Evening star., 1939-01-24
Hopkins Expected
To Present Business
Program Thursday
PIons for improvement
Moy Be Submitted
To Advisory Council
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Secretary of Commerce Hopkins
may present to the Business Ad-
visory Council this week the first
broad outlines of his program for
improving economic conditions and
increasing employment through CO.
operative efforts Of business and
Government.
The council meets here Thursday,
and Mr.. Hopkins, who was con-
firmed by the Senate yesterday, is
expected to take the occasion to
submit his ideas for business i'm
provement.
These have not been divulged in
detail even to some of his close as
sociates. He is expected, however,
to call for specific attacks on sew
eral problems, possibly including
friction between business and the
Government, factionalism in or
ganized labor, the construction lag
in the utilities industry and the
railroad financial situation.
Confirmed So to 27.
The Senate approved Mr.. Roose-
velt's appointment of Mr.. Hopkins,
So to ~, after opponents had criti-
cized his administration of the w.
P. A.
Favoring confirmation were SO
Democrats, Senators Nye and Fra
zier, North Dakota Republicans;
Norris, independent, of Nebraska;
La Toilette, Progressive, of Wiscon-
sin, and Lundeen, Farmer-Labor, of
Minnesota.
Opposing Mr.. Hopkins were 81
Republicans, Senator Shipstead,
Farmer-Labor, of Minnesota, and
five Democrats, George of Georgia,
Gerry, Rhode Island; Holt, West
Virginia: King, Utah, and Van Nuys,
Indiana.
After being questioned for two
days by the Senate Commerce Com
mittee. the presidential adviser and
former w. P. A. chief was raked
over the Goals for three more days
on the Senate floor by Republicans
and anti-administration Democrats
Most Of the latter made it clear
their attacks were aimed not so much
at Mr.. Hopkins as at some of the
actions of the administration. De-
spite their criticism. some of the
Democrats voted to confirm Mr..
Hopkins on the theory the President
should be allowed to pick his own
advisers
Administration Senators minimized
the Importance of charges of poll
tics in relief, declared w. P. A. sub
ordinate officials were to blame, and
praised Mr.. Hopkins record as an
efficient administrator.
Majority Leader Barkley declared
the President was "the ultimate
target of all this denunciation
against Mr.. Hopkins" and he chal-
lenged "any Senator to point to a
single dollar of graft" In the more
than $4,000, 900, 900 spent for Federal
relief during the six years of Mr..
Hopkins administration.
Mr.. Hopkins was sworn in as Sec
retary of Commerce at the White
House on Christmas eve. He re-
placed Daniel c. Roper. who re-
signed to re-enter private law prac-
tice.
Conferences Held.
For more than a month Mr.. Hop
kins has been conferring with top
rank business men both here and in
New York. Among those he has
seen are w. Avelell Hartman,
chairman OF the Business Advisory
Council, who will come here to-
morrow to prepare for the council
meeting.
One conferee reported that out of
these conversations Mr.. Hopkins
expected to draw up a list of the
problems suggested to him, elimi-
nate all except the half dozen most
crucial, and concentrate on solving
those.
To some persons Secretary Hop
kins is reported to have expressed
the opinion that the lag in utilities
construction appeared to be the
key to the economic log jam, and to
others he has voiced somewhat SIM
liar views about the A. F. L.-C. I. o.
rivalry.
Whether Mr.. Roosevelt actually
assigned him to reconcile the war
ring labor factions remains an un-
confirmed report, but no one here
doubts that if the opportunity
arises to do something along that
line, he will take it.