The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-11-04

The seven.man commission, ap- pointed under the Guftey coal act to fix prices and stabilize produc. ton in the long chaotic soft coal fields, chiefly has been engaged in absorbing work aS selecting office furniture and rowing over pa- tronage.
 Patronage battles have almoOt torn the Commission to pieces. Even the appointment Of . mes- senger Is . question seriously dee bated.
 Not long ago commissioners c. E. Smith of West Virginia, who has his eye on the governorship of that state, wanted to dismiss IF civil service employees and re. place them with 1i7 political ap- pointees from West Virginia.
 Gus Martin, representative of Secretary Ickes on the board de- murred. He said the transfer could not be made under the act.
 ''H want it done anyway" Rumed Smith, Whereupon Mar. tin resigned. t s.tn
 So far Smith and 0, F. Hos. ford have controlled most of tho patronage. They have even re- fused to permit commissioners representing the miners to know what personnel has been appoint ed, despite the fact that govern ment practice requires the name of any enploye and his salary 10 be public record. Any citizen has the right to know 1t. > Gaudy Furniture :, @..4
 Next to patronage, chief jealousy with the commission Is over of- flee fixtures. One. commissioner has given blanket orders that whenever one of his colleagues gets a new inkwell or piece of of. flee furniture, he Is to have the same thing.
 When one commissioner adds an extra room to his suite, his colleagues demand similar addi. ton. Their offices are now big. ger than those of cabinet mem. bers. Commissioner Smith, who drinks a great deal of water, se- cured an aluminium water jug for his desk. Immediately the others demanded one too.
 Commissioner Smith has now ordered velvet drapes and criIM- son leather office chairs cost. ing $2O0 apiece. His suite will bo more ornate than the Presi. dents. When they discover this, other commissioners are expected to demand equally guAdy equipment.
 one commission has changed the partitions in his office five different times - all at govern ment expense. Three hundred bronze indirect lighting fixtures and 200 bronze desk lamps are among the office playthings or. dered by the gentlemen appointed to stabilize the bituminous coal industry.
 The Battle Lineup
 The three men who dominate the Coal Commission are:
 c. F. Hosf0rd, Q Pennsylvania coal opeartor, appointed through Senator Guffey; c. E. Smith, Q Q West Virginia newspaper pulp fisher, appointed through sena- tor Nicely; and Thomas Raymond, a Kentucky coal operator, ape pointed through Senator Barkley.
 During intra- a-commiSSlon rows, Hosford sometimes has warned: 'T fear that Senator Guffey will not be pleased when he hears this." .,
 To which Smith would reply: .''I shall make . full report to Senator Nicely"
 "And I shall have to take the matter up with Senator Bark lcy," would chime in MT. Hay m0nd.
 The question they would be squahbling about would merely be one of patronage.
 When 1t comes to opposition from the miners representatives, these three stick together. The commission is composed of two operator representatives, two min- CTS, and three representing the public.
 Smith Is one of the latter. An. other of the public representatives, Walter Maloney, Q hencl.man of Boss Pendergast of Kansas City, also sides with them, making a vote of { to 3.
 In the minority are: Pres Green lee. a henchman of ex-Governor Paul McNutt of Indiana, and a representative of the public: Johu D. Lewis (no relation to John L.), an Iowa miner. appointed through Senator Herring: and Percy Tet- low, a mining protege of John L. Lewis.
 These three have had little idea