The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-11-25

such important prolecCS Authority.
 Chief issue at stake is whether the New Deal should compromise with the power companies.
 Liberals inside the Administra- ton say Roosevelt's overwhelm- ing election is passport to the President to push the power fight to the limit. They want no com- promise.
 Pseudo liberals and conserva- tives say the President should now work out a system whereby the government and private power companies can cooperate. they propose the British grid" system, or power pool, by which the generating and transmitting equipment of both public and pri- vate plants is consolidated into Q single network, operated by @ joint board on which the public and the private power companies are both represented.
 Object of the Grid System IS to eliminate costly competition be- tween private and public projects. Cast of Characters
 A weird cast of characters Is taking part in this controversy.
 Those advocating the Grid Sys- tenn or Power Pool are:
 Louis Brandeis Wehle, nephew of Justice Brandeis, and a Har- yard classmate of the Presi- dents; now a New York lawyer for Prudential Life and other firms with investments in power companies.
 Alexander Sachs, round, genial economist for the Leh-
 man Corp, banking firm; also General Johnson's first economic adviser in MIRA.
 Basil Manly, pseudo-libe Vice-chairman of the Federal Power commission.
 pr. Arthur E. Morgan, crotch- ety, hard-working chairman Of IVA.
 Chief opponents to the Power Pool are:--
 David E. Lilienthal, sleek, black haired crusading director of IVA.
 J. D. Ross, lethargic, idealistic member of the Securities-Ex- change commission, and former superintendent of the Seattle power system, largest and most successful municipal plant in the country.
 The Row
 During the campaign the above parties held @ conference at the White House when plan for pooling Tennessee Valley power operations was discussed. Sachs and Brandeis' nephew, both rep resenting investment companies with money tied up in the power companies, urged the pool sys- tenn.
 Ross and Lilienthal, their dan der up, warned the President that the plan was Q utility-concocted scheme to out-bargain the govern ment at the very moment the latter had the power companies on the run. They claimed that such Q pooling system, the gov- ernment was bound to lose out to the private companies.
 The President, ct that time, was non on-committal. He postponed any decision until after elections. Rnewed Fight
 But just as ho sailed for South America, the issue cropped up again.
 It arose as Q result of incrcas- ing friction between Dave Lill- enthal and A. E. Morgan, both executives of IVA. The two men have been getting on each others nerves. Last spring Morgan served notice on the White House that If Lilienthal were reappointed (his term was up In June), he, Morgan, would resign.
 Roosevelt serenely reappointed Lilienthal. Morgan did not re- sign. Now 1t begins to look as if the President hoped that he would. In fact, when the Presi- dent returns, Morgan's retirement would not surprise Inner White House advisers.
 Long Shot
 Shortly after the election Col. Robert Mccormick, publisher of the violently anti-New Deal Chi- cago Tribune, instructed his Washington bureau to obtain Q color portrait of the President for the Tribune's Sunday rotogravure section.
 With some misgivings, one of the Tribune's correspondents submitted the request to White House Secretary Steve Early.
 "If 1t were for you person. ally" Early, D one-tlme report CT. replied, "we'd be glad to Oblige. But there arc no fav- ors being extended here to MT. Mccormick"
 That, apparently, closed the matter. The Tribune reporter de- parted --- but he did not give up.
 The day the President sailed for the American peace confer- ence, the President and his White House staff posed with newspa- y,ern,en ak n t,raag coflfArei1ce