The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-03-30

Washington, March 30.-It is just one thing after another for General Ride 'em Hard" Hugh Johnson.
 With the autompbile strike averted-for the time being-he his pet plan of boosting wages ten per cent, reducing hours ten per cent, rapidly heading for the rocks.
 This d0lorous situation is care- fully camouflaged with cheery announcements. But unless Johnson can pull some new trick out of his sleeve, the plan is all washed up.
 The committees of capital and consumer goods manufacturers, created to push his program, have had several conferences. But the only thing they agreed upon was not to agree.
 Of course, they didn't say it just that way.
 UP TO CAPITAL
 The consumer industries com- mittee, explained that it has done it's share in restoring employ ment, that it is now up to capi- tai goods to do it's part. The consumer goods plants are now employing only 73S,000, less than in 1929, the committee asserted.
 The capital goods committee had a different line. Lack of hxr hn ministration itself, by its stock exchange bill and by it's Wagner Labor bill had retarded Capital Goods Recovery, the committee said. Hence the manufacturers could not add to their labor costs.
 Johnson is still hopeful that he can persuade the industrialists voluntarily to increase employ Ment. His ace in the hole is the Congressional threat of cOm- pulsOry legislation, such as the 3O-hour week bill, unless indus- try acts of its own accord.
 This, incidentally, is no idle threat. The senate last year passed the measure; both cham bers would do so with whoop if the administration ever gave the word.
 CHIP OFF OLD BLOCK
 Mrs Franklin D. Roosevelt may be First Lady of the land, but she's just another member of the family so far as Franklin, D. Roosevelt, Jr, is concerned.
 Visiting her offspring at his New England school for a few fleeting hours, Mrs Roosevelt wanted to keep her presence se- cret. She and Franklin were walking together in a secluded corner of the campus, but everywhere they were followed by a secret service man.
 The First Lady got madder and madder. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Young Franklin knew his mother too well. Finally he stopped, turned to her squarely:
 "You might just as well not get upset about this thing. He's not really disturbing us. Let him follow us if he wants to-"
 His mother meekly obeyed. SLIGHTLY SOUR
 The air mail fiasco and it's aftermath have not improved the White House status of good old George Dern, the secretary of war.
 Dern has been an enigma to many of his cabinet colleagues. Although showing occasional flashes of fight, he has won the reputation of being the sleepiest member of the New Deal. On top of this, the airmail incident caused Dern's cabinet status to turn little sour.
 Two things were responsible. One was the MacArthur state- ment that Roosevelt. had not consulted him as to whether the Army could carry the air mail. Dern echoed this. It made him appear to be MacArthur's office boy-which is close to the truth. Also, the president didn't like these back door statements from the War Department.
 The second was Dern's obvious sympathy with the commercial air lines. He felt that the air mail should be turned back to them, and in one White House session frankly intimated as such.
 The president sat on him. White House-War Department relations since then have not hean exactly unfriendly-but slightly sour. SUGAR BONE
 One of the biggest political boners of the New Deal, so far, was the Agricultural Depart ment's admission before a con- gressional committee that the sugar bill was to kill the beet sugar industry. It caused con-