The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-08-14


 And it was Ed Flynn who was responsible for the Hyde Park announcement denying that Hop kins would sit in on a political council-of with the President and Henry Wallace.
 Flynn read in the Tuesday morning papers that Hopkins was to take part in the pow-wow. He had no information as to the source of the news report, but he strongly suspected Harry, him. self.
 However, Flynn wasted no time in arguing about the matter. He called up Hyde Park and bluntly insisted that Hopkins is out" And he was. A half hour later, White House Secretary Bill Hassett sum- moned newsmen and told them Hopkins would not be present at the conference between Roose- vet and Wallace.
 NOTE-The Secretary of Com merce spent the day willing his time away playing bridge in a nearby Poughkeepsie hotel. DECENTRALIZED SET-UP
 Working uS n4gn speed behind the scenes for his taking over of the national chairmanship. Flynn has completely reorganized the Democratic campaign machinery.
 The crux of the new set-up is decentralization.
 Instead of the central headquar- ters occupying four hotel floors in Manhattan, which Farley bossed, Flynn will establish a number of regional offices to be unoer the direction of local leaders. Already decided on are the following:
 Eastern headquarters, located in New York, under Flynn himself: mid-western offices, in Chicago, under Paul McNutt; southern, in Birmingham, under Sen. John Bankhead; Rock Mountain, in Denver, under Sen. Joe O'Mahoney of Wyoming; southwestern, in a city yet to be selected, under Sam Rayburn, House floor leader and close friend of Jack Garner; Pa cific coast, city and chief yet to be chosen. Heading separate cam paign group will be Mayor La- Guardia of New York, who will carry the Roosevelt-Wallace cam paign among liberal and indepen- dent elements. The LaGuardia or ganization will be known as the Roosevelt Progressive Campaign Committee.
 Flynn also plans 8 number of changes in National Committee personnel.
 NOTE = When Flynn agreed to become Democratic chairman he did so on one condition only, that he have free hand to clean up the National Committee and run the campaign without inter- ference from White House inti- mates like Hopkins.
 IF WILLKIE WINS
 A group, of ardent young New Dealers and their wives held 8 weighty conference under a lamp post. It was a Georgetown lamp post at the corner of Thirtieth and N streets, and they all lived near that corner, but they all won- dered how long they would live there.
 That was the subject that weighed upon their minds, but they didn't express 1t in the usual political talk. Their talk was confined to leases.
 James H. Rowe, administrative assistant to the President, whose house is right on the corner, looked at Ralph T. Seward, who lives in the famous 'narrowest house" 8 few doors below. And Mrs. Seward looked at Mrs. Rowe.
 Abe Fortas, once of SEC, now Bituminous Coal Division counsel, studied the face of Ed Rhetts, as- sociate solicitor of the Labor De- partment. Fortas was thinking of his house on the opposite corner.
 When thoughts found words. they were something like this:
 "Are you planning to renew your lease?" Dunno, are you?. Mines up in Octo- ber.n "So's mine." "Go- ing to sign up for another year?"
 No mention was made of the name ''Willkie" "-not a word. But presently someone said, q think m zee what kind of cancelIa- ton clause ! can get in caser