The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-10-25

Supreme Court. Not one out of ten would hit the bulls eye by naming the Secretary of Com merce.
 Officially the Secretary of Com Ynerce rates next to last in the Cabinet. He sits only one notch higher than the Secretary of La. bor. But unofficialy and actually this relative obscure Cabinet job rates right next to Roosevelt -" all due to the shrewdness of the man who sits in the Commerce chair Jesse Holman Jones of Houston, Texas.
 This is all because Jesse, when offered the job of Commerce Sec- retary, said he would take 1t only if permitted to remain as Federal Loan Administrator. And Roose. welt, thinking Congress would approve, said Jesse could have both jobs if Congress passed Q resolu- ton to that effect
 And Congress after some adrolt back-slapping by Jesse immediately passed the resolu- ton. So now he not only sitS i'm the Cabinet, but controls the purse strings of the greatest spending program ever under- taken by any government, in any country, at any time in his. tory.
 To get e faint idea of Jesse Jones' power, consider the fact that in normal times the Securi- ties and Exchange Commission is buy passing on flotations of stocks and bonds for construction of new plants and all kinds of business expansion. But now the SEQ is Idle and Wall Street in the dol- drums. All the plant expansion Is financed by the government. And Jesse Jones is the Czar who shells out the dough.
 HOOVER HOLDoVER
 Not many people realize 1t, but Jesse Jones Is the only Roosevelt Cabinet member who is a hold- over from the Hoover administra- ton. (EIenry l.. Stimson was brought into the Roosevelt Cabi- net after serving under Hoover, but only after being out of office seven years.) It was Herbert Hoover who first appointed Jesse to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and there are many around the President who very sincerely believe that Jesse, today, still represents Herbert Hoover in- side the Cabinet more than he represents the New Deal.
 They like Jesse, because he is one of the most genial men in Washington; but they are con. vinced he has undone Roosevelt reforms-thrcugh his control of loans - faster than the Presi- dent hes been able to pass re- forms through Congress.
 Take, for instance, Jesse Jones' current contract with the Alum mum Corporation of America. No company has been more per- sistentIy prosecuted for old deal monopolistic practices than this giant corporate child of Andrew w. Mellon. 1t has even been indicted crlmlnally for cOnspir- ing with Germany to limit mag nesium 8 material vital to
 the manufacture of airplanes. And every housewife has been asked to scrape together her old pots and pans as . result of Alcoa's short-sighted monopoly. ]. However, RFCzar Jones has just negotiated a contract with Alcoa whereby he hands them several million dollars to build new aluminium plants, and Alcoa, with absolutely no expense to itself, builds three plants at IVA, Bonneville and Massina, N. Y., then writes its own ticket re- gardlng their management and operation.
 Jesse Jones. living in the days of Hcoverism and Andrew Mellon- ism, not only approved, but ap- plauded the old Deal contract. YCKEs BUFFERS JESSE
 At present a battle royal is being Waged between Jones and Harold Ickes over this deal which am coming. another steppeth dowr s.nff.n s.nmn