Show L t lm lJ I U k Taft Swings Swing to Right As GOP Senate Leader i. i t By BAUKHAGE J 0 News Analyst and Commentator f Service Ice 1616 Eye Street N. N W. W Washington D. D C. C i. i W WASHINGTON Recently the keen ears of the master politicians on Capitol Hill have been tuned to some strange 1 f. f fi fito to V squeaks an and rattles rat rat- ties developing in inthe Int t 1 t the h e otherwise 4 V smoothly running I V V Republican senate sen sea ate machinery It Itis Itis Itis is confidently predicted pre pre- V V dieted on the Democratic side of the aisle that Chauffeur Taft who had pretty easy going in the drivers driver's seat up Baukhage until the latter part of February will have to jump I out and tinker under the hood more than once From now on observers say there are going to be a lot more orders orders orders or or- ders from the back seat When the gentleman from Ohio took over after the November elections elec dee even the timers old-timers sat up and took notice of the way he assumed charge He just shuffled the deck deckand deckand deckand and dealt himself the cards he wanted wanted wanted want want- ed chairman of the policy committee commit commit- tee chairman of the labor committee commit commit- tee which was going to direct labor legislation on what had been almost the No 1 issue of the day chairman of the committee which handles bandIes the new economic report Under the reorganization act this report must M. M VV S SS V S S S V i JOHN W. W BRICKER Dark H Horse iF in Leash oe De submitted annually to congress by the Presidents President's economic council With reasonable support from party party party par par- ty stalwarts and with these powerful powerful powerful power power- ful chairmanships in his hands bands it looked as though the senior senator from the B Buckeye state easily could ride herd on the party vote delivering delivering ering it when and where he wished But did you ever try to ride a aS S horse or drive a cow with a large sized bumble bee leaping from forelock forelock forelock fore fore- lock to buttock or from cud to rump Not so easy and no bumble bee ever buzzed or stung like the apis Early in January I J reminded you of the trouble the presidential bee beeS S was expected to cause when I quoted quoted quoted ed Rep Republican National Committeeman Committee Committee- S man Clarence Budington Kelland's V remark S l I dont don't think you are going to see the matter Republican candidacy candidacy candi candi- dacy jell at all until Ohio decides whether its it's ts t's going to be Taft or Bricker And it hasn't jelled Although Al V though it was predicted Bricker would bow out he has refused to bow Quite the contrary it is Taft who is bowing not bowing not out but to the demands of the right wing of the party Tafts Taft's friends insist Bricker Brick Brick- j er will exit at the right moment c But Tafts Taft's first obeisance was V made toward the end of the Lilien Lilien- S thai thal hearings He announced hi his hiS' opposition opposition op op- position to the confirmation of theS the S TV TVA A head and did it with such abS absence ab S sence of the famous Taft logic that V V i eyebrows went up all over the place The reason for departing from the common sense path that thai his superior intellect usually dictates soon became evident Simultaneously Simultaneous ly his control of the party in the senate began to slip That was seen in the vote on thet the t budget In that case Taft took what whal l kf V most people considered the sensible p the road course The four foux and a half billion cut rather than I i the six billion urged d by the house What happened to to force TaftS Taft'S Tafts Taft's S Lilienthal anti statement Well a V certain certa In conservative commentator talked with Taft Taft criticized criticized what h he implied was a dangerous lack a of r conservatism for a prospective standard bearer of GOP Then a R well known columnist came forthwith forth forthwith forthwith with the story that some of the pOWerful powerful powerful pow pow- erful backers of the Republican party party party par par- ty enlisted the support of n a number of Republican lawmakers la in the anti Lilienthal movement They began began began be be- gan to whisper that at p perhaps Bricker would represent sounder safer saner saner saner san san- er views for the presidency Taft heard the whisper and came out emphatically emphatically em em- if not too convincingly against Lilienthal About that time the Roper poll poIl revealed revealed re reo re- re the percentage of preference for various Republican potential candidates candidates candidates can can- Against Truman And lo 10 all the rest Dewey Stassen Bricker led Taft That doesn't mean that Taft will willbe willbe be bc last in the hearts of the delegates to the Republican national convention convention convention conven conven- tion in 1948 but wiseacres are saying it does docs mean that Taft no longer will call the turn on legislation I S S Crack Iron Curtain With Short Wave If there is much more evidence of the cracking of the called so-called iron curtain the Impression may get about soon that it is a pretty porous protection of the secrets of the So So- viets Recently I r was walking the corridors corridors corri corn dors of the state department with one of its officials s. s How long I asked him do you expect the Kremlin to permit you people and the British with your our American and British propaganda magazines and pamphlets and your broadcasts to poison Ivan and his with this western poison polson Oh he replied they wont won't stop us Why not I inquired They TIley cant can't was his answer British Broadcasting company has been beaming broadcasts on Russia to Russia in the Russian language for a year year or more BBC BEC reports that the programs have been well well- I received and that the effort Is worth while The state department beg began n nIts Its broadcasts last month Some of its officials believe that it is worth the millions it will cost to continue them The first program had few listeners it was criticized It is being tailored according to listener comment There Is no way for the Russians to know about the programs programs programs pro pro- grams since notice of them except by announcement over BBC appears appears appears ap ap- ap- ap pears in no Russian paper I How is it the Russians permit it at all And even if they dont don't put obstacles in the way will the Russians Russians Rus Rus- listen Are there enough radin radio ra ra- ra din dio sets with wave short-wave receivers to tomake tomake tomake make up a worth while potential audience audience au au- au These are the questions I asked Ill I'll try to give some of the answers As to the Russian attitude it seems negative When the British first talked about broadcasting to to Russia a Russian official is reported to have said We have tried to cooperate cooperate cooperate co co- co- co operate with you You have your kind of democracy You believe In freedom of speech So we have cooperated cooperated co co- co operated with you by sending you broadcasts in English from Russia We have our kind of democracy We Wedo Wedo Wedo do not believe in freedom of speech So we hope you will cooperate with our kind of democracy by NOT broadcasting to us If that wasn't actually said it ought to have been It Is too good to be untrue The British did not cooperate Neither did 11 other countries In Including Including In- In eluding Ecuador which along with the United States are arc all now beaming beam beam- ing tog their programs on Russia I dont don't know about the others but the British seem to have quite a following followIng following follow follow- ing and since the Russian people are arc more interested in America than in any other country I see no reason why the state departments department's effort shouldn't be quite as successful What are the chances In the first place radio listening has been developed de developed de- de in Russia People are encouraged encouraged encouraged en en- to have sets and they are wave short-wave sets because wave short is to the communication method used by the Russian government That's because of the great great How many have sets When Averill Avenill Harriman was there he made an estimate of sets A later estimate put the figure as to a million According to the Russian year five plan the goal is for the first year We know that the Russians seized all the radio sets they could in territory they occupied also the government returned returned returned re re- re- re turned all sets seized from Russian citizens during during the war |