The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-11-24


 Actual fact is that nobody's wire was tapped. But the Excitement began when Charley West, hand- pumping undersecretary of the Interior, came to his chief, MT. IckeS, and complained that his, Vests, wire was tapped.
 Charley, an affable Ohio ex- college professor, married one of his pupils, and had to trade in his $3,000 roadster because his wife felt 1t was risky to drive with collapsible top. Appointed to the Interior Department over Ickes' head, Charley spends most of his time steering stubborn congress- men for Roosevelt on Capitol Hill.
 Real No. 2 Man In the In- terior Department Is Ebert K. Burlew, efficient, night-and- day tolllng Pennsylvania Dutchman. He and Ickes, also Penn Dutch, pull together. Burlew and West do not. Therefore West sus- pected Burlcw had tapped his wires.
 Father Ickes, to whom Charley West complained; pooh-poohed the idea but called up the telephone company, asked them to examine the wires of all high officials of the Interior Department.
 They found nothing. Still West wasn't satisfied. So lckes ordered another search. Result. Newspa- per stories said that Ickes' wires were found tapped but that no one dared tell him. Actually a dic. taphone which lckes uses for diC- tating letters was found in all office next to his. But that was all.
 Straus vs. IckeS
 By this time, MT. West had become so wire-tap conscious that the secretary summoned a confer- ence of his division chiefs, eX. plaining that this was not modern Russia but modern America. He admitted that his first chief in- vestigator had tapped few wires, but that today no one need talk In whispers or look behind tho radiator.
 At this point, Nathan Straus, busting little chief of the new Housing Administration, marched in ct the head of Q platoon of his assistants, sat in the front row.
 Immediately straus jumped to hls feet and said:
 I'm awfully glad to meet your bureau chiefs Mir. Secrc- tary. After all. we're all for Roosevelt and Government"
 Actually Straus hadn't been in. vited. But Mir. 1ckes didn't tell him SO. Instead he repeated his calm-yourself talk, which brought Straus to his feet again.
 "Wire. .tapping?" hc almost shouted. But that's against the law. You have no right to tap my wires. I can get an opinion from the attorney gen. eral on that!"
 Here followed 6 knock-down, drag-out argument between the secretary of the interior and the Housing chief whom Roosevelt ap- pointed over his head. 1ckes has Q tongue whittled sharp by putting senators in their places. And he lot Straus have 1t. He left no doubt as to who was running the Interior Department and who, If anyone, was asking opinions of the attorney general.
 Silver Lining
 How true are the shush- -shush whispers about 6 rift between Farley and Roosevelt can be shown by a remark the President made to Jim several days after the stock market crash:
 Well" he laughed, "there Is one silver lining to the business situation, Jim. Maybe 1t will induce you to remain In the cabinet"
 During his illness last week, Farley was the only cabinet mem. ber the President talked with. Business vs. New Deal
 While businessmen were wailing about closer cooperation between government and business. the other day, Chairman Joe Kennedy of the Maritime Commission had some important problems involv- ing ship rates and routes on which he wanted sound advice from business. ,...
 So Kennedy telephoned Averell Hartman (head of the Union Pacific, Illinois Central, director in Western Union. Guaranty Trust, and a member of Roper's Advisory Committed asking him to find two economists who could represent the business viewpoint to the Maritime Commission for Q month or 50.
 Hartman finally recommends cd . man in the Securities Ex.