, 1935-11-21
Behind the
Scenes i'm
Washington
BY RODNEY BUTCHER,
The Brownsville Herald Washington
CnrrnSnnndani

O0hANrAtAAALAh
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2l.-When
Mr.. Harold Ickes goes on the spot,
which is where you can find him on
frequent occasions, the show is rath-
er more than likely TO be diverting.
Even more fascinating are the be-
hind-the-sceneS movements as IN
the recent cause celebre Of the Ger
man steel ordered by subcontractors
On a couple of PWA projects.
Suddenly your Uncle Harold found
himself sore beset by the steel
Trust" the American Federation OF
Labor, the Hearst press, and the
large. motley collection Of intra-
administration enemies he has col
lected unto himself since March 4.
1888.
At the same time some Of his sub
ordinates were furnishing him de-
fectiVe factual ammunition with
which to fight.
The odds were heavy. But / beg Of
you to believe that the Battling
Bulldog Of the cabinet was no whit
afraid. II Papa Roosevelt hadn't
interviewed and told him TO back
down. you would be seeing MI. Ickes
out in the center OF the ring, fail
ing away at all his foes in the most
awesome of New Deal bouts TO date.
A. r. Of L. Aids Trust
Plain fact. Ickes had been will
ing to use the threat OF German
steel imports in a minor way as q
club cit was more like a wand) over
the steel Trust" whose companies
had a way Of submitting identical
bids on PWA jobs which suggested
the taxpayers were being collusive-
~ held uD for eXorbitant profits.
And Roosevelt had previously
backed him up. But f. d. Develop
ed cold feet when the steel indus
try. working through Matthew VOL.
persuaded President Bill Green 81
the "A. F. of T.. to join the hue and
cry against use Of any foreign steel
in any PWA project.
Months ago the steel industry. led
by President Eugene Grace Of Beth
lehem (who was paid a bonus of ST.
623. 600 for his work in 1929, came
here to protest the possibility that
an ounce OF foreign steel might
creep into PWA JOBS.
.
Steel Tariff High
The tariff on steel written by
the industry's good pal. ex-senator
Dave Reed OF Pennsylvania runs
from Is to 80 per cent and PWA
contract regulations stipulated that
on top of that contractors must buy
American material unless a ID per
cent saving could be made otherwise.
Some steel men said the differen-
tial should be so or 10 per cent.
There was much talk about sweat
ed foreign labor" but no one could
show where any foreign steel had
come in for any PWA project. so
Ickes and Roosevelt sort Of laughed
IL OFF.
Terrible Howl Rises
Then the Mcrehead City people
decided they wouldn't pay SO per
cent more for a type OF steel to
which they said they preferred the
German product anyway and in
sisted on saving $4,000 by buying
German steel piling.
Cleei p|EOpaBollulolS SDIedu lAt
word among newspapermen and soon
there was a terrible howl. especially
when ii was learned Triborough
Bridge in New York was going TO
use q bit Of German steel. too.
It all looked bad for the admin
istration. and IckeS, whose personal
enemies here helped spread the poi
scn. was in a perilous position. He
made a couple of fumbles when
some Of his own subordinates told
him the Treasury Procurement Sec
ton was using and recommending a
IS per cent differential in federal
projects - instead OF Is per cent. as
it was - and advised him he had
no responsibility in the matter.
Certain PWA officials have since
been catching the devil)
Ickes Good and Sore
Nevertheless. Ickes had seen $780,
100000 Of PWA funds poured out to
those few steel companies with their
penchant for identical bids and
seeming collision. And he waS good
and core nOw that the same cOm-