The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-07-19

EdSOn been called on the MVA by Senate Commercial Sub- committee, but it has two more chances before irrigation and agri- culture sub-committees in the Fall.
 The broadened Social Security Act with new provisions for public health measures introduced by Murray and co-sponsored with Sem ator Wagner and Congressman John D. Dingwen of Detroit.
 To Murray's credit on the statute books are two important measures: the Smaller War Plants Act creat- ing the Smaller War Plants Cor poration-Murray is the acknow- ledged Senate champion of small business-and the war contracts termination legislation which Mur- ray, as chairman of a Military Af- fairs subcommittee, co-sponsored with Georgia Senator Walter F. George, of the Senate's Postwar planning and Finance Committees. ADVOCATES ECONOMIC
 REFORMS
 Every one of these measures irl- wolves whopping big economic re- form. Yet there is little of the usual social worker or professional do- gooder in Murray's makeup. Con- servatives might make a case that Murray is dangerous radical, bas- ing their arguments on his record in Congress. But there is nothing radical in his background.
 In the first place, he is a mil- lionaire, maybe even a multi-mil- lionaire = though not a multi-mul- ti-millionaire. The basis of his for tune he inherited from a bachelor uncle, old Jim Murray.
 Young Jim Murray, the senator, who is mere boy of 68, was edu- cated at his uncles expense as a lawyer in New York University. Then he was put to work in mine. But he built up his inheritance of hotels, utilities, mines and real es- tate so that today he rates as more of a business mana rugged indi- vidualist, if you please-who says he is primarily interested in saving the American free enterprise system and all it stands for.
 When you ask Senator Murray where he got all these ideas, he pulls from under the table back of his desk leather bound copy of For tune - the magazine of big bus mess, mind you - and turns inme- diately to marked page in the is- sue for March, 1888.
 The title of the editorial article is, Business and Government" and the subtitle is, "A division of in- dustry into smaller units might re- suit in some surprising profits" Yes, Murray wants to preserve the profit motive.
 There is not space to quote exten- sively from the Fortune article here, but the sub-head gives you the idea and it is the basis of Jim Murray's business and political philosophy today.
 A FOE OF BIG 'INTERESTS"
 He insists that his is not labor. Many labor lobbyists have tried to pin their pet projects on his coat tail. But he never belonged to a labor union and he says he never represented union in a law case. He is not anti-labor either. When he ran for reelection in 1942, he was supported by Phil Murray (no relation) and the National CIO- PAC, but was opposed by the CIO Montana Local United Mine, Mill and Shelter Workers Union.
 Murray has fought the big cop per companies and all the other interests" all over the state of Montana. coming and going, and they've fought him. When they tried to make peace with him after he licked them in the 1942 elections, he spurned their offer.
 People who know Murray best and work with him explain him by say- ing he is born liberal. Congress is noted for it's peculiarities, but Mur- ray is unique even in Congress. Shy and poor speaker, he makes few statements on the floor. But he works himself to the limit and he probably has more people in Wash ington working for him on legisla- tive research than any man in town.