Show National Whirligig By Ray Tucker WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President President Roosevelt's inner circle of advisers has urged him to sound taps over the kind of country the United States has been ever since Pearl Harbor Specifically they beseech him hirn to act now act now instead of talk They would have him freeze wages and farm prices to prevent further inflation inflation inflation tion instead of authorizing another study of the problem They believe he should proclaim meatless days without delay in order to speed shipments of weapons to our fighting men in north Ireland th the middle east and the Solomons They hope he will extend gasoline rationing westward demand that nonessential drivers park their cars and turn in their tires All these things are scheduled for aft after r election election election elec elec- tion but then they urge the hour may be too late Nonchalance Mystifies nonchalant attitude toward New York gubernatorial ele elections mystifies both Democrats and Republicans especially in view of his his' deep concern with the Mead Bennett-Mead primaries Strange as it may seem the well-informed well suspect he might welcome a Dewey triumph over James A A. Farleys Farley's man The president so far as is known has not congratulated the winner or Sponsor Farley When given the opportunity at a press conference conference conference confer confer- ence he declined on the ground that he had no notime notime notime time to think of politics although he found o occasion casion at a previous interview w to announce he would have liked to vote for Senator Mead Some of his members are whooping it up for Dean Alfange whose American Labor party candidacy c is is' expected to cut into the Bennett total Mayor LaGuardia has declared Farley ism must be destroyed Meanwhile Wendell Willkie is going abroad so that as some believe his hia well known antipathy toward Mr Dewey will not alienate enthusiastic pre-Pearl pre Harbor interventionists The Republicans on their their side are behaving as mysteriously as the chief executive Many highly placed G GO GOP ers 0 P ers not all would prefer Mr Bennett to be successful if only to rebuke Mr Roosevelt They also resent the presidents president's description of their 1940 nominee as leader of the opposition for they do not regard Mr Willkie Willkie Willkie Will Will- kie as such Nose Thumbing With Flourishes The series of squabbles between the war production production production pro pro- boards board's utilities division and the federal power commission nears a showdown The duel although typical is one of the most revealing at atthe atthe atthe the capital The two groups have been thumbing thumbing thumbing thumb thumb- ing noses at e each ch other with small boy would envy Here is the story An S SEC E C agency has advised that Columbia Gas Electric dominated aMorgan-dominated holding concern concern con con- cern ern should be forced to divest itself of holdings in p Panhandle Eastern Pipeline which supplies natural gas to many middle western west rn cities and Industries Meanwhile W P B ordered Panhandle to sell its surplus f fuel el to the Ohio Fuel Gas company company com corn pany which is also owned by Columbia Upset over its rivals rival's interference in this vital domain the F P C insisted that it will pass on the rates at which the output may be purchased W P B reluctantly agreed The commission also stipulated stipulated stipulated that selling schedules be submitted to it itten itten ten ten days in advance of any physical transfer Apparently in defiance or ignorance of this directive the first promulgated under the natural natural natural nat nat- ural gas conservation order Panhandle has been disposing of its stock to the Ohio corporation without consulting Washington and at extremely favorable figures Jt It is charging only 16 cents per thousand cubic feet whereas the field price price- is 22 In other wor words s one Columbia subsidiary is making a parting gift to a sister outfit before the severance decree becomes effective Unless the federal power commission cracks down on this quest questionable transaction which ma may hike costs for many war war- corporations in inthe inthe the thet territory the war production board may mayde- mayde demand demand de de- mand complete a authority in hi the matter To complicate complicate complicate com com- plicate details further Amory Houghton who signed the Nelson order has resigned because his firm has been indicted as an antitrust violator How to Relax From Discipline navy Army-navy officers housed in the vast structures structures tures stretching along crowded Constitution avenue avenue ave ave- ave ave- nue are men without honor or prestige as soon as they leave their desks In going out for lunch or hurrying home in inthe inthe inthe the evening the gold braiders receive no favors from civilian clerks mess messengers typists etc As if in revolt for the discipline they undergo during working hours the folks in civvies jostle th the bigwigs on the sidewalks grab seats in buses without regard for rank and occasionally step hard on the uniformed mens men's toes Copyright 1942 McClure Syndicate r |