OCR Text |
Show Merry-Co-Round By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT 8. ALLEN WASHINGTON With all the talk of budget pruning, it is interesting to note that two agencies agen-cies which did not get slashed are the United States senate and the executive offices of the White House. The executive office budget this year has Jumped to $3,573,700. which is just a nose from the amount to be spent by the senate; namely. $3,885,624. Senate moguls cite this with mingled glee and alarm, pointing out that the United States, under Roosevelt, is approaching a dictatorship, and that the expense of running the presidential offices now comes close to the cost of running the entire United States senate including the salaries of 98 senators, plus clerks, mineral water, barbers and railroad travel. Real fact, however, is that the executive office budget was increased this year by the transfer of the budget bureau, the national emergency council and other agencies to the White House. Aside from this, however, the senators are rieht that the cost of maintaining the executive office, taken separately, has increased. In 1939 it was $2,370,877. while in 1940 it will be $2,972,100. This includes the salary of the presi- dent, also of Vice President Garner, the salaries of White House clerks, and maintenance of buildings. Note The senate budget scheduled for 1941 is about $173,000 greater than for 1940. Capital Chaff . Doris Duke Cromwell, wife of the new and debonair U. S. minister to Canada, is asking friends all about Ottawa.' "Do you think it's really an important post?" is one of her questions... ques-tions... In case they're bored, the Cromwells have a private plane which will take them from Ottawa to their home in Somerville, N. J., in about two hours and 45 minutes . . . Another scandal is brewing in Louisiana which may hit more important officials. G men have uncovered uncov-ered evidence which may be placed before a grand Jury soon. The Seven Counties You will soon begin hearing a lot about a wage survey just completed by the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce. In fact, this survey may be used as important impor-tant new deal political ammunition during the coming campaign. It indicates what Roosevelt has done for the wage earner. One chart prepared by the bureau shows tremendous tre-mendous increases in the total amount of wages paid workers, in the seven principal industrial counties of the nation, in 1937 as compared to 1933, when the Roosevelt administration took office. . According to the study, 153 of the country's 3070 counties accounted for 75 per cent of all wages disbursed by manufacturing establishments establish-ments in 1937. And of these 153 leading counties, coun-ties, seven are credited with producing 25 per cent of the year's $10,112,882,711 industrial payroll. The comparative chart of these seven counties, coun-ties, aa compiled by the bureau, follows: Increase 1937 Wages over '33 Wayne, Mich $648,515,254 208.5 Cook, 111 584.210,856 108 6 New York, N. Y.. ....... 373,094.359 39 3 Philadelphia, Pa. 257,327,331 39.0 Allegheny, Pa 224.931,394 177 9 Cuyahoga. Ohio 207.346.818 108.5 Los Angeles, Cal 164,763,028 132.6 Merry-Go-Round Washington'a Illinois State society is making an innovation at its annual banquet this week. Instead of the usual political big-wig, the guest speaker will be one of the state's leading newspapermen, news-papermen, V. Y. Dallman. editor of the Illinois State Register of Springfield, Lincoln's home town . . . Sixty per cent of congress does not think Roosevelt will be elected for a third term, according to a poll by Columbia Survey. On the other hand, 23 per cent of the Capitol hill moguls thought ha would be elected, while 17 per cent couldn'J make up their minds . . . Among the scores of autographed pictures that line the office of Postmaster General Jim Farley, the most prized bears this inscription: "To Jim Farley, Far-ley, a practical politician and a gentleman, a rare combination. Will Rogers," Distributed by United Feature Syndicate - |