The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-06-28
By RODNEY BUTCHER Democrat Washington
 CorrespOndentl

lar man in town IT ne hao been able to make his charges stick.
 Neither the bungling attack of that busted little cabinet" member nor any conceivable amount of whitewash can bury the odors which emerge under Secretary Dan Roper, the ex-lobbyist. It will take an even more inept person than Mitchell to destroy the departments reputation here as the New Deals chief citadel of fa- voritism and peanut politics.
 If Mitchell had had the faintest notion of how to assemble and pre- sent his charges and evidence ef- fectiveiy, he would have made much more of an impression.
 About all he displayed, however. was a strong sense of indignation and living exhibit of the type of folks who land in soft spots in the Roper organization. The Leviathan deal by which certain friends of the president and others were excused from penalties for incorporation was of debatable merit. Comptroller General Me- Carl opposed 1t. Roosevelt okayed 1t. Many of the presidents friends wish he would give up those yacht cruises with Vincent Astor and
 Kermit Roosevelt-two of the al- legged bcneficiaries = believing "it doesn't look good" and gives his enemies ammunition. But in that, Mitchell was digging up old bones.
 Fire Isn't Quelled Mitchells flop will not divert fire from other sources at Roper's shipping board bureau, steamship inspection service, bureau of aero-
 nautics, and other bureaus. Ills
 evidence of continuous excuses from penalty for violation of navi- gation laws. or ships allowed to go | to sea inadequately manned or with
 broken propellers, and of steam
 ship inspectors allowed to remain
 after being found to have taken
 "gratuities" still stands in tho record.
 American passenger ships almost
 as infiammable as wooden packing cases have continued to operate
 despite inspection.
 The Morro Castle, which burned with loss of 100 lives after being
 built with government money, was
 found to have had passenger cabins and stairways made largely of wood-including oregan pine in the latter case--which burned | quickly.
 Often she had carried munitions to Cuba, of which passengers were blissfully unaware.
 "Hatchet Man" Rewarded
 Secretary Roper has hired a new crew of press agents and his critics believe he needs them. The department has been notorious for political craftsmanship which trampled on many seasoned old. timers.
 H. Russell Amory, hatchet man in the cleanout of employees and often credited with helping block confirmation of Dr. Willard Thorp as chief of the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, has since been rewarded by q high post in the shipping board bureau.
 Some of the non-political old timers in the department say they often pray for the return of Her. bert Hoover as secretary of com. merce. Too Much Family After reporting the current lo- cal reaction to Mir. Roper, 1t is perhaps only fair to point out also that political activities of tho Roosevelt boys, James and Elliott, have reused no great enthusiasm among many folks in the adminis- tration camp.
 Obviously, this isn't a matter
 over discussed publicly. But it's discussed plenty in private. Some New Dealers are convinced that the activities of the presiden- tial family, aside from Mir. Roose- welt, have been, politically, . net loss. There's some reason to be- lieve that Jimmy, who has been virtually patronage boss of Massa- chusetts and has prospered in va- rious lines of business, has lately been yanked out of the limelight for while.
 And you're likely to hear less of Elliott as q result of efforts to oust
 him from vice presidency of the
 Young Democrats of Texas.
 Talks Out of Turn
 Even firm friends of Mrs. Roose- welt wish she had kept quiet about the Hauptmann trial and hadn't identified herself so completely with the humanitarian but now fizzling subsistence homesteads pro- gram.
 They admit that divorces in the
 Roosevelt family are the business
 of no one but those concerned, but are forced to admit that such incl dents have been quickly seized
 upon by many persons anxious to
 make attacks.
 Current whispering campaigns" especially in the south, do not neg
 lect the Roosevelt family. There is no shred of truth in any of the
 whispers" thus far reported back to Washington.
 Copyright. 1895, NEA Service. Inc.) 
 CARMEN