Evening Star Newspaper, May 7, 1940, Page 9

Two Major Issues Face Congress Walter-Logan Bill Is One for Real Debate in Senate By DAVID LAWRENCE. Although everybody talks about & June 1 adjournment of Congress as | 1Qikely, there is plenty of controversy in the air to keep both houses busy beyond that , : date, It's in the : Senate, however, where the major struggle may be expected. 3 Decision of the : Senate Judiciary Committee by 3 unanimous vote : to bring to the floor for action the Walter- Logan bill is a significant sign of the times. Hardly had the newsreached the David Lawrence. editions of Monday afternoon when announcement came from President Roosevelt's train en route to Wash- ington that he wants the House of Representatives to act on the new Hatch bill, which has already passed the Senate. The two measures are not related, but in both instances it had been frequently predicted that commit- tees would pigeonhole them for the remainder of the session. It now appears that the House will vote | on the Hatch bill and the Senate will record itself on the Walter- Logan bill. Each is slated to pass, but there is apt to be delay in con- ference committee as differences be- tween the houses are ironed out. Mr. Roosevelt’s decision to speed the Hatch bill to passage may have been a bit of a surprise, because the New Dealers have been split on the issue. The purpose of the second Hatch bill—another was passed last year—is to forbid the ~use of State or county political machines in connection with Fed- eral funds for relief. Last year the objective was to prevent Federal agencies from being used to elect candidates of the Democratic party or to influence nominations. The new bill puts State and county and Federal agencies on the same basis. Furore Caused by Secret Vote. What s President Roosevelt's interest in the new bill> He need not have entered the fray. The action of the House Judiciary Com- mittee in trying to kill the measure by a secret ballot, however, caused & public furore. To this day no accu- rate count has been published of the way members voted. A petition by | Representative Dempsey, Democrat, of New Mexico, who is co-author of the Hatch bill, is circulated so as to get the necessary signatures in order to take the bill out of the hands of the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Roese- velt may have surveyed the effect of | the effort to kill the bill and possibly | decided that the political advantage of being recorded as in favor of pas- sage far outweighs any disadvantage to the Democratic party in the terms of the bill itself. When the Senate passed the bill, some New Dealers voted for it and some against it. In several instances this reflected the line-up in the local situations, the vote for the Hatch Act being cast in cases where the State House ma- chine was lined up against the Sena- tors or vice versa. The Republicans in the Senate voted solidly for the new Hatch bill. ‘They have consistently placed them- selves on record as favoring restric- tions on governmental agencies in connection with vote solicitation. They have a number of State and county governmental machines, but the Democrats have so many more, the Republican leaders figured it out that there was more advantage than disadvantage to the Republicans in hamstringing their opponents. Real Debate on Logan Bill. The real debate of the session is likely to come in the Senate on the ‘Walter-Logan bill, which will arouse national interest. All the brain trusters are lined up against the measure as it passed the House. ‘They can find a thousand flaws in it—but all on a theoretical basis. The trouble is that the citizen is not con- fronted with a theory, but a condi- tion when he faces a governmental tribunal. The brain trusters can argue all they wish about the im- portance of giving administrative commissions full power and about the delays that occur when court re- views are granted. But where their theory fails down is that it presup- poses competent and disinterested ind honest minded personnel in pub- lic office—not class conscious officials, some of whom develop their cases in collusion with litigants and other- wise conduct themselves as partisans. | ‘There never would have been the slightest need for the Walter-Logan bill if common sense and objectivity had been the rule rather than the exception in Government boards, commissions and bureaus. Extremes beget extremes. The Walter-Logan bill is the Nation’s protest against absolutism in governmental commis- slons, and it is significant that the very men who have wielded absolute power are in the forefront of the fight, lobbying against passage of a measure that would afford some measure of relief to the aggrieved tizen whose economic life or death 8o often depends on the whim of governmental boards, commissions and bureaus. (Reproduction Rights Reserved.) Jack Kraft L/ will modernize vy your home at NO MONEY DOWN Estimates cheerfully given on Oil Burners Watarproofing Roof Repairing Heating Systems Recreation Rooms Painting, Papering Plumbing, Stuccoing Asbestos and Brick Siding Pinanced on amall monthly payments. THE EV. The Capital Parade New Dealers Are Reported Ready to Inform President Roosevelt That He's Been Drafted By JOSEPH ALSOP snd ROBLRT KINTNER. Both the appalling news from abroad and the sligatly ludicrous news from Texas are sure to affect an historic scene which will take place sometime before July 15. Except that the President will be the central figure, the scene’s details must be supplied by the imagination. The setting may be one of the high, cool rooms of the White House, or the big library at Hyde Park, or even the stuffy living compartment of the private car in which the President will cross the continent in June. The time may be late night or early morning, or any intervening hour. And the other participants may include one or more of the New Dealers, one,or more of the political bosses now marching in the third-term YOUVE BEEM movement, and Mrs. Roosevelt and ORAFTED & perhaps other members of the family. It is no strain on the imagina- tion to foresee that the scene will be both serious and animated, for the subject under discussion will be the President’s final decision on the grand question of the hour, to run or not to run. And while even the liveliest imagination cannot surely forecast his verdict, the arguments that will be presented to him are the scene’s only other certainly besides the bresence of the President. Even now they may be heard daily, as a sort of political litany, from the lips of the New Deal group. A Winning Candidate The exhortation is likely to begin on the political level. Since the compromise on the Texas delegation, Vice President John N. Garner's opposition to the third term has become a one-man fight. Although the attitude of Postmaster General James A, Farley has undergone no appar- ent change, he will hardly be able to struggle on alone, Thus the first thing the President will be told is that he has been overwhelmingly drafted to run again, The history of the third-term movement will be rehearsed. The President will be reminded how the movement began as the private enterprise of a small group of politically obscure New Dealers; how the practical Democratic politicians moved into line, in the evident belief that the President would make the best candidate, and how in the end the opposition all but collapsed. He will be asked whether any man, being offered the presidential nomination, has the right to refuse., Above all, he will be told, again and again, that he is the “only Democrat who can win.” At this point, perhaps, he will make the reply that he has made before, that “if we take our coats off,” Secretary of State Cordell Hull can be elected. And.if he persists in this assertion, a new line of argument will b® opened. New Party Line This line of argument has changed markedly in the last two years. Two years ago it was that the President must run again to preserve and complete his domestic program. Now it is that he must run again to carry his foreign policy through to a finish. He will hear the cruel picture of the state of the world, which seems almost certain to be still more perilous than it is today. The dangers of a change at such a time will be darkly described—the inevitable pause maype 0 the development of policy, the D THEYRE less effective leadership of the RIGHT friends of the democracies, and the consequent encouragement of the dictatorships. The vast importance of experience in meeting world prob- lems will be heavily underlined. The possible ineffectiveness of other men will receive its due attention. And this will be the most effec- tive argument. To tell a man “You are the only Democrat who can win” is agreeably flattering. To say, “You are the only leader for the country in the most difficult times we have known” is an appeal that seems almost irresistible. Still a Puzzle The President has his fair share of vanity. Rightly or wrongly, he | may succumb to the arguments. Even if he does not exactly succumb, if the New Dealers are correct prophets, the Democratic convention may actually overwhelm him. But in trying to weigh and understand the President’s future course, it is at least worth knowing how the case for a | break with tradition will be presented to him. (Released by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) Mrs. Elizabeth Moyes Found Dead of Gas Increased Realty Tax Opposed by Association Unanimous opposition to any in- crease in the present real estate tax rate was registered last night by the Progressive Congress Heights Citizens’ Association, which met in the Congress Hsights School. After discussing reorganization of local government, the association expressed satisfaction with the pres- ent setup. Edward E. Richardson, president, declared “theoretically, all citizens of the United States should have the privilege of suffrage and representation *in national govern- ment,” but added that “in practice By the Associated Press, NEW YORK, May 7.—Mrs. Eliza- beth Moyes, 39, who as Bobbie Mer- riken, left her home town of Staun=~ ton, Va, for the Bohemian atmos- phere of Greenwich Village nearly 20 years ago, was found dead of gas poisoning in her midtown apartment today. Police said she apparently had taken her life in a fit of despond- ency because of the impending re- marriage of her divorced husband, Alphonse Moyes, jr., business asso- ciate of Ely Culbertson, professional bridge teacher and writer. the Commissioner form as it applies | to the District makes local citizens better off than might otherwise be expected. In my dealings with our Commissioners over a long period of time, I have found them to be very considerate over our problems,” Mr. Richardson said. The scheduled improvement of the following streets was announced: Fifth street, Alabama avenue to Trenton street; Ninth street, Ala- bama to Portland street; Tenth street, Alabama to Savannah street; Mellon street, Fifth to Nichols ave nue; Newcomb street, Fifth to Port- land streets. All are located in the Southeast. Action was taken to press for additional land acquisition to enlarge the Congress Heights School playground. The association voted to hold its final meeting in June rather than May, due to unfinished business. 0 Cash for Your How would you il for oll the useless trinkets thet are lying about the house. Selingers will pey the Highest Cash Prices for all your old gold er silver rings, pins, watches, even dental gold. elinger’s 818 F ST. N.W. GMOED DN WD 5 NED 6D WO 6 MNTD The World’s Finest SUMMER BLOTHES ARE MOW READY AT THE LEWIS & THOS SALTZ ESTABLISHMEN' 1409 G STREET, N. W. In a Comprebensive Assortment Embracing the Best Quality Imported and Domestic Fabrics TROPICAL WORSTED SUITS NATURAL SAND-TAN GABARDINES “AZURE ISLE” GABARDINES PALM BEACH SUITS PRIESTLEY’S ENGLISH “NOR-EAST” SUITS “SOUTHAMPTON" ENGLISH White MOHAIR SUITS HASPEL SEERSUCKER & CORD SUITS IMPORTED IRISH LINEN SUITS ~ ENGLISH ASCOT CLOTH SUITS SUITS OF IMPORTED FRENCH MADRAS WHITE SUMMER FORMALS SPORTS JACKETS & TROUSERS LEISURE SPORTS ENSEMBLES LEWIS & THOS. SALTZ 1409 G STREET N.W. i P . this store, 1409'G _Street. There are l‘:"édlt:’;l.zé!dmvmu!y‘l:b‘::-il Iun'l Seore in :;:Ililm, This store has no connection whatsoever with Selez ‘THB opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s effort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers although such opinions may be contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to i he Star’s. The Political Mill Tennessee Is 1,000 Per Cent for Hull If and When Roosevelt Won’t Run By G. GOULD LINCOLN, ‘Tennessee Democrats are ready to spring into action for Secretary of State Hull at the Democratic Na- tional Convention in Chicago—pro- vided President Roosevelt will %l not run again. 4 It is well under- stood, of course, that Mr. Hull would never be a candidate for the presidential nomination against the President. But if the President is not to run, the Tennesseans are a thousand per cent for Cordell Hull. G. Gould Lincoln, Tennessee does not elect its del- egates to the Democratic National Convention until the party’s state convention is held on June 20. If by that time the President has given an indication what his own course will be—and that he will not run—the Tennessee delegation will be instructed to vote for Mr. Hull for President at the national convention. If there has been no indication what the President plans, the convention may still indorse Mr. Hull with the understanding that if the President can be persuaded to run, the delegation will vote for the President. Or the delegation may be uninstructed by the con- vention. Every one knows, it is said, just where the Tennessee delegation will land when the balloting be- gins. ~The necessary plans to place Mr. Hull's name in nomination will be made, and the nominating speeches will be made—in the event the Pres- ident is not a candidate. If the con- vention is stampeded promptly in- to a renomination of President Roosevelt — nothing will be done for Mr. Hull until the President turns down the nomination—if he | does. ’ Looms Larger. The nearer the time for nominat- ing a presidential candidate, the larger looms Mr. Hull on the scene. There are a number of reasons for this. In the first place he has the confidence of the country—and that goes for Republicans as well as Democrats. Indeed, Mr. Hull would probably receive the support of more Republican voters than any other Democrat who could be put up this year. Certainly he would receive more Republican votes than Presi- dent Roosevelt. This writer has talked personally with a number of Republicans who have never be- fore voted the Democratic ticket— or who voted for Mr. Roosevelt— who now say they intend to support Hull for the presidency if he be nominated. Next, Mr. Hull's nomination would go far toward uniting the Demo- cratic party, which has been split into New Deal and anti-New Deal factions ‘in the last three years. The New Dealers themselves, while they might not choose Mr. Hull as their No. 1 candidate for the presi- | | dency, nevertheless could accept him gracefully, and the anti-New Deal Democrats, the old-line Demo- crats, would love to vote for him. The European situation and the demands of the American people for & man who can deal with it and keep this country from being em- broiled in the present war make Mr. ‘Hull's chances still brighter. He "has full knowledge of the situa- tion and the conditions abroad if any man does. 3 Backs World Trade. In addition Mr. Hull has stood for improvement in international trade as the sure method of bring- ing peace to the world and as a savior of civilization. For if civil- ization as we know it is to survive men must have jobs. Hungry men and women are likely to sweep aside all restraints which civiliza- tion has imposed on man in the last few hundred years. In season and out Mr. Hull has fought, therefore, for a lowering of the present international barriers to trade. He is credited with the reciprocal trade agreement plan for this country, which has been in effect now for several years—the only really forward step which has been taken in the way of doing away with the barriers to trade in the Roosevelt administration. Mr. Hull may well have the back- ing of President Roosevelt for the presidential nomination. Indeed, the President has mentioned his name favorably in private conversa- tion. There has been no Hull campaign for the presidential nomination— and there will be none. Mr. Hull *has declared many times he is not a candidate. But Mr. Hull is neither deaf nor dumb. He knows that he is under consideration for the nom- ination by many of the party lead- ers, and he knows that many of them with him well. Tennessee has furnished the coun- try three Presidents. The first was Jackson, the second Polk and the third Johnson—who inherited office when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Tennesseans say it is time for their State to put an- | other man in the White House. Tennessee has been regarded as one of the “border States” and almost as much one of the Middle West States as one of the Southern States. The Democrats are intent upon holding the Negro vote, which turned to them in the Roosevelt campaigns. It happens that in Tennessee the Democrats do not bar colored voters from participat- ing in Democratic primaries—as they do in some of the Southern States. Mr. Hull, therefore, would not be under the handicap that other Democratic candidates from the South would face—Vice Presi- dent Garner of Texas and Speaker | principle” to the unfettered exercise of bureaucratic power in other mat- illflflems can win the war. ters of New Deal policies, should make an issue of the attempt in practice Bankhead of Alabama, for example. A man of the strictest integrity, of high courage, Mr. Hull has gone his way in Congress and in the State Department, living up to his principles. He is the type that in- spires confidence. EVERY HOUR the | NG STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, MAY 7, 1840, We, the People C. A. A. Shift Held Needed for Co-ordination With Rest of Administration By JAY FRANKLIN. The opposition to that part of President Roosevelt’s reorganization plan No. 4, which transfers the Civil Aeronautics Authority to the Depart- ment of Commerce has zoomed to the heights of unjustified misappre- hension and gross misinformation which constitute the current political stratosphere. The chief complaint is that the transfer will again place the regula- tion of civil aviation in the hands of bungling, politics-ridden bureaucrats and that the authority of the Secretary of Commerce will check the progressive C. A, A. policies and performances. The breast-beating and welkin-ringing over the proposal ignores the fact that the Commerce Department will have no control whatsoever over civil aeronautics policy or regu- lations. The telescoped agency, to be known as the civil aeronautics board, will continue to function ex- actly as before, with the single exception that the members— though not the functions—of the Air Safety Board will be dropped, in order to end controversy and step up efficiency. In addition to these desirable aims, as well as to reduce confusion | and expense, civil aviation is to be given cabinet representation. What this means in effect is that the board will report to the President through the Secretary of Commerce. To make sure in advance that this system works, Assistant Secretary of Commerce J. Monroe Johnson, who used to have charge of the old Bureau of Air Commerce, has been kicked upstairs td a post on the Interstate Commerce Commission. His place will be filled by Robert H. Hinckley, present chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Authority, who will serve as liaison between the board and the White House, but without control over the board's regulations and activities. Interesting Light on Issue 4 is shed by a confidential report to President Roosevelt by Mr. Fred Fagg, former director of the Bureau of Air Commerce. In this report, Mr. Fagg said: “While certain air-line accidents had taken place (under the Bureau of Air Commerce) and there were criticisms launched against the Depart- ment of Commerce—particularly in the Cutting case—it is quite clear that the air lines were not concerned with any attempt to place the blame on any individual Federal agency. A “The statements of Col. Edgar S. Gorrell (now chief critic of the C. A. A. shift), president of the Air Transport Association of America, make that quite clear. When asked for advice as to the prevention of accidents, he said: ‘Fill up the gaps in the airways!’” » Fagg also quoted Gorrell as testifying at a congressional hearing on the Civil Aeronautics Authority bill in 1937: “I do not blame the Department of Commerce for those Los Angeles accidents. I wish to make that perfectly clear.” “Col. Gorrell did say, a sentence later,” Fagg's report continued, “that he believed that the department was partly to blame for not agreeing that Congress should appropriate more money for air navigation facilities (bureaucratic lobbying?). The thrust of his argument was that accidents were due to lack of proper facilities and that Congress should have been asked for the necessary money and should have appropriated it. | “Col. Gorrell was equally clear in expressing the opinion of the air lines on the question of what Government agency should handle matters of safety. He said: ‘The air lines do not care who handles safety!’"” Delicate Decision Involved Over and above all these claims and counter-claims there is a deli- | cate decision of political administration involved. Broadly speaking, if the Government appoints an outstanding group of men and gives them | a pretty free hand in dealing with a crisis—such as the series of air | accidents which preceded the creation of the C. A. A. and the Air Safety | Board—these men will do an excellent job. The time comes, however, when the crisis is surmounted and | their main task has been achieved. | Then it becomes necessary—to pre- vent virtual independence from breeding political and professional abuses—to bring the group into co- ordination with the rest of the na- tional administration. Otherwise, government becomes difficult and administration confused, with the powers of Government farmed out to a number of independent bodies reporting to one man, without supervision or analysis. Government, have been discontinued or are under fire. to bring the Civil Aeronautics Authority within the framework of admin- istrative accountability. Yet the same people who favor the ‘Walter-Logan bill, imposing certain' restraints upon the procedure of these semi- independent boards and authorities, are moaning with well-feigned anguish at the plan to simplify and co-ordinate the administration and reporting methods of the agency which regulates civil aviation. NOW MIDNIGHT NON-STOP TO NEW YORK FLIGHTS ON THE HOUR! The most frequent service between any two cities by any air- linein the world @ Planes arrive at both New York Municipal Airport-LaGuardia Field and Newark Airport ® Flight- Steward service on every plane; snack-bar service on local flights; full-course complimentary meals at regular mealtimes ALSO TO MEXICO CITY —Silversieeper to Mexican border every night at 9:05. vice without-change-of-plane Send for special booklet on all- expense tours to Mexico and Guatemala FOR RESERVATIONS local Eastern Air Lin Phone Republi Ticket Age any rravel burcou or hotel transportat 3 you call ion desk An interesting light on the controversy over reorganization plan No. | Gegnerally speaking, all other phases of the New Deal's emergency outfits have been merged with the regular administrative channels of | It remains a | that the Balkans will be the yard- political mystery why the Republicans, who are so bitterly opposed “in | Stick for showing which of the bel- This Changing World Dispatches Show War Spread to Southeast Europe Imminent By CONSTANTINE BROWN. It was not President Roosevelt's sixth sense which provided him with the hunch that he had better re- turn to Washington earlier than he had anticipated. It was some- thing less ro- g mantic: Cold, factual dis- j patches from American min- isters and Am- bassadors throughout Eu- rope who feel that the wind #1s blowing “ towards disaster in the Mediter~ ranean and in “ the Balkans. Constantine Brown, ‘The tension in that section of Europe has been in- creasing dangerously for the last 10 days. The sabre-rattling of the Italians was answered by the sending of an allied fleet in the Eastern Meditere ranean; the menace to the almoste neutral Balkan states has forced them to get busy with intense prep~ arations for resistance. American diplomats abread exe pect the war of words and nerves to be translated .into a real war— | possibly before the end of the week, Believe Balkans Will Fight. They believe the Southeastern | Europeans, accustomed to invasions |and wars ever since they began to | exist as national units, will fight it compelled to do so. | _ The leanings of the Turks, Greeks, | Rumanians and Yugoslavs are de- cidedly in favor of the allies. This is well known in London and in Paris and explains why at the pres- |ent moment there is important | shifting of troops of Gen. Weygand's army in Syria toward Constanti= nople and Thrace. The Magyars and Bulgarians are sympathetic to the German cause, the former because they are close to the Reich and subject to an | immediate invasion before anybody | could come to their rescue, the late ter because of their traditional sympathy towards Russia and the old quarrels with Rumania and Yugoslavia. In this setup it is believed that a war in Southeastern Europe will not be a repetition of the war in Scandinavia. Resolved to Be Prepared. Bpurred by the criticism at home because of lack of foresight and adequate preparations in the Nor= wegian campaign, the British gove ernment has decided not to be | caught unprepared in the southern tip of Europe. The French have always believed They think that whilé a decision must be expected on the western front the Balkan front will prove to be the best dress rehearsal of the war and the results of the struggle in that section of Europe will be like a primary; it will show definitely who is going to be the victor in the present struggle. Occoquan Eastern Sfar Chapfer Is Instituted Organized with a membership of 40, a new chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star was instituted Saturday night in Occoquan, Va., by Willilam M. Price, worthy grand patron of the Grand Chapter of Virginia. Mrs. Mabel L. Kennedy, past grand matron of the Grand Chapter of Virginia, installed the following officers: Willie P, Marshall, worthy matron; Robert Warthen Hall, worthy patron; Blanche W. Hagner, associate matron; Frank W. Porter, associate patron; Audrey Gensch, secretary; Mildred Pettalett, treas- urer; Margaret Tyler, conductress; Louise H. Davis, associate conduce tress; Eva Refa Leary, chaplain; Mrs. Leo Beach, marshal; Kathryn Green, organist; Lena ‘Watson, warder, and Frank Brown, sentinel. The following were appointed star points: Miss Mary Thurman, Mrs. Mary W. Davis, Mrs. Marvin Best, Mrs. Bine S. Cross and Mrs. Bar- bara Hall. The officers of Martha Wash- ington Chapter, No. 42, of Alex- andria, Va., exemplified ritualistic work. ——— Everyday Science We live in a world of sel- ence. Almost every day some far-reaching discovery is an- nounced that may have a profound effect on our lives. The stories of the sciences told in the booklet in EVERYDAY SCIENCE offered by this bu- reau do not attempt to cover the field fully, but they do Ppoint out the high lights. This survey of general elementary sclence in question and an- swer form will interest all who wish' to understand the ordi- nary happenings of everyday lite in the light of the expla- nations that science has to offer. There is a real satis- faction in knowing the how and why of so many ordinary things. Order your copy to- day. Only 10 cents, postpaid. USE THIS COUPON. The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D, C. I inclose herewith TEN CENTS in coln. (carefully wrapped) for te (Please Order by Mail Only )