The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-25

Ai-A'AoNIA G5 lalC tIlll -SN VI kOGN- letary of Commerce Jesse H. Jones that he would be a dangerous man if he controlled a lot of government money.
 Sen Claude Pepper, D.. Fla, one of what appears to be minority senate group in favor of making Wallace secretary of commerce in control of billions of dollars of gov ernment funds, complained that Jones obvious purpoes was to dis credit Wallace" Pepper hopes Wal lace today will have the same op- portunity to potshot Jones that Jones had yesterday to hit at Wal lace
 The Wallace-Jonc performance is playing to an overflow house in the senate caucus room and if there is any potshotting there will be an | ample audience to applaud or to l jeer Jones got the cheers yeSter- day with his testimony that his pre- war government lending operations would make money-"they won't cost the taxpayer a dime. He es- timated the profit at $500, 100000.
 The committee technically is holding hearings on proposal by Sen. Walter F. George, D., Ga, to separate from the Commerce De- parJment the powers of the federal loan agency. The agency became part of the department by White House order in l942. For two years prior to that. Jones held concur rently the two separate posts of secretary of commerce and loan ad- 1 miniStratOr.
 Jones told the committee yeSter- day that he did not consider Wal lace qualified to be both secretary of commerce and federal loan ad- miniStrator All but the blunt | spoken Texan are making believe | that the hearing relates wholly to the matter of separation of goV- ernment powers and that Wallace's nomination to the SecretaryShip just happened to come up about the same time
 President Roosevelt fired Jones over the weekend to make place | for Wallace who, he said, was suit ed to the job and had earned it by his l944 campaign efforts. George also testified yesterday, atfably as suring questioners that it was just coincidence that he had proposed to separate the lending powers from the department immediately after Wallace was nominated
 "The nomination might have been an aggravating circumstance, he finally conceded.
 Jones was more direct. Without naming Wallace, he described him as "a man willing to jeopardlze the countryS future with untried ideas and idealistic schemes" He said the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and subsidiary lending agencies were run by businessmen, men Of proven business experience, who haven't any ideas about remaking the world" He said the powers of the SecretaryShip as now constituted were so great that improperly used they might very seriously affect the economic direction Of the coun- try in it's political and social aspects.
 The tall Texan said a cabinet post was high honor, indeed, but re- lated that he had once refused the Navy Department because he want ed to stick with his lending reSpon- abilities. And he said he refused the commerce department until MT. Roosevelt agreed - congress con- senting - thta he could remain as Federal Loan Administrator, too.
 The George proposal as now drafted and the trend of Jones' answers to some questions suggested that the secretary and some of his senator friends believe he may be able to remain in charge of the REC and affiliated agencies even though Wallace becomes secretary of com merce.
 Best informed senate opinion was that action would be taken first on the separation proposal and that it would pass both houses hard blow to MT Roosevelt and stun ming shock to Wallace's prestige Thereafter the senate would con- firm Wallace Some senators ques- tioned whether Wallace would want the commerce department if it were shorn of the financial powers which made it so influential under Jones'
 Pepper obtained little from Jones by questions except that the latter considered both Wallace and Pepper incompetent to handle the big lending agency.
 Asked by Pepper whether he in- tended to remain in his job, Jones replied
 T don't expect to remain in com merce, if that is what you mean"
 Pepper inquired whether Jones was appointed to any definite term as loan administrator.
 T don't know" Jones replied
 Pepper asked if Jones' letter 10 the President acceding to the re- quest that he quit the Commerce Department meant that he would quit as loan administrator at any given time. And Jones replied he intended to remain until his suc- cesSor is sworn in.
 Out of your vast experience, Pepper continued, do you believe that these two offices can be ad- ministered by one man, assuming that mans competence?"
 If you are trying to ask me if Henry Wallace is qualified to ham ale both jobs, I'll say mo-" Jones re- piled