The Pittsburgh Press (July 27, 1944)
4th-term team strong in left field
CIO-Democrat players trained by New Deal
By Daniel M. Kidney, Scripps-Howard staff writer
Washington –
President Roosevelt’s CIO-Democrat fourth-term team will go into the finals this fall with plenty of New Deal-trained political ballplayers in left field with the farm and labor groups.
Chief among them is Calvin B. Baldwin, known as “Beany,” who is now assistant director of Sidney Hillman’s Political Action Committee. His offices are with Director Hillman of New York.
Former FSA chief
Mr. Baldwin was head of the Farm Security Administration during its most trying times. His administration was under constant criticism in Congress. He resigned to become a civilian administrator in Italy, but before leaving for abroad, he switched to his present position.
When Mr. Baldwin started work for the PAC, he took some of the Farm Security staff with him. Chief among them was Dr. George Mitchell, who had been assistant administrator. He is now in charge of PAC organization in the South.
When the PAC was expanded to include other than CIO unionists, one of the new directors named was President James G. Parton of the National Farmers Union. This organization also has a prominent New Deal-trained organizer in Aubrey Williams, who headed the now-defunct National Youth Administration.
Other New Dealers join
Another New Deal-trained Farmer Unionist is Russell Smith, the organization’s “legislative agent” (lobbyist) here. A one-time newspaperman, Mr. Smith was with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and later the Bureau of Economic Warfare of which Vice President Henry A. Wallace was the head.
Pioneer among the New Dealers to enter the labor organization field was Donald Montgomery, now consumers counsel with the United Auto Workers, the largest CIO union.
He resigned his consumers counsel post with the Agriculture Department to become active with the CIO group.