The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-11-13

in the direction of labor har-
monv will be the resignation Of
John I. Lewis as head Of the
CIO. and the substitution OF a
White House friend-somebody
like Philip Murray. Then it is
expected that he and AFL
President William Green will
agree on a candidate for secre-
tary Of labor. A man frequently
mentioned is Public Works Ad-
ministrator John Csrmody, who
has hackers in both camps.
Chief Justice Hughes will be
eligible for retirement within
year. and he will probably step
down then. Associate Justice
McReynolds has been holding on
in the hope that Republican
president would have the nam
ing of his successor, but he may
give up now. In the event of any
vacancy on the court, it is prob
able that Attorney General jack
son will be elevated Immediately.
The next house of representa-
tives will be more responsive 10
the White House than it has
been since President Roosevelt's
first year in office. 1t will not
be rubber stamp" body, but
it will also not be revolutionary.
Most of the new members
figure that they owe their seats
to the president; his remarkable
run pulled them through. Many
of the veterans. including some
who have bucked F. D. r. on his
domestic or foreign policies, also
feel grateful to him for the lift
he gave them. AS presiding Of
ficers in both branches. he will
have close personal friends
which Messrs. Garner and Bank
head were not. And despite his
newness to the post, Henry Wal
lace handed out numerous sena-
torial favors while secretary of
agriculture. They will pay polit-
ical profits now
Moreover. in view of the war.
II is doubtful if the president will
submit any controversial pro-
posals to congress during his
last term. He has obtained al
most all the economic and social
reforms he wants. The most
troublesome piece of legislation
to be presented will probably be
bill overhauling the tax struc-
ture from top to bottom in order
to produce rearmament revenue.
But that will hardly arouse per-
sonal or political bitterness, in
view of the obvious need for
more money.
The Italian armys staff work
IN the attack on Greece has been
atrocious, in the opinion of our
own military experts. It pro-
vides striking contrast with
their performance in Ethiopia,
where their accomplishments
won general acclaim.
Rome apparently made no real
preparation for the present cam
paign. There has been hardly
any coordination of land, sea and
aerial units, although the prob
lens involved placed a premium
on such cooperation. In some
instances the Italian troops have
lacked the kind of equipment
ESPECIALLY heavy artillery
needed to blast their path
through the mountains. There
was apparently no preliminary
move to seize key islands that
now furnish air and naval bases
for British reinforcements.
These failures impress our
observers as all the more re-
markable because Italys plan TO
leap into the Balkans has been
known for some time. II was
not a surprise movement. Wash
ington fully expects that in
view of his ally's bad job, Hitler
himself may decide to take
charge-and that will mean more
international complications.
Despite President Roosevelt's
triumph. the election results in
dlcate that the American peo-
pie want no part of the Euro
pean war.
For one thing. Wendell Willkie
won In states where isolationist
sentiment is strongest.