PMG on Tour

(See front cover) President Roosevelt was last week out on the blue Pacific aboard the cruiser Houston. Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau was on a ranch in Montana. Secretary of Commerce Roper was touring the Pribilof Islands. Secretary of War Dern was at the Panama Canal. Secretary of the Interior Ickes left for parts unknown. Attorney General Cummings started across the continent for Hawaii. In short, most of the New Deal was on vacation.

Also on tour last week was Postmaster General Farley, but his month's swing to the Pacific and back was anything but a holiday. Nominally the PMG was inspecting post offices. Actually he was working day & night on that lowliest of labors, mending political fences, shaking hands with every loose stone, patting it back firmly into place.

Politicking. The Postmaster General's itinerary began fortnight ago when he detrained one mid-afternoon at Indianapolis. In five and a half hours, he visited the city post office, promised construction of an addition to it, paid a courtesy call on Catholic Bishop Ritter, sent picture postcards to his children, conferred with Tom Taggart Jr., attended the largest banquet (2,100 covers) ever served in the Claypool Hotel, delivered a speech denouncing Indiana's Republican Senator Robinson for obstructing the New Deal.

Next morning found the Postmaster General breakfasting at the Executive Mansion at Springfield, Ill. He paid a courtesy call on Catholic Bishop Griffin, toured the post office, lunched with and addressed the Mid-Day Club, made a speech at the Fair Grounds, visited Lincoln's home, placed a wreath on Lincoln's tomb, drove to New Salem, inspected all 13 of the reconstructed log cabins of the town of which Lincoln was postmaster. That night in Springfield he dined with practically every important Democrat in Illinois.

Next morning Mr. Farley detrained at Kansas City, got a shave, went to 9 o'clock mass, attended a breakfast of 70 potent Democrats. "Many people won't believe me," he told them, "but this trip is not connected with politics in any way." Thereafter he attended a double-header baseball game, a national convention dinner given by his brother Elks, a theatre. Next morning he kissed a few babies, made a 20-minute rush inspection of the post office, shook hands with all employes, demanded "How are you, young fellow?" or "Are they treating you all right?", caught a train for New Mexico.

At Santa Fe he breakfasted with 60 eminent Democrats. At Albuquerque, he lunched at the Franciscan Hotel with 525 admirers who had paid $1 apiece to break bread with him. Because his afternoon was given to answering telegrams and political conferences, he did not get around to inspecting the post office, but at 5:45 o'clock he attended a 15-minute reception at the Knights of Columbus, at 6 dined with post office employes, at 7:30 paraded by car to the high-school auditorium to speak, at 9:45 was off for Arizona.

Campaign Problems. The days that James Aloysius Farley spent breakfasting, conferring, speaking, shaking hands in Indianapolis, Springfield, Kansas City, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, were repeated with only minor variations at Williams, Ariz., at Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento. Reno. At the last place he thumped for the Federal deposit guaranty law, declared: "I have heard this and that Senator given the credit for this legislation, but I want to claim it here and now for the Democratic Party, lock, steel and barrel. The guaranty of bank deposits was a very plain and very definite pledge of the Democratic Party in the year 1908. . . ."

His program was gruelling but the complexities of New Deal politics were even more trying. "This is no ordinary Congressional campaign," Mr. Farley told audiences, as he went about his extraordinary job of compromising between loyalty to party and loyalty to the New Deal.

This year three of President Roosevelt's New Deal friends are up for re-election to the Senate: Republican Bronson Cutting of New Mexico, Republican Hiram Johnson of California, Progressive Robert La Follette of Wisconsin. Last January the President publicly announced that he favored Senator Johnson's reelection, thus putting out of joint the nose of many an ambitious California Democrat. On his way back from Hawaii the President, speaking at Green Bay, Wis., is expected to put the stamp of his personal approval on Senator La Follette's candidacy.

A President may, but a Postmaster General may not, disjoint the noses of too many local party followers. On his way West Mr. Farley ingenuously admitted that he would "say a few kind words for Hiram," but would deliberately avoid Wisconsin, leaving that State to "The Boss."

In New Mexico, he looked at the case of Bronson Cutting and blinked. Speaking at Albuquerque, he praised the Senator for campaigning for Roosevelt in 1932 and then told his Democratic friends: "I know that a lot of people want to know what attitude will be taken on local politics in this State. That is a matter for you to decide." The bitterness of Cuttingites at the failure of Boss Farley to endorse the Senator's candidacy was summed up by the Albuquerque Tribune: "The bold and brutal truth is that among politicians there is no sense of justice or of gratitude."

In California Mr. Farley was faced with the reverse of this situation. The Administration was already committed to Senator Johnson and the Postmaster General fulfilled his promise to say a few kind words for Hiram. Sample: "It makes me proud and more at home to march shoulder to shoulder in the same army with your progressive leader, Hiram Johnson." But because the Administration in Washington had shut off the Senatorial hopes of ambitious California Democrats, no less than nine such gentlemen were aspiring for the job of Governor.

When Mr. Farley arrived in Los Angeles he was taken to breakfast at the Breakfast Club and to dedicate a post office at Glendale. For luncheon he was the guest of Jack Warner, original Roosevelt man in California, at the Warner Brothers Studio. The meal for 150 was served on the huge Hawaiian set built for Flirtation Walk. It was uncomfortable for Mr. Farley because great arc lamps beat down on his bald head. It was more uncomfortable because Brother Harry Warner insisted on denouncing Cardinal Daugherty of Philadelphia for his part in the Church's Legion of Decency campaign. Catholic Layman Farley looked pained as Jew Warner declared: "When the Cardinal of Philadelphia says it is a sin to go to the theatre, this is very unAmerican, because it is confiscation of a great industry and of the livelihood of thousands upon thousands of people. I hope the Postmaster General will issue a new stamp with a picture of one of our charming girls out here on it, charge an extra cent for it, and send the proceeds out here to take care of the distress that would be caused if the Cardinal's advice were taken."

But what made Mr. Farley most uncomfortable was the presence of no less than six of the would-be Democratic Governors of California-Milton K. Young, Justus Wardell, Zachary Taylor Malaby, George Creel, Upton Sinclair and William E. Evans. Not the least preference dared he show any of them. When Socialist Sinclair pushed forward and introduced himself, looks of consternation passed among the other candidates. Ultimately all six were formally introduced and Mr. Farley did his best to calm their fever by declaring that the Administration would take no part in State politics. Said he: "I am in California only to see that every deserving Democrat has a job and that there is a Democratic name on every post office cornerstone."

Postal Business, At San Jose Mr. Farley reached the nominal objective of his trip--a convention of California post-masters. Few Postmasters General since Benjamin Franklin have been famed for much except their political skill. But from the day he took office "General" Farley has been doggedly determined to make a good business showing for his department. He took particular pains to see that jobs at headquarters went to efficient workers. He resolutely forced payless furloughs on postal employes to help balance the Post Office's budget.

Last week at San Jose he announced the result. Whereas it had a deficit of $152.000,000 in fiscal 1932 and a deficit of $50,000,000 in fiscal 1933, the Post Office showed a surplus of around $5.000.000 for fiscal 1934. It was the first postal surplus since 1919, one of only seven surpluses in the last 50 years. To calculate a surplus "General" Farley had to disregard ocean mail subsidies, "Penalty" mail for the Government,* franked mail for Congress. This omission, however, was essentially fair, because insofar as the Post Office is a business and not an indirect subsidizer, it had a profit. He credited the surplus to his own efficient management, to better business under the New Deal. Therefore he was pleased to offer the convened postmasters hope that their payless furloughs would soon end.

Last week Mr. Farley also got new means of reducing the Post Office's ocean mail subsidies. From the Panama Canal went an Executive Order, which the President signed there fortnight ago, directing the Postmaster General to hold public hearings on ocean mail contracts and report within six months on the advisability of their modification or cancellation. Since ocean mail services cost the Post Office $26,000,000 last year, and the cost of carrying the ocean mail on a poundage basis would have been only about $3,000,000, the opportunity for a big saving seemed at hand. Actually the Administration plans to make up the difference to U. S. shipowners by outright subsidies.

Patronage. Resting in bed at San Jose, Jim Farley had to give audience to a number of politicians who could not be kept out. He did not seriously mind. In Washington he seldom walks into the lobby of the Mayflower Hotel, where he lives, without half a dozen men jumping up to wring his hand and say: "Oh, Jim. I want to speak to you a minute about-."

Normally the Postmaster General of an administration opposed to the spoils system would be under a severe handicap in the matter of patronage. But Mr. Farley suffers no such disadvantage, thanks to the fertility of the New Deal in producing new agencies and new jobs. In addition to about 75,000 regular Government jobs which were Mr. Farley's to give away, he got about 75,000 more as a result of the AAA, PWA, NRA, HOLC, etc. A little wire-pulling from the Post Office Department was all that was necessary to convince Congress that it would be best. because of the emergency, to put this new army of workers entirely beyond the reach of Civil Service requirements. Some high-minded New Dealers like Secretaries Ickes, Wallace and Perkins objected to the Postmaster General's patronage plans but most of them have gradually yielded.

While President Roosevelt has been boasting of the non-partisan character of his Administration, Jim Farley has been adroitly staffing the Government with deserving Democrats--and nobody else. He has found, for instance, that he can palm off almost anyone on Attorney General Cummings but that Relief Administrator Hopkins is excessively choosey about who goes on his payroll. Despite Washington mutterings at the potentialities of scandal, the Farley appointments have been no better, no worse than those of preceding Republican administrations. Human nature being what it is. Mr. Farley has made isolated mistakes but by & large the new Democratic jobholders have proved themselves fairly honest, fairly efficient, fairly industrious.

President Roosevelt has looked upon his Postmaster General with an indulgent eye. Last winter the President said that party and government posts should not be held by the same persons, but Mr. Farley grinned and stayed on as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Again the President announced that, as a New Deal measure, all Postmasters should be put under Civil Service. Congress adjourned without anything being again heard of such a bill, and Mr. Farley laughed it off. Three weeks ago, Secretary Ickes prepared to induct John Wellington Finch of Idaho as Director of the Bureau of Mines. When told of Dr. Finch's fine technical qualifications for the job, the President had verbally approved the appointment and then sailed off on his holiday. When Dr. Finch's commission came over to the Bureau of Mines it bore, instead of the Presidential signature, a notation in Mr. Roosevelt's handwriting: "Hold for the PMG's approval." Mr. Farley had found out that Finch was a Republican.

Reason for Franklin Roosevelt's indulgence of the PMG is sound. In all honesty, Mr. Farley asks, "What the hell chance have I got of signing up a lot of national delegates [to the Democratic convention] out of Ickes' and Wallace's personal appointments?''

In Emil Hurja, onetime newspaperman who became a Farley assistant in 1932, was later put into the Interior Department to compensate for Mr. Ickes' lack of political savoir faire, and last March was moved to the Democratic National Committee, Boss Farley has an assistant after his own heart. Mr. Hurja writes the PMG's speeches, examines the political credentials of all candidates. The first question is: "Is he a Roosevelt-before-Chicago man?"; the second: "Is he endorsed by his local Democratic organization?'' If the job hunter's credentials are satisfactory, Mr. Hurja gives him a recommendation for the job written on a white slip of paper. If his credentials are better than satisfactory his recommendation is on buff paper. If his claim to a job is superlative his recommendation is written on blue paper. Officials who hand out jobs know what the colors mean and act accordingly.

On the whole Boss Farley and Assistant Hurja keep most of the patronage where they want political strength to lie, in the hands of the Roosevelt machine. They have husbanded their power and still have some jobs on hand to give where they will do the most good in next autumn's campaign. There is a Minister to be appointed to the Irish Free State, an Enumerator of Seals for the Pribilof Islands.

Virtues. The Press continually refers to Jim Farley as if he were a sore thumb on the morally well manicured hand of the New Deal. In an Administration whose chief attitude is that of being "holier than 1929" he stands out as one who makes no pretense of being other than an old-fashioned political sinner. He might point out. however, that according to the tenets of his church, confessed sinners, even the worst of them, who have the right faith in their hearts, have a better chance of getting to Heaven than Pharisees. And Mr. Farley is neither the worst of sinners nor is he without the right faith.

Among Mr. Farley's positive virtues is loyalty. Last winter's cancellation of all airmail contracts, according to the story told in Washington, was not of his doing. Senator Black, disappointed that his investigation had produced no appreciable public response, went to the White House to suggest action. Against the advice of his Postmaster General the President, in a moment of righteous enthusiasm, decided to annul the contracts, and announced cancellation from the White House over Mr. Farley's name. When the action proved a political mistake, a man in whom some other attachment came before loyalty might have acted differently from Mr. Farley. But he entered no disclaimer when the White House announced that "the President would not interfere with Mr. Farley's decision." He defended the cancellation, went before a Congressional committee, helped patch up the damage, and last week in his speeches was still doggedly defending the propriety and wisdom of the Administration's airmail action.

*So called because the stampless envelopes are inscribed: "Penalty for private use to avoid payment of postage, $300."

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