New Angles

In touching Harry Hopkins on the Cabinet nerve (see col. 1), Pundit Arthur Krock was not being malicious or fanciful. Ever since election the prospect of Mr. Hopkins' being elevated officially to Cabinet rank (he already attends Cabinet meetings) has been vigorously chattered. At a meeting of 21 Democratic leaders with National Chairman Jim Farley last week in Manhattan, the Hopkins boom was discussed and all 22 thumbs were reported turned down on it. Actually, the Hopkins chances were never good.

Meantime, the destiny of WPA, even before it is investigated by Congress, was becoming apparent. In response to President Roosevelt's warning that its 1938 appropriation must be made to last through February (TIME, Oct. 24), WPA rolls, which had risen steadily since October 8 to a peak of 3,262,669 on November 5, began to be cut last fortnight, chiefly by not replacing clients who left to enter private employment. By last week's end they were down considerably from the peak. And besides cogitating a more popular berth for his favorite henchman, Franklin Roosevelt was studying projects for WPA more popular than road-patching and leaf-raking. Plan is to divert WPA men and millions into the big new act of the Fourth New Deal, rearmament; to set WPAsters to building airports, barracks, arsenals; training boys under the National Youth Administration to become airplane mechanics.

Also well in advance of Congressional action, Harry Hopkins, whose politics are certainly not petty, last fortnight declared: "The American people resent, will resent and should resent the injection of petty politics into unemployment relief work. They don't like the idea that anybody gets a job because he has political influence; they don't like the idea that anybody gets his pay raised because of political influence; they don't like the idea that he gets fired because of that. They are quite right. My feeling about it is this; that I would put this organization or any organization like it, lock, stock and barrel, under Civil Service--the whole works under Civil Service."

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