The Washington times., 1937-10-29
Jimmy Grows Up

TTNHAT Jimmy Roosevelt is able to act as White
House contact man for eighteen of the most power
full agencies in the Government indicates either tre-
mendous change in public opinion tremendous
change in Jimmy himself.
About two years ago his father contemplated bring
ing him down from New York to serve without salary
as substitute for Louis Howe. But when word of this
leaked out it created extremely bad IMPRESSION and
the President who prides himself his ability to feel
the public pulse, issued terse statement that Jimmy
was to be placed in charge of the twevecow dairy farm
and the forestry preserve at Hyde Park. Jimmy had
"overvorked at the insurance business, his father
plained and needed rest
Jimmy Roosevelt read the announcement that after
noon in the papers and flabbergasted. He had
never MIXED a COW in his life and
%1''"0'0o" ~ beyond Joyce Klmer's poem, he
Eccentricities 1oo,- no+b;no about +roos
Since then Jimmy has grown up bit and also the
public has become little more accustomed to the
ebullient eccentrcities of the Roosevelt family.
Whether or not Jimmy is qualified to coordinate the
independent agencies, the job certainly needs doing
Administrative work has become concentrated in the
hands of the White House during the last four years
that the Presidents desk has grown into bottle neck
in which important decisions sometimes become clogged
for weeks months.
The President at least can be sure that his
will not double-cross him. Furthermore, Jimmy has
pretty good idea of what his father is thinking and
who he wants to see.
Last winter he did the President good turn by bring
ing in various Congressional leaders who had been cool
ing their heels in Marvin McInyre's outer office off
and on, for weeks.
Some of the independent agencies which will
report to Jimmy vastly need to sraghten them
,o.. them out. The Federal Commun
''0'"'' 0'" cations Commission is rife with
IN bureaus dssension. The National Bitumi-
nous Coal Commission is torn between representatives Of
the miners and representatives of the operators, with
three Senators from softcoal Sates-Guffey of Penn
syvania, Neely of West Virginia and Barkey of Ken
tucky-all having their the commission and all
pulling in different directions
On the Maritime Commission, Commissioner Carl
Moran is waging hard fight for the public against
the big shippers while the National Labor Relations
Board Chairman Madden is fighting for the AFI1 with
Commissioner Edwin Smith trying to give fair break
to CIO There is also internal scrap in the Federal
Power Commission, and streak of do-nothingness in
the Interstate Commerce Commission which delayed
the recent freight rate increase for almost year.
There no question: therefore, that Jimmys job of
coordnang these agencies should have been done long
ago. Whether he is the man to do it will depend
tirey upon Jimmy himself. Judging by his past, the
odds are against him. His record of insurance selling
and whiskey-agentng is bad that it is difficult to
aibi on the mere that he young.
Since he has come under direct parental control
however, Jimmy has bucked up. As press laison Off
?. r, on the recent Western trip
. he did excellent job. As
E100'0'' White House secretary he has
worked hard If he keeps up and if he is wise enough
to get his assistant who really knows the ma
chnery of instead of the sefsasfied staff
of females who surround him. Jimmy may accom-
plish something
Otherwise it will be merely liberal education for
Jimmy-at the publc's expense.
Washington Needs
eIfH