and receptions, freely ventilating his views and giving the Virginians the first close-up of the German point of view. Then he began to speak to groups in the girls' colleges, went to a Klwanis meeting and had entree to the public schools. Here and there he put in a good word for Hitler. Nothing happened hap-pened until the children of anti-German anti-German families went home and told their fathers that the nice Persian prince had written their names on the blackboard in Persian Per-sian characters and taught them how to give the nazi salute. He is still in Virginia. Part of the community is angry and is asking the school board for an explanation, threatening to sic the FBI on Prince Amir. The official pedagogues, however, have ridiculed the "Hitler agent" story, reminding protesters that the U. S. AH being neutral, can listen to the pro-German with no less grace than to the pro-ally pro-ally visitor. Copyright. McClure Syndicate. WASHINGTON John Nance , Garner is aching for a political fight. He wants the 1940 presidential presi-dential nomination, and F. D. R.'s opposition means nothing to the Texan. Here is the lowdown: The vice president, with the aid of several key polltlcos,- believes that he will hit the convention hall with at least 350 delegates. If President Presi-dent Roosevelt is not a candidate, candi-date, it will not be too difficult for the V. P. to cop the No. 1 prize. Jack, oddly enough, has the backing of old and new dealers. His 1940 campaign committee will be headed by such a loyal Rooseveltlan as Sam Rayburn, the administration's majority leader In the lower chamber. In the house and senate he will have the quiet aid of men who praise - F. D. R. publicly but damn him privately. Several government agencies have pooled their forces to supervise su-pervise the allies' war transactions transac-tions in the United States and to safeguard our economic system against the impact of foreign developments de-velopments Though a seemingly unnecessary move. It places this country squarely in the Franco-British Franco-British camp. The New York federal reserve bank has supplanted J. P. Morgan Mor-gan It Co., which served In that capacity from 1914 to 1918, as the allies' fiscal agency. All war purchases will be paid by earmarked ear-marked British gold (until It runs out) In the bank's possession. posses-sion. When It becomes necessary neces-sary for London and Paris to dispose of their remaining American Amer-ican securities, the selling will be done with the aid and advice of several government agencies the treasury, the SEC and the federal reserve. Meanwhile, the joint army-navy army-navy munitions commission, with the active cooperation of the state and treasury departments, will oversee actual war buying here. As with the financial deals, the unofficial explanation is that the scheme tends to prevent pre-vent a dislocation of American national defense industries. But it all adds up to more or less active American intervention on behalf of the western powers. The fierce war which the trucks and the railroads are waging demonstrates the need for hard-boiled government intervention. in-tervention. Two federal agencies |