Evening star., 1942-12-01
Production
Row Settled
By President
Nothing on the Fire
About Ickes, Press
Conference Is Told
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
President Roosevelt said today
that differences between the War
Production Board and the mill
tary authorities over what he
called fringe differences of opin-
ion had been settled and without
any interference with the war
production program.
Asked at press conference
whether he had prepared a directive
defining the WPB's power over pro-
duction scheduling, the President
replied in the negative. Then he
added there had been certain fringe
cases where the duties of the WPB
and the military overlapped.
Mr.. Roosevelt recalled that at his
last press conference he answered q
similar question about who had final
authority by saying where the two
groups disagreed they would be put
into a room until they agreed. He
said this had been done and it had
not slowed up production. He en-
phaSized this was the important
thing although he said some persons
had tried to make the controversy a
star of the first magnitude.
Nothing on Fire About Ickes.
President Roosevelt said today
there was nothing on the fire when
asked whether he intended to make
Interior Secretary Ickes the new
Secretary of Labor and manpower
chief
The President opened his press
conference by saying his Secretary
said there was nothing ready to
serve, that there was quite lot of
food on the range but that it had
not been cooked for the reporters
as yet.
When he was asked fatty whether
Ickes would be moved to the Labor
post, Mr.. Roosevelt repeated there
was nothing on the fire. When
some one suggested it might not be
cooked yet, the President repeated
there was nothing on the range.
There was so much banterine on
the subject that the President
finally remarked the first thing he
knewssome one would start singing
Home on the Range"
viii Speak This Month.
The President also disclosed that
he intends to make a radio address
to the Nation sometime this month
He said that one thing he probably
will have to explain over the radio
is that the SIS 900 net limitation on
salaries actually limits salaries to q
gross Of $4,000. He added he was
curious to see what Congress will
do about widespread complaints of
investment income not being limited
as are salaries, and recalled he
recommended earlier this year a
similar limitation on all individual
income.
The President will receive Gen.
Charles de Gaulle head of the
Fighting French National Commit
tee, If he comes to Washington, the
President told a press conference
late today. He empha sized. however,
he had not invited Gen. de Gaulle
to come here and did not know
whether he Is coming.
Mr.. Roosevelt emphasized he has
not made any predictions about
when the war may end, when asked
for comment on a statement yes
terday by Oliver Lyttelton. British
Minister of Production, that it could
end by next summer. He said it
was perfectly all right for Mr..
Lyttelton to make guesses.
The Government has not received
any conclusive report about how
many ships of the French feet were
sunk at Toulon last week, the Presi-
dent also said. He remarked that
several reports differ from each
other, leaving no certainty about
how many ships may have been
scuttled, escaped or still be at Tou-
Ion, either damaged or unchanged.