Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-02-14
Ickes
Continued From First Page

sharp exchange between a cabinet
member and his President. Mr..
Ickes offered his resignation as Sec
rotary of Interior effective March 81.
Mr.. Truman pointedly made the
effective date tomorrow in accept
ing it, and added, 81 also consider
that this terminates all of your
other governmental activities"
To this Mr.. Ickes fired back in an
other letter: 81 assure you that I
have had no secret design, having
resigned as Secretary of the In
terror, to hold on to any other Of
fee under your jurisdiction.
Another strained detail was that
the White House abstained from its
usual practice Of releasing the resig-
nation letter and its acceptance.
with the result Mr.. Ickes ignored
custom and made them public him
self.
PauIey Statements Challenged.
And finally there was Mr.. Ickes'
parting broadside in radio speech
last night, declaring he could not
retain my self-respect and stay in
the cabinet of President Truman"
1t was in this address Mr.. Ickes
challenged sworn statements by Mr..
Pauley that the latter was not &C.
tive in seeking discontinuance of
Federal action to establish title to
tidewater oil. He singled out one
statement in particular as simply
not true" and called on the Attor-
ney General to examine such por-
tons of Mr.. Pauley's testimony be-
fore the Senate Naval Affairs Com
tnittee.
And as parting thrust, Mr.. Ickes
referred again to what he termed a
recent decided and alarming de-
terioration in the quality" of Mr..
Humans appointments, adding:
ut takes men of character, strong
men, men who expect to speak the
truth and to hear the truth, to give
form to the policies and the laws for
which President Roosevelt fought
and which President Truman favors
In his speeches"
Political Prophets Guessing.
The long-range political roper
cussions of Mr.. Ickes' resignation had
political soothsayers guessing.
Some predicted that Mr.. Ickes, an
old Bull Mooser, might set out to
form new third party with dis
affected New Dealers.
Mr.. Ickes, however, disclaimed any
such notion for 1915. cts utterly
foolish. I've been all through that"
he said, referring to his effort for
Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 CAM
paign. ut can't be done"
He left open the question whether
he would support Mr.. Truman two
years hence, saying much would de-
pend on the ability and character"
OF his opponent.
Mr.. Ickes also told his final news
conference that he had favored
Henry A. Wallace over Mr.. Truman
for the Democratic vice presidential
nomination at the 1914 convention
at Chicago.
No Comment From Wallace.
Mr.. Wallace had no immediate
comment on Mr.. Ickes' departure
from the Government, although it
left him the last key personality of
President Roosevelt's 1888 New Deal
family to remain in a top admin
stration post.
MIR. Wallace has been keeping
out of the hmelight since he be-
came Secretary of Commerce, but
his political plans for the 1913 presi-
Dental scramble have been q sub
1ect of conjecture.
Mr.. Ickes, who has held as many
as IS sideline Government posts
while in the cabinet, did no half
way job of breaking with the Tru-
man administration in his resigna-
ton blast.
He said, among other things, that
he had told the President in adj
vance that he had been called on
10 testify in the Pauley nomination.
He quoted Mr.. Truman as telling
him to tell the truth, Of course, but
TO @be as gentle as possible with
pauley."
MIR. Ickes reminded the President
that Albert Fan had got into Diff
cuities with oil men while he was
Secretary OF Interior with the re-
sulting Tea Pot Dome scandal. And