Evening Star Newspaper, January 10, 1937, Page 28

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D JANUARY 10, 1937—PART TWO. L2 e e N D G JANUARY 10 I PART WO A GREAT HOPE BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, D.C. L, BISHOP OF WASHINGTON. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. January 10, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES . _Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11tn St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New Yock Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. The Eveninr ang, Qe onth or 150 per week Toe rentns m:gu per montlr or 10¢ per week The Su 'day Star. B¢ per copy Night Final Editio Final and Sunday Star. Nishe Final fay Sundar Brar----35¢ Der month Collection made at the end of each month or each week. Orders may be sent by mail or tele- vhone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 1 mo. 85c mo.. blc mo.. 40c 70c per month All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday..1 yr. $1200: 1 mo. $1.00 aily only_ 1 8.00; 1 mo., 75¢ unday onl: 1 yr. $5.00i 1 mo., 60c Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. The Fiscal Report. The incredible conclusions resulting from the new and unfamiliar premises laid down by the fiscal relations report make certain that both premises and conclusions will be subjected to that mi- croscopic examination which will reveal the full extent of the flaws in reason- ing now threatening the District with paralysis of development and financial burdens nothing less than disastrous in their effect. Especially is this true of the conclusions tending to show the under- taxation of Washington; conclusions pro- duced by a theoretical yardstick hitherto unapplied in such measurement. To be complete, however, that exam- ination requires time. The report is not only long, it is confusing in its arrange- ment. Departing, as Senator Glass and Senator Thomas have noted, far from its original mission, the report has presented & mass of novel proposals and legislative recommendations bewildering in their complexity and detail when examined against actual conditions in the District. ‘The nature of the formula and the effect of it$ application are more appar- ent. The nature of the formula is to place all except incidental financial responsibility for maintenance of the American Capital with the local tax- payers, leaving the important financial control and power where it now rests— with Congress. The formal gesture of the report in the direction of some vague form of “local suffrage” does not alter that condition one whit. The power is not transferred to the local taxpayers. ‘The power is retained in Congress. It is the responsibility which goes to the local taxpayer. - The immediate effect of the formula's application is obvious. The local tax burden must be increased by a third to balance a budget sent to Congress by the Budget Bureau and translated into an appropriation act by Congress. The esti- mates contain no substantial increases in funds for maintenance or development of the services paid for by the unrepre- sented taxpayer, despite the very drastic increase in local taxation. None will be available without additional, drastic in- creases in taxation. ‘The nature of the formula is to scrap the traditional conception of joint re- sponsibility between the local community and the Nation in the upkeep of the Capital. The formula contemplates no recognition —under normal circum- stances—of any obligation by the Nation in support of the Capital which it governs exclusively. To speak of the lump sum having been “reduced” to $2,533,357 is erroneous. The lump sum has been abolished. There is no fixed or any other recognition of a continu- ing national obligation toward ordinary maintenance of the Capital. The funds for maintenance received by the District from the National Government represent payment for “services,” their value de- pending on somebody’s estimate. Sound economic policy demands that obligation be coupled with power, that those who do the controlling must be primarily responsible for the paying. The practical effect of the conclusions of the report is tc continue the Nation’s despotic power of control and practically to relieve it of all obligation to pay. Substituted for the traditional concep-~ tion of a continuing obligation of the National Government in support of its Capital are three theories which compose the formula. The first involves a unique conception of the municipal government as a sep- arate entity, performing certain services for and receiving the benefit of certain services from the exclusively controlling National Government—services for which & monetary value is estimated. The con- ception is subject to definite criticism, which will be discussed later in these columns. And the estimate of the value of the services—with certain exceptions— depends primarily upon opinion rather than fact. - The second theory is that a national obligation in support of the Capital arises when the local cost of government, after certain deductions, exceeds the av- erage cost of government per capita of a group of cities. The use of such an average as the dividing line between no obligation and some obligation by the National Government is, in the first place, peculiarly contradictory to the as- pirations of those who would make the Capital the world’s most beautiful city. If applied at all, there should be a dis- crimjpating selection of cities, for cities vary in their thrift, in their efficiency and A their progressiveness. The pros- pect, under actual conditions, of any Federal payment from this part of the formula is small indeed. The third theory injects into the already confused tangle of agencies hav- ing a finger in the District pie a new agency—“the one responsible agency for physical planning and development of the Capital”—which will control the capital outlay programs and divide their cost between the District and the Na- 2 tional Government on the basis of the commission’s opinion as to benefits, etc. While the Commissioners may reject for the budget the National Capital Plan- ning Commission’s proposals, only Con- gress can change the division of cost. As it will divide the cost—if they are divisible—of national as well as the more distinctly local capital outlays, the sys- tem suggests a new drain on local revenues, subject to the uncertain whims of legislation. The justification of placing what ap- pears at the outset to be an intolerable and certainly a most oppressive burden of taxation of this community now—re- quiring an increase of a third in the tax burden in a year—is the report’s conten- tion that the District is far undertaxed in relation to the tax burden of other cities. That claim, and the evidence which is advanced to support it, deserve and will receive thorough examination. The method of comparison is not only new, but it produces unbelievable results contradictory to those established by familiar methods more widely used and tested. The gentlemen who prepared the re- port were doubtless sincere in their efforts to produce a workable plan for remedy of a distressing condition. But in attempting to remove what they re- garded as the source of constant irrita- tion and dispute, they have substituted a source of even greater irritation and dispute which carries with it no demon- strable, compensating benefits to any- body. A Billion for Defense. No single feature of the budget merits more prompt approval than President Roosevelt’s recommendation of a na- tional defense fund of nearly $1,000,- 000,000 for the fiscal year 1938. It repre- sents an increase of $92,000,000 over esti- mated outlay for the Government year ending June 30 next. The Navy is allo- cated $587,000,000, while the War De- partment, for both military and non- military activities, is assigned a round $393,000,000. The total asked for the armed serv- ices is of record peace-time proportions. It is a formidable sum, but, in light of gravely disturbed international relations, with chronic peril of another world war, it is irrefutably justified. As far as the United States is concerned, it is purely preparedness for peace. Measured by the vast interests at stake and the guarantee of national safety which adequate de- fense gives to the American people, the amount is from no standpoint excessive. Under President Roosevelt's enlight- ened leadership, Congress has dealt in- telligently and generously with the prob- lems of American security. Its past sup- port of programs to maintain the Army, Navy and alr force at the acme of effi- ciency warrants the conviction that the President’s present recommendations, despite their magnitude, will likewise command acquiescence on Capitol Hill. Foreign nations are aware that the United States’ naval and military plans carry no threat to anybody. They are designed primarily to discourage aggres- sion not only against this country, but, in the recent spirit of Buenos Aires, against any portion of the Western Hemisphere. If the sister Americas are to “stand shoulder to shoulder” against external peril, a billion-dollar expendi- ture for defense by the United States becomes more justifiable than ever. Of immediate and special importance is the provision of $25,000,000 in the 1938 budget to start construction on two 35,000-ton battleships, to cost, completed, about $50,000,000 each. The first capital ships projected here since 1923, they will match those just laid down by Great Britain, thus carrying out our fixed policy of parity with the British fleet. The American vessels are to replace three battleships that will be twenty-six years old before the new ones are finished. These plans denote no intention upon Uncle Sam’s part to embark upon an- other building race. Such replacements are indispensable if the Navy is not to drift into obsolescence. France, Italy and Germany are following Britain's lead in laying down capital ships of the most powerful type. Japan, too, is in the midst of extensive construction. Mr. Roosevelt reflects American public sen- timent when he expresses deep regret at the failure to'extend the naval limita- tion treaties. Renewal having proved impossible, and other powers having en- tered upon elaborate building plans, America has no alternative but reluc- tantly to take the steps President Roose- velt has now authorized. Means of “Co-operation.” President Roosevelt has spoken out regarding the need of closer co-opera- tion between the judicial and legisla- tive branches of the Government. In the absence of any definite recommenda- tion from the President to bring such co-operation about, members of the legislative body are advancing proposals of their own. So far these proposals look rather to a coercion of the courts or to a definite amendment to the Con- stitution giving Congress additional powers to deal with social and economic problems. These powers, sought in such laws as the national industrial re- covery act, the old Agricultural Adjust- ment Administration act and the Guffey coal act, have been denied by the Su- preme Court on the ground of uncon- stitutionality. Representative Walter of Pennsylvania has introduced a bili striking directly at the authority of the Supreme Court to invalidate, on constitutional grounds, an act of Congress by a majority decision of the court. He proposes that at least a two-thirds decision of the court be necessary to nullify such a law. The court has nine members. If the Walter bill became law, and was upheld, there- after six members of the court, if all were sitting in a case, would have to concur in an opinion holding a law un- constitutional if the opinion was to be effective. In other words, four members of the court—a minority—could suc- cessfully uphold a law of Congress. This is not & new suggestion. It seems un- wise, however, to place such authority in the hands of a minority of the highest legal tribunal in the land. ‘Two other measures, designed to limit the jurisdiction of the courts, have been presented by Representative Rankin of Mississippi. One would take from the lower courts the right to issue injunc- tions against the enforcement of acts of Congress and require the constitutional questions involved to be submitted imme- diately to the Supreme Court. ‘The second would take from the Supreme Court jurisdiction of cases where Federal authority rested purely upon the ground that a Federal question is involved and transfer such cases back to the courts of the States. Senator Ashurst of Arizona, chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, is the author of an amendment to the Con- stitution which would give Congress the power to regulate industry, commerce and labor. This is the more direct method of reaching the heart of the problem which the President says has arisen to impede the onward march of America. However, the President has turned his back on a constitutional amendment, preferring, rather, a more liberal interpretation of the Constitu- tion to meet the situation. Presumably a more liberal interpretation of the in- terstate commerce clause of the Con- stitution and of its so-called general welfare clause is what is desired by the Chief Executive. One sentence in the President’s recent message to Congress leads to the belief that eventually the Chief Executive will propose, or least support, some measure to bring about the closer co-operation of the judicial and the legislative branches. He said: “Means must be found to adapt our legal forms and our judicial interpretation to the actual present needs to the largest progressive democracy in the modern world.” Until the President speaks further, however, doubt as to just what means he has in mind will continue. Since delivering his message to Con- gress the President has written to the Governors of nineteen: States urging them to get behind the ratification of the child labor amendment to the Con- stitution, which has been pending thir- teen years. It would give Congress au- thority to regulate the labor of minors under eighteen years of age. Here is the direct method. A liberal interpre- tation of the Constitution if applied in the case of child labor might be just as effective as a liberal interpretation as applied to hours and labor and mini- mum wages and other conditions of labor. If the Congress and the Federal Gov- ernment are to be given the power to deal with social and economic problems desired by the present administration, it would be more effective to have the power defined by the Constitution itself. ‘There would be no question then of whether the judiciary were as.liberal as some desired. It would be a question of fundamental law. ——————— As evidence of scarcity of sentiment in business airplane junk is rushed into & foreign market while Congress vainly endeavors to develop speed enough in legislation to beat it to the 3-mile limit. In a race between bootleg aviation and honest legislation the former wins. ———————— When he first came to town, John Nance Garner $aid he would always be asleep by 10 pm. This was before he had been made to understand that it is often figured as part of a Vice President’s busi- ness to be the life of the party. — e In spite of the wit and humor brought by radio in a political campaign, the regular comedians manage to hold their popularity and to arrive at the close of the year without a deficit. ———————— Uncle Sam desires to be fair in his world relationships and give everybody a neutral deal. ———,——— Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. . The Obscure. The men whose efforts win renown Our gratitude inspire. ‘We hand their names in splendor down For others to admire. Yet names we love full well repose In sweet and simple rest; The names unheralded of those ‘Who toiled and did their best. The leader oft is like the foam ‘Which ‘lightly floats and free. Beneath him mighty waters roam, The great resistless sea. Though Fortune’s turn may neer dis- close Their chance to reach the crest, The men who move events are those ‘Who toil and do their best. Precocious Demonstration. “That infant next door cries con- stantly.” “And yet,” mused Senator Sorghum, “I don't believe he actually has any- thing on his mind. He's probably just filibustering.” “A man may have knowledge of how to make his country prosperous,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and still lack the knowledge of how to convince his fellow men.” > Laying Down the Law. The legal mind is very plain. When it has once laid down the law Some one will pick it up again And new conciusions boldly draw. Jud Tunkins says he can remember a lot of advice that he wishes he had taken. But things even up. He can remember just as much advice that he’s glad he let alone. “A good-natured man,” said Uncle Eben, “gits imposed on until he makes good nature work for him by gittin’ |. hisself somethin’ to sell.” e £ A Lewis Now Fighting Vital Labor Battle BY OWEN L. SCOTT. John Lewis is starting the big gamble that promises within the next few months to determine the long-range di- rection of the American labor move- ment. He can come out either as a power both in politics and industry, or as just another labor leader who took his chance and lost. The stakes are high, the adventure tempting, the danger both to the coun- try and to the unionists is enough to hold the close attention of the White House and of leaders in Congress. Mr. Lewis and his lieutenants, who seek to organize the masses of this country’s unorganized workers, possess a new ob- Jjective, a new technique and are count- ing on a new ally in the Government itself. As a result, importance is added to questions like these: What is this labor leader after? What inspires him to action at this particu- lar time? Why has the automobile in- dustry come in for first attention? How will the Federal Government fit into the picture? What are the new methods of the unionists and what their differences from the old? Search for an answer to these ques- tions traces back to N. R. A. That act threw Government protections around the right of labor to organize. Willlam Green, president of the American Fed- eration of Labor, hailed it as a magna charta for workers and predicted 20,- 000,000 union members. Then his craft unions started to squabble about who was to exercise jurisdiction over the prospective members and their dues, with the consequence that there proved to be few new members and few new dues. But John Lewis and a group of other heads of unions organized on an indus- try-wide basis jumped at their oppor- tunity and soon had their industries completely organized. They were not long in realizing that these gains could hardly be held unless workers in com- peting and allied industries were union- ized at the same time. * % x % ‘There followed the creation of the Committee for Industrial Organization, headed by Lewis and pledged to a drive for unionization of mass production in- dustries, hitherto largely unorganized. This committee threw itself into politics back of President Roosevelt. Its leaders created labor’s Non-Partisan League—a new labor political organization. About $1,000,000 was raised and spent by the Lewis group in the interest of the Roose- velt candidacy. ‘Today the C. I. O. is ready to cash in on victory. Its leaders want to act be- fore the President’s indebtedness to them is forgotten and before the Supreme Court determines the legality of the Wagner labor relations law, which throws Federal Government power back of the right of workers to organize into unions and bargain with their employers free from employer interference. They picked General Motors as a first ob- jective because leaders of that company openly opposed President Roosevelt. Their strategy calls for an attempt to keep other automobile companies operat- ing so that the auto-buying public need not go without new cars. But the other sections of the automo- bile industry, along with steel and coal and textiles, are down on the organizing schedule, with late March set as the probable date for a showdown in steel and coal. * x k% As the lines draw tighter, two factors enter to make the situation less com- fortable from the point of view of the employers. One is the latest technique of striking. ‘This technique calls for a relatively few workers in a production line to “sit down” at their machines, thereby halting opera- tion of the whole line. After the sit- down. these workers “stay in,” thereby complicating the problem of replacement with other workers. ‘The automobile industry is particularly vulnerable to this type of strike, as shown by experience of recent weeks. Its parts are supplied by key plants in which pro- duction is highly geared to machinery. Sit-down strikes of workers in these plants can quickly strangle operations in the big assembly lines. After sitting down, the workers stay with their ma- chines. To displace these workers, em- ployers must use force. Yet the use of force may have a profound influence on public opinion and may be difficult, ow- ing to the healthy regard that local offi- cials now have for the voting power of labor. 'EEE ] In the past, striking workers have left their plants, depending upon picket lines to keep other workers from moving in. Employers readily found ways to pene- trate the lines. They find it less simple to displace strikers who occupy their property and refuse to leave unless thrown out. The second factor of vital importance is the Government itself. Previous pe- riods of widespread labor trouble have found employers enjoying wide legal pro- tections. They had ready access to State and local police forces and to the courts for injunctions. But today Federal Court injunctions are difficult to obtain. Local sheriffs and police officers are not so interested in enforcing court orders if ways can be found to evade enforce- ment The Federal Government throws the protection of the Wagner labor re- lations act about the workers. A com- mittee of Congress is on hand to investi= gate employer espionage and to disclose employer preparations for trouble. Facts concerning the income of company offi- cials can be made public to influence sentiment. * * % % But Government power at this time can go much further in providing pro- tection for striking workers. Mr. Lewis expects that W. P. A. rolls will be open to strikers who can qualify on the same basis as other unemployed persons for relief jobs. The policy of the Federal Government has been not to distinguish between persons in need. Yet, at the moment, the President is striving to re- duce relief rolls and quotas are filled in most States. Any rush of striking auto- mobile workers to get W. P. A.«jobs would cause acute embarrassment to the national administration. Labor leaders are not slow, however, in letting it be known that they expect their men to be taken care of on the same basis as other unemployed. If backstopped by State and Federal relief, the C. I. O. would be in a position to hold out indefinitely in a period of strikes. That issue is sure to be raised during the early days of the new Con- gress when added W. P. A. appropria- tions are debated. John Lewis has other things than au- tomobile strikes or steel strikes in mind. He is convinced that, if the masses of workers can be brought into organi- zations created for collective bargain- ing purposes, their influence will extend beyond their particular industries into the whole field of public policy. He has noticed how ready Congress is to jump at the slightest wish of a million or so more ready would Congressmen be to spring to action at the demand of 10 or llion workers? Among the amazing things that marked the beginning of the Christian Church were the high hopes and expectations that characterized those to whom Christ gave His great commission, laying upon them as a supreme task the establish- ment of His kingdom on earth. All too frequently in our conception of this formative period of the church, which involved the discipling of the nations, we seem to forget that, beyond the ultimate salvation of the human race (an essen- tial part of the divine plan), the Master contemplated the rehabilitation of human society through the establishing of a kingdom in which His teaching, as applied to every phase of life, should become operative. In writing his views concerning the consummation of this plan, the Apostle Peter in one of his letters recognized' the stupendous task committed to the apostles, and the seemingly irsuperable difficulties that would attend its prose= cution. He speaks of scoffers, “walking after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep all things con- tinue as they were from the beginning.’” He then recognized the timelessness of the mighty work committed to the hands of those who were to set up Christ's kingdom on earth, and he af- firms that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” He reaches the climax of his argument and expresses the depth of his conviction, saying: “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” The work done by these first builders of the new kingdom produced so pro- found an effect upon that early period, and that in the face of the sternest op- position, that it was written concerning them: “They that have turned the world upside down, have come hither also.” Centuries have rolled by since these early apostles undertook their great task, and as we view the life of the world today we are compelled to believe that the high purpose of the ministry of the Man of Nazareth is far from realiza- tion. The boldness and heroism that marked the men of the early period is not so conspicuous in the life of our present world; it would seem that the purposes of the ministry of the Master are little recognized in a world filled with confusion and disorder. It is one of the most striking facts of history that the periods that have shown the greatest progress of the Christian ideal of life have been those that were marked by widespread apostasy, and, at times, of moral degeneration. It is in such periods that the finely heroic ele- ments that distinguish discipleship have had their noblest expression. There are evidences in our modern world, despite its wars and rumors of wars, its disillusionment and its con- fusion, that the teachings of Christ are being turned to with a deepened and more reverent regard and study than they have for generations past. The violent attack upon Christian institutions is serving to stiffen the church to meet and resist it, and setting forward with increasing zeal the claims of & kingdom that contemplates not only the rehabili- tation but the regeneration of human so- ciety. From far-away China a great Christian Chinese leader has recently said: “All educated China is weighing the relative merits of Christianity and Communism, and is deciding upon which to build the fortunes of China.” Repeatedly, in our own country, out- standing leaders in political and eco- nomic life are affirming, and with deep- ened conviction, that the restoration of our most indispensable institutions is conditioned upon a revival of the Chris- tian religion, is consonance with the ex- pressed teachings of the Man of Naz- areth. One thing is certain, even to the casual observer, namely, that far-reach- ing changes in our whole social, economic and political systems are in process. Something has happened in this old world of ours that is driving men to greater reflection and to the considera- tion of those vital things that concern the security and peace of their most cherished institutions. The demonstra- tion of the fitness of the Christian faith is being tested as it has not been before. 1t is our firm conviction that it will the more heroically meet this test, and, meeting it, it will effect vast changes in our corporate and individual life. “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Fifty Years Ago In The Star “The address of the committees of the local workingmen's organizations to the Plea for a Free people of this city inviting aid to the Public Library. project of founding a free public li- brary,” says The Star of January 8, 1887, “deserves a cordial response. It has taken the citizens of Washington who are not engaged in its active industries a good while to realize that we have a large element of wage earners in our population. These men ordinarily spend their days at work, but there are days when they cannot work and there is an evening at the close of each working day which must be disposed of in some way. The pool room and the drinking saloon and, in fine weather, the street corner, present strong attractions to the idle man who has otherwise to choose be- tween a dreary lodging room and a place of amusement where an admission fee is charged. The Congressional Library, owing to its hours of opening and clos- ing and the conditions set upon the enjoyment of its privileges, is out of the reach of the working people generally. ‘What they need is a library and reading room, open day and evening, where they can spend their leisure time if they wish and from which they can take home books if they prefer to do that. “The towns of New England and the Middle States, where the population is half made up of artisans and operatives, bristle all over with such establishments. Twelve towns in New England, with populations ranging from ten to twenty thousand, support public libraries con- taining an aggregate of a quarter of a million books. At Dover, N. H,, a record is kept. which shows that one in every | five inhabitants of the town. including vomen and children, is registered as a | borrower of books.” * * * “The presentation to Congress of ap- peals and petitions from citizens (;If the R District for the en- DBistrict's School J3rgement of the Needs Presented. public school fa- G cilities,” says The Star of January 8, 1887, “is bringing out some statistics worthy the consideration of thoughtful members of both Houses. There are, it appears, 5000 more chil- dren on the rolls than can be seated in the buildings now provided for them. Twelve thousand and upward are obliged to attend half-day schools because there are not enough rooms to accommodate them for an all-day session. A well- grounded feeling is rife, also, that the high school system should not be fostered to the disadvantage of the lower grade schools. The fraction of the school population that ever reaches a high school is not large and it consists as a rule of the children of parents who are fairly well to do. The schools of lower grade, on the other hand, gather in those children who, bu§) for the blessing of free education, would get no instruction at all. “No respectable taxpayer begrudges money taken from him to spend on the education of the generations which are one day to handle the reins of the Gov- ernment. Moreover, a memorial laid be- fore the Commissioners yesterday directs attention to the neglect of Congress ever to give a dollar of money or a foot of land to the District for school purposes. Yet it has been generous enough in its treatment of the school funds of the several States. Why cannot it do as much for the District where its members have to live from two to six years, and where the Government service in its executive departments alone requires the permanent residence of thousands of citizens, is impossible to understand.” powers that can for higher wages, shorter hours and improved working conditions in industry. Present leaders of that organization vision Government as an ally in a struggle for a bigger slice of the reward that comes from the pro- duction of goods. Their gamble now is to get a foothold in the major mass production industries in the belief that a successful start will be followed by a bandwagon movement. They are operating under a leader of aeknowledged force, who is without fear and who is possessed of long experience in the rough-and-tumble of labor war- fare. Around John Lewis are some other shrewd labor men who know what they are after. But the real key to their success or failure may be found in the White House, in decisions by President Roosevelt on whether or not Federal funds and Fed- eral influence will be used to favor one side or the other. The stage is set for making or breaking the Lewis labor movement. (Coprright, 1937.) go into politics to get be used in bargaining Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Baby chick raiser, packing plant em- ploye, city fireman, steel plant and paper mill workers, collar manufacturer, teach- ers, doctors, lawyers, lobbyists—{rom all walks in life and with variant ambi- tions come the new members of Con- gress to make this great legislative body for a self-governing people a true cross section of American society. One man has the distinction of having his biography printed in the new Con- gressional Directory, as a member who is not yet a member—Alphonse Roy, Democrat, of New Hampshire, who ran a dead heat for the seat, the first abso- lute congressional tie in some 110 years. His Republican rival, Arthur B. Jenks, has been sworn in, but Roy is expected to win the contest for the seat before the House Committee. * % X % There is evidence that the new Con- gress has no leaning toward “race sui- cide” as denounced by a former Roose- velt. Santiago Iglesias, resident com- missioner from Puerto Rico, who quit school when he was 12 to become a cabinet maker and later was Sam Gompers’ agent for organizing working men in the Pan-American countries, seems to carry off parental honors— with 11 children. Senator Vic Donahay of Ohio quite ably upholds the paternal record in the Senate with 10 children and a background of five generations born in Ohio. The two Montana Sen- ators seem to carry off State honors with six children each for Senator Burton K. ‘Wheeler and Senator James E. Murray —the latter has six sons. Senator James J. Davis, Pennsylvania, and Senator Lynn J. Frazier of North Dakota each has five children. Quintin Paredes, resi- dent commissioner from the Philippines, has 10 children; Representative Louis C. Rabaut, Michigan, nine; Representative ‘Walter M. Pierce, Oregon; Represent- ative James H. Gildea, Pennsylvania; Representative E. Harold Cluett, New York—each is father of six children; Representative Edouard Victor Michel Izac, California; Representative Joseph L. Pfeifer, New York; Representative John F. Hunter, Ohio, and Samuel W. King, delegate from Hawaii—each fis father of five. % % & % “The man in the wheel chair” at- tracted much attention at the opening sessions. He is Representative Arthur ‘W. Aleshire, Democrat, of Ohio, who, while managing a dairy farm, received an injury which dislocated his back and paralyzed him below the hips. Being unable to walk he operated a filling station and a small grocery store while in a wheel chair. He has the distinc- tion of being the first Democrat ever elected to Congress from his district. * x % x ‘The new woman member is Mrs. Nan ‘Wood Honeyman, first woman Congress= woman from Oregon. She was born at West Point, N. Y. Her father was a colonel. During her school days in New ‘York she became acquainted with Frank- lin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt and the friendship has endured through the years. She has studied music under fa- mous composers. Her husband is secre- tary-treasurer of his own pioneer hard- ware concern. Miss June, the youngest of her three children, has accompanied her to the Capital. She led the crusade for prohibition reform in Oregon and was president of the constitutional con- vention for ratification of the twenty- first amendment. She was elected to the State Senate two years ago and seconded the nomination of President Roosevelt at the Philadelphia conven- tion. * ok ok X% “Lest we forget”—the “first” woman in Congress is Mrs. Mary T. Norton, N. J.— first woman Democrat elected free- holden in Hudson County and in the State, received first degree of doctor of laws conferred by St. Elizabeth’s College, the oldest women’s college in the State; first woman Democrat to be elected to Congress, first appointed chairman of a congressional committee, first woman chairman of a State committee, intro- duced the first resolution in Congress to repeal the eighteenth amendment. * X K X Representative Usher Burdick, Repub- lican, of North Dakota, was the youngest Speaker in any State Legislature when he was 30 years of age. He was raised on the border of the Sioux reservation and talks the Sioux language. He played right end on the Minnesota University foot ball team when it was champion of the Big Ten. He was judge for the State Senate in the only im) Inauguration Day Weather BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. The residents of the National Capital and a great many other thousand peo- ple in the United States always are keenly interested in the weather at Washington on inauguration day. The old date, March 4, has a somewhat bad reputation. The Federal city does not have what could properly be called an equable climate. The most astonishing variations take place from day to day and even from hour to hour. A change of 40 degrees sometimes is noted in a few hours. There have been March 4 inauguration days which have been balmy and blessed with radiant sunshine and there have been other ones which have shown the picture of wintry bliz- zards. In the minds of many Americans is the March 4 on, which President Taft was inaugurated. A couple of days be- fore the weather was mild and fair. Then came a rain which turned to snow, and when the day came so heavy a fall had been laid down that much of the train service had stopped and Wash- ington was cut off. Telephone and tele- graph services were seriously crippled. Whole trainloads of visitors could not leave their cars, but were snowed in in the yards or, in some cases, many miles out on the line. The parade proceeded through drifts. * ok x % The Weather Bureau refrains from predicting officially what the weathér of January 20, the new inauguration day, will be. The chances are as good for a mild, fair day on that date as they are for such a day on March 4. Uncle Sam’'s Almanac contains a prognostica- tion, not officially sponsored by the ‘Weather Bureau, which says that from January 16 to January 19 there will be rain. This means, doubtless, the normal cold drizzle of the season. But for January 20, the day of the inaugural, and the following day, the prediction is for generally pleasant weather. Then snow will follow. It has been said that President Roosevelt has enjoyed the most uncanny luck throughout his political career. If this prognostication holds, the luck will hold. Rain up to the day, pleasant weather then, and next, snow. A two-day interval in which the sun is predicted to shine on the new President! * x k¥ The most inclement inauguration day in the history of the Nation was Andrew Jackson’s second. His first had been all that could be desired. The weather was so balmy that he walked to the Capitol hatless, his white hair like a plume. But the second time was dif- ferent. For five days before March 4, 1833, the snow had fallen. It lay on the ground and piled in drifts, for the weather was cold. When March 4 came the temperature dropped still lower—to 11 degrees below zero—a rare low for ‘Washington. In such circumstances, it was neces- sary to abandon the elaborate plans which had been made for a procession and other ceremonies. In those days the White House was not served by the heating system it now enjoys. Imme- diately after the taking of the oath, President Jackson returned to the White House and went to bed to keep warm. The usual reception was canceled. * ¥ *x x In sharp contrast was the earlier sec ond inaguration of James Madison. The contemporary memoirs record that the day was one of radiant sunshine and warmth. To dwellers in climates more equable than that of Washington, it may come as a surprise that the National Capital is capable of registering a tem=- perature of near 80 degrees in the month of March. For that matter, there can be days of late Spring warmth in January. For James Monroe’s second inaugural elaborate plans had been made for a street procession. But he, like Jackson, had bad-weather luck. During the night before snow and sleet fell in abundance and the temperature dropped. The streets which, compared with those of today were little more than country roads, were covered with deep slush. The parade was abandoned. The Presi«’ dent drove to the Capitol in a coach and four, but so bad was the weather that the sidewalks were deserted. In modern times, even on such a day as that of the Taft inaugural, the sidewalks are jammed from curb to building line. Martin Van Buren's inaugural in 1837 showed another typical swing in Wash- ington weather. So fair and fine was the day that the new President drove in an open phaeton to the Capitol with Pennsylvania avenue lined by cheering crowds. Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ‘was another spoiled by bad weather. The previous day it had rained—one of those dismal, drizzling, exceedingly wet and cold rains which are typical of tie National Capital in Winter. While the rain stopped on inauguration day, the skies were so overcast and threatening that there was no notable procession. President Grant's first inaugural was marked by similar adverse weather, * % X x ‘There have been various proposals to change the date of the inauguration, but the earlier proposals were to delay rather than to advance it. March 4 had always been known as a tricky day from the weather point of view. Weather, of course, is one thing which never can be relied upon nor long forecast with com- plete certainty. However, April and especially May in Washington are famous for days of mild and tender beauty, and there have been any number of efforts to postpone the inaugural ceremonies to such a season. It had been pointed out that the President could be sworn in by means of a simple ceremony on March 4, but without public ceremony. Only official witnesses, such as the mem- bers of Senate and House, the Supreme Court and a few high officials and spe- cially selected guests would attend. The President would assume occupancy of the White House and his official duties. Then, at a later date, more likely to be pleasant, the pfocession would be held. * x * % This would be somewhat along the line of the British system. The British theory is that the King never dies. So soon as one monarch expires his successor ine stantly becomes King. But months, even more than a year, may expire be- fore the coronation takes place. While Edward VIII acceded to the throne in January, 1936, it was not planned to hold his coronation until May of 1937. King George VI now is on the throne and it is not yet definitely known when he will be anointed and crowned. A much shorter time would elapse, under the proposed plans, in the case of a postponed presidential inauguration— probably two months at most. Instead of that, the constitutional amendment which changed the date of the beginning of the President’s term as well as of the convening of Congress moved inaugura=- tion day back into the dead of Winter. Facilities are improved these days com- pared with those earlier inaugurations. Broad Pennsylvania avenue is as smooth as a billiard table. Even in the event of a heavy snowfall, every available bit of apparatus would be put to work to clear the way for the inaugural proces- sion and it would pass by the chilly throngs even in a blinding snowstorm. ’