The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-10-08
By RODNEY BUTCHER NEA Service Writer

Washington. - Senator David Aiken Reed of Pennsylvania is
 commonly regarded here as Andy Melons own representative, as a deep-dyed reactionary and as a
 very sympathetic little brother of the very rich.
 All Of a sudden Senator Reed pops out with proposal which ap- pears to kick all holders of great wealth right in the midriff and as radical, if not more so, than any thing suggested this season by the most wild-eyed member of con- gress.
 Asserting that wealthy estates should be taxed after death to the point where the heirs, except for
 widows and dependent children, would have to go to work. Reed lines up with the progressives and other liberal-minded folk who sec great menace in the rapid con-
 centration of wealth and believe heavy taxation is the best cure for the disease.
 This must have sounded to some of his multi millionaire admirers
 as if David suddenly turned bol-
 shevik, for his plan would end all thought of perpetuating the great American fortunes. But the sena- tor is temperate man, sleeps free from nightmares and, according to
 his friends, has had that radical idea in his head for a long time. Anyway, Reed certainly has had
 more than a passing glance at the
 increasing concentration of wealth. His fathers law firm represented the Mellon interests and now
 David's firm does. David was coun-
 sel for the Steel Corporatioh be- fore his election to the senate and
 he is friendly with the du Fonts.
 Naturally, he also has a wad of
 money himself.
 Dave's friends will tell you that he would not be so widely consid-
 cred pal of great big business If 1t were not for the Mellon shadow
 and that when Mellon passes from
 the local scene Reed will look lot bigger and better than he does now. They point out that everyone con- | cedes him to be a senator of ex- traordinary ability and assert tha. this Is by no means the first time | he has gone counter to the thought
 of our biggest and best plutocrats.
 even including Mellon.
 Long years ago he was chairman
 of an industrial accident commits
 sion in Pennsylvania and pu.
 through a workmen's compensation act which had the powerful oppo- sition of the Pennsylvania Manu- lecturers association. He at least stamped himself as more progress
 sive than others of his group by ar guing that if the manufacturers
 wouldn't take his bill they would
 have to accept something more un- satisfactory later on. He was chair
 man of the immigration subcom-
 mittee which drafted the National Origins immigration restriction
 act, which was opposed by some o1
 the biggest American manufacture
 CTS because they wanted cheap Flu
 ropean labor. And when President
 Coolidge vetoed the postal pay in-
 crease Reed stuck right by the let ter carriers. The senate vote which | overrode the veto was sure to he
 very close and Coolidge sent foI
 Mellon to ask him to influence
 Reed. Reed withstood the pressure Reed has attracted most atten.
 tion. however, by his end-of-the.
 session filibusters, his attempts tc
 get Bill Ware into the senate. hi.
 customary identifications of the
 welfare of big business with the
 welfare of everybody and his part