Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-10-19
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WdNdce's Job Program
Packs Political INT
Reorganization Of Commerce Department First
Step Forward in Formulation Of Full
Employment Policy.
WNU Service, 1916 Eye Street, NV
Washington, D. c.
BY BAUKHAGE
Ne,Us Analyst and Commentator.

WNU Service, 1916 Eye Street, NV.
Washington, D. C.
The recent operating and or
ganization program for the depart
ment of commerce created very lit
tie excitement in Washington or else
where when it was released. I think
1t made page IS of the New York
Times. The Times gave much more
prominence recently to another doc
ument from the pen Of Henry Agard
Walace-his new book, "Sixty Mil
lion Jobs" of which I shall speak
later.
Congress may slumber on the re-
organization report for yet little,
but when Washington wakes to the
real significance Of this 10-page,
mimeographed document it will find
between the lines much upon which
to ponder. Maybe that is why it
was double-spaced.)
To me, this is a three-in-one In
strument-just as its author, Henry
Wallace, revealed himself as a
three-in-one personality when l
called on him just before the pub
LEGATION of his program, his first ap-
proach to the governmental lime
light since the change in admins
tration.
The report on what Mr.. Wallace
in his capacity as secretary of COM
merce hopes will mean the revitaliz-
ing and expanding Of his depart
ment, emissions the metamorphosis
Of that somewhat turgid and impo-
tent institution into a vigorous and
human organization which will reach
out and touch millions of individuals
just as the governments most virile
department, agriculture, does. Sec
rotary Wallace said frankly at his
press conference and also in more
detail privately to me, that he
thought that the department of COM
merce should do for the business
man, big and little, what the de-
partment of agriculture does for the
farmer, big and little. And it will, if
he has his way.
Active Department
Secretarys Goal
Wipe out of your mind, if you will,
that one-time problem child of'the
New Deal, the agricultural adjust
ment administration. Now weigh
the testimony of observers, includ-
ing anti-Wallaceites, and think you
will learn that as secretary of agri-
culture, the author of "Sixty Mil
lion Jobs" did good job in re-
vitalizing his department.
How much it will cost to do as
much for commerce, we couldn't get
him to estimate, but he finally told
us that it would be less than one
sixth of the cost of one days war
at We Day. By series of calcula-
tons we arrived at the figure of 40
million dollars. Since the commerce
department spent about 121 million
dollars last year, Mr.. Wallace's
changes would make total cost for
his revitalized department of 161
million dollars.
Those who cry economy will
shudder at that figure but they will
hear this answer: If business, big
and little, wants help similar to that
which agriculture demands and gets
1t will cost something. The depart
ment Of agriculture cost approx
mately 1859 million dollars to run last
year, and the farmers wouldn't
want it to do less.
There will also be another explain
alton Of the figures which will at
tempt to show that part of the ex-
pansion Of the reorganized depart
ment is really contraction, and that
brings us to the second integer of
the three-in-one composition of Mr..
Wallace's plan. The plan is more
than blueprint for changes in a
single governmental institution. 1t
is definitely a part of President Tru-
mans reorganization plan which it
is fair to assume would bring back
under the commerce rooftree the
horde of agencies and commissions
which have to do with industry and
business.
And now we come to part three of
the tri-partible function of the Wal
lace program. It is by his own
implication, a part Of his recipe for
full employment included in his
book, "Sixty Million Jobs" and men,
ton of that brings me to an ex-
animation of Mr.. Wallace himself.
said that like the program Of re-
organization for his department, Mr..
Wallace seemed tripartitent to me.
When I called upon him, he came
down the great, cavernous room
which Herbert Hoover planned for
his successor and we sat in chairs