The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1937-02-01
Political Deal

l
reform in the selection of fedora
judges will be far from thrilled a
the news of political deal in which
it Is planned to make Senator
George McGill Of Kansas a circui
court of appeals Judge in order II
make way In the senate for Guy T
Helvering, commissioner Of inter.
nal revenue and democratic boss Of
Kansas.
All things are possible, and II
may turn out that Senator McGil
is an excellent man for the job
But there are few senators more
obscure, and the highest legal post
he had held prior to election tc
the senate in democratic year was
that of county attorney Of Sedg-
wick county, Kansas.
Helvering, who has worked
close with Jim Farley, will be re-
warded for his political exploits
IL the deal Is finally approved by
Roosevelt. Under his leadership
the democrats carried Kansas last
November, to the great delight Of
both Farley and the president.
After Roosevelt had appointed
McGill to the 10th circuit bench,
Governor Human would appoint
Helvering to the senate for Nc
ellis unexpired term and Helver-
ing would run for election in 1888
against the republican candidate
who, it has often been suggested,
may be former Gov. All M. Landon.
One reason given for the proposed
deal is that Helyering would be a
far stronger candidate than McGill.
Boring From Within
There were some dramatic mo-
ments as union officials quickly
grabbed and checked the list Of
more than a hundred labor spies
employed by the National Metal
Trades Association, as made pub
lie by Senator LaFollette's COM
mittee investigating labor espionage
and civil liberties violation.
Trusted union members, even
important union officials, were
suddenly exposed. One visiting
union chief was here from Kent,
o., where considerable violence oc-
CURED in a strike last year.
''That fellow" he exclaimed as
he spied q familiar name, twas
the most active man ON our picket
line last year. He was always tell
ing the strikers to 30 out and use
dynamite!"
There was such rush to tele-
phones and telegraph offices to
get the news back to local unions,
with much question whether GER
tain union officers would get
news Of their exposure soon
enough to make a getaway.
In several instances 1t turned
out that the spies, whose business
was to reveal names of active
union members and frequently
thus to get them discharged, had
the union books or even the union
funds. One such spy was an
officer Of a state federation Of ma
chinists. Naturally, there was spc-
cial rush of bona fide union men TO
get honest hooks on valuable docu-
ments and money which they feared
might be spirited away.
Major significance of the metal
trades exposure was in the fact
that the committee set itself a pre-
edent for demanding the names of
other labor spies, such as those of
the Pinkerton agency and Corpora
tons Auxiliary, to which General
Motors corporation and the Chrys-
Ter company are said to have paid
huge sums. The Pinkertons have
refused to supply lists of their op-
eratives, SO the question may get
into the courts.
Baruch's Little Joke
Rear Admiral Cary T. Grayson,
even buster now as chairman of the
Red Cross than he was as chair
man of the inaugural, tells how he
once went turkey hunting on the
South Carolina estate of Bernard
M. Baruch.
Baruch put him in charge of
guide and made him promise
to obey the mans every instruc-