The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-12-08


 a few weeks. He was not As a matter of fact, at the mo- ment Joe is not in the best stand- ing in the inner circle. The trip is entirely his own idea. Two motives are behind it--politics and the press.
 Personable, ingratiating, and with the flair of the Irish for politics. Joe is very ambitious in this direction. He is brilliant business man and stock market operator, but he has made his pile and now wants to carve name for himself in public affairs. What he is secretly after is the 1940 nomination for vice president.
 So, too, are Jim Farley, Sem atOr Alben Barkley of Kentucky, and a dozen other hopefuls. Joe knows this, of course, so he is using the disturbed European situation as an excuse to dash across the Atlantic for 8 few weeks to look over the lay of the land and do some quiet fence building.
 One of the chief things he wants to build up is his press. Joe has had number of jolts lately. Reports from London have pie tured him as taken into camp by the Chamberlain government and as an ardent supporter of it's policy of "appeasing" the Nazis Mussolini.
 One American correspondent quoted Joe as complaining, "I wish Roosevelt had as much confidence in me as Neville Chamberlain"
 Joe is not used to such criti- cal comments. On personal terms with scores of newsmen, he is ac- customed to friendly press treat ment. The recent barrage of brickbats has greatly disturbed him. They could scuttle his vice presidential aspirations just as completely as his friend Chamber lain sank the trusting Czechs.
 So Joe is returning to put the boys straight and try to trans form the brickbats into bOu- qucts.
 Usurers
 When congress directed the Fed eral Trade Commission to inc vestigate the retailing of automo- piles, it did not know that ETC would find pay dirt at its very doorsteps.
 In Washington, a group of re- tailers impose penalties on their salesmen if car is sold for cash.
 The high financing rates paid by a customer who buys a car lon time" are much more at- tractive to the dealer than the straight commission. So if a salesman sells car on credit, his commission is as high as $50, but if he sells for cash, his fee Is cut to $50.
 This system means more profit for the dealer, but it also means that the buyer is inducted to pay an interest rate which looks like 6 per cent but is actually twice that much. It also means that other financing institutions, such as banks, lose business.
 
 The City Bank of Washington, one of the losers, has reported the practice to the ETC, where an in- vestigation Is under way.
 Capital Chaff
 The President has been urged by advisers to have Lowell Mel lett, director of the National En- ergency Council, make a nation wide survey of un-Americanisln activities, similar to his southern economic study last summer, to show up the Dies committee. Cri- tics contend that instead of mak- ing a genuine probe of Fascist and Communist operations in America, the committee has devot- ed itself to smearing New Deal- CTS and labor leaders As if 1t didn't have enough trouble find- ing jobs for lafne-duck congress men and senators, the White House is also being plagued by Democrats who failed to get into office. One of these is Willis Ma honey, Oregon senatorial candi- date, who is being pushed for a job by Saul Haas, collector of the Port at Seattle and political power in the northwest Ed ward Roddan, former ace Wash ington correspondent, did most of the writing of Jim Farley's book, Behind the Ballots" ... Lead ing movie stars and directors will launch a nationwide drive to boy colt Nazi Germany, using news reel trailers and a national radio broadcast, The movement is headed by Donald Ogden Stew art, well-known author and chair man of the Hollvwn0d Anfi-NaZi