Evening star., 1933-03-19
]. c. C., Radio Commission,
Shipping Board Would Go to
Commerce Department.
WOULD ALSO CONTROL
AVIATION AND TELEGRAPH
Proposed Regrouping Would Be
Accompanied by Shift of Other
Bureaus to Interior.

A Federal Transportation Bureau Of
five divisions under direct supervision
Of the Department Of Commerce Is be.
ing worked out by the new administra-
tion, 1t was learned authoritattvely yes
terday.
The proposed set-up in divisions are:
F1rst-Railroads, busses, trucks and
pipe lines.
second-Telephone. telegraph and
cable.
Third-shipping board. barge lines
and inter-coastal shipping.
Fourth-Radio.
F1fth-Commercial aviation.
The first and second groups will in
clude the present set-up Of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission.
Would Include Shipping Board.
The third group will include all Of
the functions Of the Shipping Board
and the Inland Waterway Corporation
OF the War Department, together with
those OF the Commerce Departments
Light House Service, its Bureau of Navi.
cation and Steamboat Inspection and
Its Coast and Geodetic Survey. ~,
The fourth division will take over the
functions Of the presenA Federal Radio
Commission and the fifth will take over
the activities Of the Commerce Depart
ments Bureau Of Aeronautics.
There also Is q possibility that the
department OF Agriculture's Bureau of
Public Roads, which has been handling
about $12o, ,000, 900 annually exclusive Of
recent emergency highway fumes, may
De part OF the transportation bureaus
set-up.
Secretary Of Agriculture Wallace has
before MIN memorandum from
inomas H. Macdonald, chief Of this
bureau. recommending that since the
construction OF highways, is intimately
connected with agricultural planning,
Is: An alternative suggestion, however.
OF Macdonald would make it q pGrt al
the transportation agency.
Transfer Considered. :.
To make room for the new trans
portation set-up within the Commerce
Department the transfer Of the Bu-
reaus OF Fisheries and Mines from this
department. to the Interior Department
Is said to be seriously considefed.
Should this plan be carried out the
Commerce Department, which was
made famous by former President
Hoover, will be limited to only four of
It's old bureaus, Standards, Patent,
Census and Foreign and Domestic
Commerce.
Attorneys are studying the possible
necessity Of further congressional legis-
lation to carry through the Interstate
commerce Commission realignment.
The Constitution places In Congress
the power to regulate interstate COM
merce and that the time this authority
was delegated to the commission that
acslon was attacked as unconstitutional.
whether this authority can now be
taken from the Interstate Commerce
Commission and given directly to an
executive department Is still q moot
question with the administration ad-
visers considering the set-up.
Conferences Held,
Throughout last week Secretary of
Commerce Roper is known to have had
several conferences with TRANSPORTATION
experts, including Commissioners Ma
haffey. Eastman and Porter of the In
terstate Commerce Commission; Walker
-. HlneS, VINO was IN charge Of rail-
road administration during the World
War, and Prof. A. E. Berle Of New York,
a member Of President Roosevelt's so
called brain trust"
Congress has given President Roose-
velt authority to merge, abolish or shift
functions Of independent agencies and
bureaus at will. Reports have been
current for some time that one Of the
most drastic shifts would be brought
about by the creation of the Trans
portation Bureau.
While the President IS not empov.
cred to abolish or merge any Of the
cabinet departments, he has the au-
thority to strip them of their functions
as ne pleases, and it has been gener-
ally accepted that many changes Of this
kind will be made.
In this authority to whittle down de-
partments, the Commerce Department
Continued on Page 9. Column a.