, 1935-03-04
WASHINGTON
BY George Dunno

uOSLlnb. 90 q u reporter assignee
to cover a big disaster wired his Of
flee. the old New York World In
many respects this brief dispatch
covers the current situation in Wash
ington with the cub a memory and
President Roosevelt very busy cross
ing a one-way street and looking
both ways.
White House secretaries continue
to report valiantly that the coun-
try Is pouring IN stand by-the-pres-
dent messages Up on Capitol Hill
the democratic senator's who have
Stymied the Roosevelt program tenn
porarily insist that the overwhelm-
ing bulk OF the mail they n getting
urges them to got to IT,"
AS the old seafaring man said:
-She looks like she's going to blow
harder before she blows easier"
NatiOnalize-Coal operators are
reading a deep and devious motive
into the latest wage demands OF
President John L. Lewis, of the Unit
ed Mine Workers OF America. They
charge privately that Lewis has ask
ed for a new hour and wage schedule
he knows can't be met with the idea
Of demonstrating futility of further
operation under the NRA code.
What the mine workers want Is
naturalization OF the coal fields. The
Guffey bill declaring them a pub
lie utility, with most stringent gov
eminent control, actually was writ
ten by UNIV attorneys. Present in
dlcations are that, despite strenuous
opposition on the part Of the mile
owners and big business generally,
IL stands a good chance OF passing
the Senate-particularly since Presi-
cent RooSevelt's NRA message which
contained a cryptic sentence indi-
eating the New Deal wanted TO take
hold Of coal, gas and oil.
Lewis demanded that the opera
tors In the Appalachian bituminoIs
district give his men a new two-year
contract embodying a 32-hour week
and wage increases which the own
ers say would cost him Sl3.0O0.O00
additional annually. The operators
contend the last wage boost and
hour cut they granted put them sl3,-
0 10000 in the red and they have re-
jected the mine workers proposal.
Purging-NRA quietly Is conduct
ing an investigation OF code auth
critics. The idea Is to eliminate a lot
OF chiSeling on the part OF smart
Washington lawyers and lobbyists
who have been cutting in and cost
ing industry a pretty penny. The
National Association OF Manufac-
turers recently estimated that 1t was
costing business SAL .OOO.O 900 annual
ly TO maintain the code authority Of
fees here and elsewhere.
Already n code chairman has
been asked 10 resign. II so happens
he Is not one Of the heavy-salary-
and-expenSe-account boys, but a big
manufacturer drafted by his indus
thy. NRA Is not satisfied with the
manner in which he has been con-
Quoting his job.
There may be q kick-back from
this one. The ousted gentleman may
bear heavily on the fact 5. Clay
williams. chairman OF the NRA'
board. was cigarette code authority
for many months before accepting
government service and failed TO
draft an acceptable code.
Separation Senate progreSSives
chuckle Whenever Huey Long jabS
Jim Farley which Is daily when
Huey takes time from his bayou
dictatorship tS act as senator. Huey
is obtaining possession Of highly
embarrassing letters which he reads
TO the senate. Senator's and mem
bers who are sore over patronage
rebuffs are feeding some Of these
documents to Huey.
ProgreSsiveS expected the admin
istratior 20 throw the lifeline TO
Senator Cutting In his hard New
Mexico campaign. as 1t did TO john
and LaFollette. Farley stood
behind Dennis Chavez. The contest
filed by Chavez against Cutting is
supposed TO have some democratic
sympathy and support. Cutting
played along with the administra-
ton on the world court vote, but on
the work-relief bill he took the OPP
position side.
Feathers-One Of the gentlemen
standing In line waiting for con-
greSs TO revolve Is Governor Mar
riner s. Eccles Of the Federal Re-
serve Board. He hasn't yet been
confirmed. Unless he can III the
gauntlet where Carter Glass waits
with a tomahawk he must quit. Like
all descendants Of Pocahontas Car
ter Yields a wicked weapon.
The banking bill is the bone OF
contention. Glass accuses Eccles OF
its authorship and-or sponsorship
and when Glass says "and-or' its
q sign he's fighting mad. The bill
rips to pieces Carriers beloved child,
the Federal Reserve board.
It's a fair guess that the bill win
lose some feathers and that Eccles