Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1942-02-12
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WARY GRAVY-TRAINER

tary of Agriculture Claude Wickard
is going to be very chary about US
ing that gravy-train veto power the
farm lobby voted him in the price
control bill.
He knows that the White House is
still suffering over his unauthorized
endorsement of this lobby scheme
at a crucial moment in the senate
fight over the legislation. Also, that
if he attempts to exercise the power
he is liable to be slapped down even
harder than when he fronted for the
lobby.
Actually, under cover, Wickard
has promised in effect to be good
boy.
1t didn't leak out at the time, but
during the secret deliberations of the
joint senate-house conference COM
mittee on the bill, he wrote the COM
mittee a letter regulating his pre-
vious endorsement and saying he
didn't want the veto power over
farm prices.
Wickard wrote this letter under
White House pressure. He knew he
was in bad and he tried to square
himself.
But for the administration, the
backdoWn was too late. The dam
age had been done, for the amend
ment was in the bill and the lobby's
pals on the joint committee were in
a powerful position to stand pat.
In this final bitter fight, two Ala
bama Democrats and a Michigan
Republican were responsible for the
retention of the gravy-train provi-
sion. They were Sen. John H. Bank
head and Rep. Henry B. Steagall of
Alabama, and Rep. Jesse P. Wolcott
of Michigan,
AS the amendment originated in
the senate, under the rules, it was
necessary for the house conferees
to propose deletion. Steagall, chair
man of the house group, publicly
makes a great show Of being red
hot Administrations. But behind
closed doors of the committee room
he adam ntly refused to heed Roose-
velt's pleas for elimination of the
lobby amendment.
Backed by Wolcott, who fought the
vital war bill from the start, and
with Bankhead running interference
in the senate group, Steagall forced
the retention of the provision.
Note: The administrations fight
was made by Sen. Prentiss Brown,
Michigan Democrat, and Sen. John
Danaher, Connecticut Republican.
Another Row.
Wickard's fronting for the farm
lobby in the price control bill isn't
the only row he's had on this
score with inner administration
leaders, ....
The papers are full of stories
about a big crop expansion program
this year to meet the food needs of
U. S. war allies. Frequent press re-
leases issue from the busy publicity
staff of the agriculture department
about grandiose plans.
The real inside is that Wickard
didn't get busy on these plans until
he was practically ordered to do so
by Vice President Henry Wallace as
head of the Economic Warfare
board.
Wallace sent Wickard two sharp
letters demanding prompt action to
expand crop production and only
then did Wickard bestir himself.
Certain farm elements are against
crop expansion, on the ground that
scarcity makes for better prices.
Working through politically minded
Triple A officials, who have a lot of
influence with Wickard, the anti-ex-
panders kept him on the fence until
Wallace Jared him off.
Note: Secretly, the AAA politicos
also had a lot to do with Wickard's
endorsement of the gravytrain
amendment in the price bill. The
AAAers are jealous of Price Admin
istrator Leon Henderson's authority,
want to elbow their way into the
war set-up as big shots.
F.D.R. AXES LEWIS
The inside reason why John L.
Lewis was not named member of
the three-man CLIO. peace commit
tee was because President Roose-
velt personally blocked it.
When he and CLIO. President Phil
Murray discussed the counter plan
that scuttled Lewis blitz scheme,
Roosevelt advised that the new
ALL. and CLIO. peace committees
be limited to three members each.
That would avoid turning the joint
committee into ''mass meeting"
he explained, and also make it cas-
Ter to keep hostile Lewis out of the
picture.
eff you have too large commit
tee, Phil" the President added with
smile, ''you may appoint Lewis"
81 guess you're right, Mr.. Presi-
dent" laughed Murray.
Note: Lewis intimates say he
would not have accepted appoint
ment to the committee if it had been
offered him.
GENERAL MARSHALL
You weren't seeing things if you
saw the news picture of Gen. George
| c.. Marshall, army chief of staff, at
| tired in the uniform of an air cornc