THE CABINET: Helpful Harold

Before he entered the Roosevelt Cabinet in 1933 as Secretary of the Interior, Harold Le Clair Ickes used to be known as the Lone Wolf of Chicago politics. Because lone wolves have trouble hunting with the pack. Secretary Ickes publicly snarled through his clean fangs at NRAdministrator Johnson, WPAdministrator Hopkins, onetime Housing Administrator Moffett, many another member of the Roosevelt pack. But, devoted as he was to the New Deal, Lone Wolf Ickes really meant to be helpful to the Administration in his own slow, stubborn way.

Last week helpful Harold Ickes took time out for an attempt to smooth over a little diplomatic difficulty into which he had got the U. S. Last month, trying to back up the State Department's declaration that shipments of war materials to Italy were contrary to the spirit of the Neutrality Resolution, he had succeeded in giving the Press the clear-cut impression that as Oil Administrator he was opposed to shipments of oil to Italy (TIME, Dec. 2). This angered Italy, embarrassed the State Department, left the Administration out on a limb when the League of Nations postponed Oil Sanctions. Last week Secretary Ickes called in newshawks, pulled out the stenographic report of his previous press conference, tried to pin the blame for headline troubles on the reporters. He was, he said, opposed to shipments of '"munitions," not "materials" of war to Italy. Blissfully unaware that in the language of statecraft "munitions of war" is the phrase used to denote oil and other war materials as distinct from cannon, machine guns and other "implements" of war, he gave the Press clearly to understand that he had no intention of stopping oil exports.

That afternoon when the Press announced that the U. S. had changed its oil export policy Secretary Ickes again found himself in an embarrassment. Hastily he rushed out an explanation of his explanation: "I now observe that [my] effort to clarify a previous misunderstanding has been itself misinterpreted in some quarters. ... I have no intimation ... of any change in the Government's policy."

During the week Secretary Ickes made the following additional news: ¶ To help dispose of the growing supply of Government rum made by the Virgin Islands Co.. he announced that a specialist of his department was at work devising a cocktail recipe. Object was to stimulate sale of Virgin Island rum when it comes of potable age in 1940. ¶Since 12,000,000 sq. ft. of floor space in 101 Government buildings plus 2,500,000 sq. ft. in 103 rented buildings is no longer adequate for the growing horde of New Dealers in Washington, Secretary Ickes. as purveyor of office space to the Government, declared he thought the Social Security Board, Coal Commission and other new boards & bureaus would find it best to go to Baltimore or some other nearby city temporarily. ¶ In the style of General Hugh Johnson. Mr. Ickes slipped off to Detroit to deliver a speech assaulting anti-New Dealers. Excerpts: