The Wilmington morning star., 1945-01-27
Plan To Take
Job
.AlsoApproved
Roosevelt Handed Double
Rebuff On His Politi-
cal Reward

WASHINGTON, J n. 26.-UP)
The Senate Commerce Commit.
tee, handing President Roosevelt
one of the sharpest rebuffs in his
12-year administration, today vot-.
ed against his nomination of for
mer Vice President Henry A. Wal
lace to be Secretary of Commerce
and approved a bill to keep tho
vast lending powers of the Recon-
struction Finance Corporation and
associated agencies from falling
into Wallace's hands.
The double rebuke to Mr.. Roose-
velt's political reward appoint
ment was administered at a two.
hour closed session of the COM
mittee which voted 14-to-5 against
the nomination and 15-to-4 in favor
of the bill to separate the Govern
ment's multi-billion-dollar lending
agencies from the Commerce De-
partment.
Completing its humiliation of the
President and Wallace, the COM
mittee rejected by an 11-to-6 vote
motion by Wallace-supporters to
place the nomination before the
Senate without any recommends
ton. As a result, the norlin4u6s
will go before the Senate with
notation that it had received an
adverse report from the COM
mittee.
Chairman Josiah w. Bailey, D.,
N. c., said that both the nomina.
ton and the bill by Sen. Walter F.
George, D., Ga, would be placed
before the Senate Monday, but he
declined to predict when the Sem
ate would act.
The committee action was at
least temporary triumph for
Wallace's No. one enemy - Jesse
H. Jones-who was fired by Mr..
Roosevelt to make way for Wall
lace. Jones appeared before the
committee Wednesday n d testi-
fled that he believed Wallace in.
competent to handle the two jobl
which Jones himself has admin
istered jointly since 1912.
Wallace told the committee
Thursday that he was qualified ia
handle both jobs, but said he
would take the Commerce post
with or without the lending port.
folio.
The adverse action on the nom.
nation came as somewhat of 4
surprise since it was believed that
it would be approved if the com.
mittee approved the George bill.
Some construed the votes as
double insurance by Wallace foes
against any effort to hand him
control of the lending agencies
one of the chief reasons behind the
opposition to making him Secre.
tary of Commerce.
If the lending agencies are seps
arated from the Commerce De.
partment, it is believed that much
of the opposition to Wallace's con.
firnation to the cabinet post will
evaporate despite claims by
some opposition forces that trey
have enough strength in the Senate
to beat Wallace either way.
Anti-Wallace strategy apparent.
ly is to hold up Senate action I'm.
til it is certain that nothing will
happen to the George bill. The
measure seems certain Of passage
in the Senate. But if it is beaten
in the House or vetoed by Mr..
the Wallace opposition
then apparently would call up the
committees adverse report on
the nomination and thus seek to
deprive Wallace not only of the
lending agency post but the Com.
merce job as well.
So intense was interest in tho
battle over the Wallace appoint
ment that all 10 members of the
Commerce committee participated
in the voting.
Republican members lined up
solidly against Wallace on all
three votes. They were Sens. Hir-
am Jonson, Calf; Arthur H. Van.
denberg, Mich; Owen Brewster.
Me-; Harold H. Burton, Ohio;
Alexander Wiley, Wis; Edward v.
Wyo.; Guy Gordon,
Ore, and C. Wayland Brooks, III.
They were joined by Democrat.
ic Sens. Bailey, N. c. George L.
Radcliffe, Md; W. Lee O'DanieI,
Tex; Pat McCarran, New; Albert
B. Chandler, KY, and John L Nc.
Continued on Page Two; Col. y