The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-08-29

of the Presidents family the skids under Murphy.
 The ambitious master mind of this scheme was G. Hall Roose- welt, brother of Mrs. Roosevelt and former controller of the city of Detroit.
 Several weeks before the Mich igan Democratic convention, Hall came to Murray D. Van Wagon CT, state highway commissioner, and told him that Washington didn't think Murphy could be re- elected and wanted Van Wag- goner to be the party's guberna- torial champion.
 Van Waggoner is a popular glad-hander with one of the strongest personal machines in the history of Michigan. He has been quietly grooming himself to run against Senator Arthur Vandenberg, when the latter comes up for reelection in 1940. But with Hall broadly in- timating that the White House wanted him to substitute for Murphy, Van Waggoner got busy.
 He sent out call to his county highway supervisors for a secret conference on the Sunday before the deadline for filing candidates. At the confab Van Waggoner re- lated what Hall Roosevelt had told him and asked his henchmen what they thought about his run ming for governor.
 Their overwhelming advice was stay out of the race. They in- formed Van Waggoner that des- pite Halls assertion of Murphy's weakness, the governor had a strong hold on the state and an excellent chance to be reelected. They advised Van Waggoner to let Hall find someone else to axe Murphy.
 Van Waggoner took his lieu tenants advice. He went to Murphy, told him the whole story and assured him he would support his renomination at the convention-which he did.
 NOTE-It was G. Hall Roose- welt who in 1892 first discovered Frank Murphy, then mayor of Detroit, and recommended him so highly to brother -in-law Frank lin D. Roosevelt that the latter appointed Murphy governor-gen- eral of the Philippines.
 Vice-Presidential Rest
 Three Texas Congressmen, Sam Rayburn, Marvin Jones and Wright Patman, happened to be together in one corner of their state this summer, when Jones remarked:
 T think I'll call up Jack Gar ner in Uvalde and go down to see him."
 Don't call him up," suggested Patman. Hell think you want something from him and put you off. Just drive by there and you'll find him sitting on the front porch in his stocking feet smoking a cigar"
 Suppose he's out fishing" de- murred Jones. Then I'd have to wait a whole day"
 "Oh, he always goes fishing at five in the morning and is back by noon," replied Patman.
 So Congressman Jones took the advice, drove to Uvalde un- announced, and sure enough found the vice president of the United States sitting in a rock ing-chair on his front porch, stocking footed and smoking big cigar.
 Pacific Coast Appointee
 The President is quietly search ing for a Pacific Coast man to replace Max Truitt, son. -in-law of Senator Albert Barkley, on the U. s. Maritime Commission.
 Truitt's temporary appointment expires this fall. Roosevelt has no desire to give him a full six year term if he can find a satisfactory Far Westerner. So far the candi- dates suggested to the President have not impressed him, but he is Stlll looking Tor a good man. Commerce vs. State
 It looks as if the State Depart ment move to swallow Hoover's famous Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, and make it part of the career diplomatic service, has reached bad stum- bling block.
 That stumbling block is As- sistant Secretary of Commerce Dick Patterson, who is putting new life into the bureau, also putting up a tough fight with the President against the State Department transfer.
 The Bureau of Foreign and De- mestic Commerce mas suffered from two things: 1, 1t was staffed with good many Hoover hold overs, not in sympathy with the