, 1935-04-25
WASHINGTON
By George DurnO

Interstate-ASjde from the direc-
ton Of public works, Secretary of
Interior Harold Ickes has M other
major love. He wants TO cement
himself in as federal dictator Of the
Oil industry.
AS matters are now shaping up.
Honest Harold"-as he hates 70 be
called-is on q fair way to seeing his
plan Of federal oil control tossed
out the window.
Texas. which produces ~ per cent
OF the country's oil and could pro-
duce 80 per cent, has been whack-
ing decisively at Ickes' efforts TO
get a bill through Congress which
would ratify federal regulation of
crude petroleum output. AS a re-
suit. those who follow legislative
progress closely In Washington are
predicting that the so-called
Thomas bill, sponsored and dicta-
ted by IckeS, won't get much past
first base, II that far.
1t is all a question Of states rights
ard observation-disclosures the
Texans have drawn words from the
mouths Of President Roosevelt and
Chief Justice Hughes to demon
strate that Washington has no right
to tell the oil-producing states how
that industry may function-that
Is, beyond normal control of inter-
state commerce based on state law.
Backstage-Ickes heard rumbles
that the Thomas bill was in dan
ger. He also learned that Governor
jim Alfred, Attorney General Bill
McCraw and State Railroad Chair
man Ernest Thompson were on the
way up from Texas to tell Congress
why the federal government had no
right exercising supreme control
over such a purely interstate mat
ter as oil production.
Ickes, so the story goes, assem-
hled a quick White House confer
ence which included Senator Elmer
Thomas Of Oklahoma, Representa-
tive Wesley Disney Of Oklahoma,
and Representative William P. Cole,
IT,, Of Maryland, the latter being
chairman Of a house Sub-commit-
zee which recently reported the gov
eminent had no constitutional right
to tell a state how much oilait might
produce. No one was present from
Texas or California, the two largest
oil states. Word was carried from
this session that MI. Roosevelt ia
vored oil regulation legislation.
Control-Then the Texans got to
town. In their testimony before the
Senate mines committee, they
quoted Charles Evans Hughes as
telling the Federal Oil Conserva-
ton Board back in 1926 that Con
gress has no constitutional author
ity to control the mere production
of petroleum on lands (other than
Indian lands) within the territory
Of q state" They dug up a letter
MI. Roosevelt wrote the oil COVER
nors back in 1888 which indicated
a White House belief that regula-
ton Of production was "the sole
authority and jurisdiction Of the in
terested states"
Governor Alfred and his aides
asked that Congress confine itself
to ratifying a compact the oil-pro-
ducing states + now making TO
regulate themselves. Actually, the
compact has no binding force but
the legislatures Of Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas and New Mexico already
have accepted 1t, with CALIFORNIA;
approval on the way.
1t looks as though Secretary Ickes
was about to be deprived Of his
watchdogging over hot oil" The
oil Spokesman swear in any event
that hot oil'-or oil produced In
violation Of government quotas
amounts oIfy t abou. one-tenth OF
one per cent Of the country's daily
consumption.
Bear in mind that Vice President
Garner, Senators Connally and
Sheppard, and Representative Ray
burn, all legislative powers who
ride high on the administration
bandwagon, come from Texas.
Bitter-RooSevelt hopes to spend
the S4.8B0. 900, 900 work-relief money
in fourteen months-by July /, 1886.
He will not succeed unless he gets
better teamwork among the reliev-
ers. The states want Roosevelt TO
do 1t all-and Ickes and Hopkins
make sure that the exchanges be-
tween the states and Washington
shall be written in gall and vitriol.
To spend the four billion would re-
quire an average outlay OF 2 1885,
600 q day.
Every state getting less than some
other state Is fertile ground for a
crouch. The big job ahead Of +. ID.
r. Is to force the states to come
through with their end of the relief
Cash.
Jim Farley Is not 50 keen to wind
up the spending on July ! next
year-the campaign doesn't close
till election day.
Check-Senator Hugo Black, OF
Mississippi, has a bill in the legis-
lative hopper which would require
all Washington lobbyists to register,
identifying their connections-and
state periodically with which men,
bers Of Congress they had talked
about what.
I~rrepressible Huey says he will
offer an amendment to the Black
bill requiring all Senator's to reveal
the names Of lobbyists with whom
they have beef consorting.
However, there Is slight chance
that the Black bill will ever see the
light Of day. Congress got indig-
nant about lobbying back in 1918
when the underwood Simmons tar
If bill was up, and more recently
when the Smoot-Hawley tariff meas
use wa under consideration-but
nothing ever came Of II. woodrow
Wilson complained about a large
and insidious lobby" Republican
Senator Cummings Of Iowa got all
het up In his time, as did Demo-
cratic Senator Thad Caraway Of
Arkansas. and others. The Roose-