The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-12-18
Washington
Merry-Go-
Round
BY DREW PEARSON and
ROBERT 5. ALLEN.


UTASHINGTON, Dec. l8.-Tlie
w blowup of Maj. George Ber-
rvs NRA congress bodies i'll for the
chances of reviving the Blue Eagle
at the coming session of Congress.
What was left after the Supreme
Court finished its mauling expires
April /. And there is little senti-
ment on Capitol Hill to continue
even the remnants, TO say nothing
of restoring old powers.
ProgreSsives as well as Democrats
and Republicans are sour on the
torpedoed experiment"
The only group making any pre-
tense of friendship toward the NRA
is the A. F. of L. And this COR
diality is chiefly on the surface.
With the Wagner Labor Disputes
Act in their pocket, most labor lead
ers are satisfied to let things ride
Further, the more militant labor
leaders favor new legislation along
the lines of the Guffey Coal Act; in
other words, little NRAs" for each
basic industry.
The apparel and textile unions
already have announced their in
tention to offer such measures.
Insiders are wagering that the
MIRA will be allowed to lapse. If
any legislation is enacted it will
transfer the few remaining NRA
powers to the Federal Trade Com
mission.
In fact, Maj. Berry himself is said
to be secretly working on a bill to
do just that, if all hope for the
NRA vanisheS.
Privately, New Dealers are not
! taking too seriously the collapse of
Berry's attempt to pump new life
into the Blue Eagle From the very
start the inner circle viewed his
plan as trial balloon"
So it looks like ''fini Ia guerre" for
the Blue Eagle.
u Elk TUGWELL'S ReSettlement
IN Administration operates a prof.
ect at Jasper, Ala, in the state rep
!
tor John Bankhead and his brother.
Rep. William Bankhead, father Of
the glamorouS Talullah.
In tribute to their achievement.
Prof. TugWell decided to name the
Jasper project "Bankhead." How
ever, the New Deal, in seeking to
eradicate the name Hoover" from
Boulder Dam, had ruled that no
project could be named for a living
man.
So the Jasper project has been
named "Bankhead" for the Bank
heads father, now deceased, whose,
name also was John.
IT'S a good thing my name was
n Sokolof, or I wouldn't have
gotten anywhere in this country"
says Nikolai Sokoloff, the man Har-
ry Hopkins has picked to give jobs
to unemployed musicians.
I'm America you demand that a
musician have a foreign name. No
man named Smith could be an or
chestra conductor in the United
StateS!"
Sokoloff himself was born in Rus
STA, came to this country at Is, be-
came citizen at "a, married the
daughter of a United States Navy
admiral at 25, and has conducted
American orchestras since 80. He
now declares:
1--WE must find American con-
ductors for American orchestras. No
more second-rate conductors from
Europe, to take our money and our
opportunity"
Sokoloff talks about these things
in "vivo tempo" with fire in his
eye and pounding fist He thinks
the Federal music projects under
WPA can help give America mu-
sicianS of its own.
He sees his job as bigger Thanh
taking 1900 musicians off the re-
lief rolls. (About 10000 have now
been put to work. He also wants to
save America from mechanical
music.
Mechanical music is no closer to
real music than postcard is to a
great painting" he says. I'VE shall
find some real conductors before
this work is over, and present them
to the country. An if one is named
Smith, we will not make him change
to Snlithkofsky!"
y u
T FAVE it to the book statesmen to
- get an accurate barometer Of
government efficiency.
One large firm instructs its sales
men to steer clear of the Securities
Exchange Commission completely.
Its employees are so busy that an
attempt to interview them is a
waste of salesman's time.
Our best bet" confides one ex-
perienced book peddler. "is the Post
Office Department. There people
have ample time to talk"
Copyright. 1885, by United Feature
Syndicate. IncD