The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-04-06

II. He makes no secret oil MS
4 trust.
else totalitarisn power over the
German segment of industry and
exempt the outsiders.
Indeed some. like the indus
trialists in Italy and Germany.
welcomed the rise of a strong
figure like the dictator. Now.
however. they are suffering and
may eventually lose their shirts.
The hard cash which they obtain
for their export products both
before the war and since) must
be turned over to the reichsbank
in exchange for marks Of doubt
full value. In many cases they
have been forced to abandon
their peacetime lines and manu-
facture war materials.
The Opel plant of General Mo-
tors, for instance, now produces
army trucks instead of pleasure
cars. Other subsidiaries of Amer
lean firms entrapped by der
fuehrer include Ford. Interna-
tional Harvester, Underwood
Typewriter Co., American Radi-
ator, International Business Ma
chimes. Their plight-and the
prospect that they may eventual
ly be 'liquidated' -explains why
so many moguls of American big
business have a finger in the
peace schemes advanced almost
daily in Berlin and Washington.
Harold L. 1ckes is gallpoing
for the worst fall of his tenn
pestuous career in his present
rampage around the Washington
lot. He is reaching out for power.
which the senate will deny him
by almost unanimous vote. IL
FDR backs him, it will embroil
the White House in the fiercest
controversy since the struggle
over the supreme court reform.
Although he may have less
than IL months to serve, the sec
rotary of the interior insists on
stripping agriculture of two of its
most priced possessions-the for
estry service and the rural cleo
trification administration. Only
a few months ago, at the urging
of Tommy Corcoran, he tried to
bring IVA under his wing. His
thirst for power at this time
mystifies his friends and enc
mics at the capital. So does the
presidents apparent approval of
his tactics designed to undermine
Henry Wallace. The Roosevelt
Ickes program threatens to alien
ate such administration men as
Senators Norris of Nebraska,
Byrnes of South Carolina and
Pittman of Nevada. They have
bluntly informed FDR that they
will rebel and administer
scorching rebuke to the admin
istration.
Capitol Hill Democrats-new
and old dealers-assail the pro-
posed shifts as major political
blunder on the eve of election.
They like Ickes personally, but
they point out that he would run
last in a popularity poll taken
among voters in general.
The Federal Communications
Commission has recommended a
merger of the American radio
telegraph and cable companies
in the international field. While
the state, war and navy depart
ments haven't yet gone on
record respecting this idea. in
formed sources reveal that their
top officials are predominantly
for il.
The competition among the
several American wire services
carrying messages abroad has
put them at a marked disad-
vantage in dealing with foreign
companies. Most of these are
government owned or controlled
monopolies. They're prone to
play one U. S. outfit off against
another until rates are so low
that none of them can make a
profit. The result, according to
the F C. c. findings, is in
efficiency of service and finan-