Show SEEN an HEARD around tho National Capital By By CARTER FIELD S n Upton Sinclair s sue suc cess coss ox or failure In I easily decide the future of the V e In W ashington lon Far mr more bangs hnnson bangson on the fight light tint his bis nomination L b the party pirty for Or gO gOer goser er nor of California opens than either or opposition ers tire admitting as vet et thou h doubtless e the lie votes are actinia east cast orators In the ras ms and nd the tho towns to of ot the tue Gold Cold Golden Colden Golden en Gate state will be lie shouting It from the tue housetops To begin with over overwhelming helming SOC suc ces 3 of Sinclair OIlY just determine lInt the tue Democrats keep a stron Strong enough majority In the house of representatives es to make m iLe sure tint the Ies e Deal Is supplied with the tue of appropriations net winter and with the new powers pos that President Roosevelt Hoose ma mav decide lie lIo n needs ned floe Democrats now hue o eleven seats from CalifornIa and the Re Re- Republicans publicans nine nino A S sweep Seep by Sin Sinclair In might mean that Instead of nt at least hive Ove seats scats as most on the house houe had figured the Democrat might pick up two or three more A S sweeping defeat t for or Sinclair on the tho other hand might mean the car down of nn an given part of the eleven Democratic seats seats- now hell held all of them being admittedly In Income some come danger except that held bUd b b I r I I ea en The Importance of ot this part of the picture lies In the tue confidence of conservative Republican n leider that If it they can reduce the cratic plurality 0 over oer er the ans In ho the house from to GO- GO COor GOor CO COor or In short hort if It the republicans can gain 70 scats they can defeat all the more radical appropriations and andall andall andall all the more radical new ot of the administration But the really Important phi phi-ise far nr transcends tran even en the chan change e of often often ten seats In tile the house It will vIll be bea bea bea a sign post as to how the country Is leaning the significance of hichi cannot be Le exaggerated 1 Consider for example what shat ha t the defeat of Sin claIr chairs s victory In l would be on those thoe S sympathetic with Ith the purposes of the New l ew American Lib Liberty Liberty Liberty erty league lenue A victory b bi such a forthright Socialist oci as Sinclair In a so rich and prosperous ns as would frighten ten the fo fol followers followers lowers Jowers of Jim V orth the thu du and John JohnV V W Davis Dads to death It would woud drive them literally to the more conservative Roosevelt for protection Effect on Congress In short It would destroy the tue only serious threat at Hoo e elt s pro pre predomInance predominance domInance and the only menace to the ew 1 ew Deal and probably drive e Roosevelt elt bowing boIng bo Ing to the stormS a little farther to the I eft than he had Intended going Its effect on every c ery member of the new congress elected no ml matter by shat part would be so mar marl ed ell that hint It would be difficult to round up a 8 s guard to vote against the most radical r 31 proposals the dent may advance ince In the next year Also Aso It would change the apparent eat Ent lining up now going on hooking to the next t presidential elec tion It might easily mean that there would be no Republican in c-in candidate certainly certainly not In the old sense ense of Republican On the other hand a sweeping s vIctory for Governor con e would place ice a tight check checkrein checkrein checkrein rein on the l ew cw ew Deal It would tend to force cry ery con er otes otes in the next t house not only ony because of Its It actual effect e In chan chang log hog California but because of Its mora moral effect It woul J probably drive drie Roosevelt much fur further further further ther toward to the Right than he now Intends going And It would mean for almost a certainty the nomIna against him In 1930 1030 l of a cow com conservative concer Republican Incidentally the administration Is far more concerned about It appears on the surface or nr In any of the tile news dispatches The mere that thit the tue President devoted most of his farewell hreen fire oIl en talk to ash ashIngton ash ashington Ington paper newspaper men just prior to going to JJ Hide de Park Pule Is the best ieSt In Instance instance Instance stance of tha that t Tho Those e who ho base e studied the I resident s handling of the press know that he does docs not just happen hippen to talk tall for fifteen mm utes on any given subject Q Quiescent Investors The possibility ty that thit the new or managed by hy house houfe and sponsored by Alfred fl Smith Jam Janis James s Wadsworth W ads orth John Johll Johnv JohnW W v Davis and the du Ponts Fonts will III de le develop develop an Investors bloc is in a a the moct most Interesting phase of the mo ement Such a bloc bloc has rt ue r before existed In this tills country Despite nil nfl the constant relt reiteration ra tion of the ew 1 I ew cw Dealers J now an I 1 Ithe the Progressives of a 8 few years ao ao a and the tue radicals before that about the tue interests the fact Is that th investors lD In this country live nes ne r er been very ery ery vocal In our politics C Certain large ar e specific yes Certain groups as for or exam ne the National 1 Association of If co operating for tor hl higher her tariff protection surely Hut But the n average era e holder of a i doz dozen dozen dozen en or a few hundred shares share ot of tock stock or for that matter many holders of thou thousands of shares never ba have base e organized to see ce th t theIr I Interests were score protected Some homo years ago tho the richest ills ills- dis district In the United then States States then as now v the Seventeenth district of New sent lork-sent sent n a Democrat to the house ot of representatives It so happened that during his lois two year term the theL theLt L ch Cummins railroad bill was passed Seldom has lias a bill been con considered by congress of ot more direct est cst to every ery holder of railroad s and bonds than this tills or oras sins as there a single congressional dis district In iii the tue United States Statis where bere so soman man stocks and md bonds were ere held as In the SO Seventeenth I ew ow lork Yet ret during the on It or of orthis this me Representative Ieli did not receive recel one ono solitary letter from Crom any of his thousands of bIg bIgand bigand bigand and tens of thousands of small In Investors In railroad securities I But when hen some picayune measure Ing florists came Ut u he ho was as deluged with letters etters Tho Tim florists had nn an org and amI It a vital l Interest The security holders figured the railroad e c would oud attend to the for them Or perhaps they did not gis gh give e c It a n thought At any rate the they didn t write T Tint That lt Is 13 where here the new organization tion may come in If It e every esery cry stock stock- stockholder stockholder stockholder holder In public utilities for C pIe let his congressman know hat he thought about any measure whIch came up affecting the utilities the re results might be very cry ery surprIsIng surprising Ing Indeed Slow Irrigation Work Worle At n a time when hen because of the drouth Irrigation seemed the most desIrable thing In the world In the arId aridest est cst cst work has been held up on several of the most Important IrrIgation projects T The e reason has nothIng to do with the apparent con con- conflict conflict filet between plowing pIo Ing crops under by direction of one branch of t the e government while another Is attempting to reclaim arid hind It concerns labor problems It has hus really been due to lack of a definite nite policy on wage rates Works administration requIrements apply with an e exception permit permitting permitting ting 40 Instead of ot 30 hours a n week but P PW rates are only minImum for two broad classifications com corn common cornmon common mon and skilled 1 and Ignore Inter IntermedIate Intermediate Intermediate medIate grades Rates Ittes demanded by union labor on projects of ot the tho reclamation bu bureau bureau bureau reau probably would woud Increase the labor cost one third This means ins a greater outlay by PW Vt P as origin origin-il estimates ele based on rates cus customarily paid by the reclamation service ser and consequently con the risk In collecting on farmers notes to PlY p-iy for the Job was Increased Because Jurisdiction In any con filet regarding wage rates rests Ith the tho VA P P A labor board of re review lew a 11 proposal that specific wage wae rates bo be written into all An ad ads for bids bid has hns not been favorably re- re regarded regarded re regarded by Administrator ICkes the result that the letting of or con contracts contracts contracts tracts or advertisement for bids has been Leen held up on the Grand Coulee power dam on the Columbia river the huge Casper Alcoa Alco a Irrl project on HIP Platte and addition additional a al construction on the 0 project project project In Oregon and Idaho Milk lIIk riser In Montana Ogden rh river riser er In Utah and Uncompahgre In Colorado ant and many others Wage Rate Dispute Comparatively ey high wage wige rates paid on the Bonneville md power project in of which army engineers ire are In charge Is the Immediate cause of regarding rates on the projects projects projects of the reclamation en service Ice lle Because cause Grand Coulee also alco Is 18 a 1 power project labor contends that the farmers farmer ability to pay Is not a Um lim limIting factor fictor Created by President Roosevelt prIor to Ills hits departure for or Ilass Ha nil all to reconcile any conflicts of jurls jurIs jurIsdiction Jurisdiction diction or policy among New v Dell l agencies the emergency industrial committee composed of Donald It It Secretary Per Peri ins Gen Con General General eral Johnson et ct al aI has tackled the stage age question that has lias stymied the sen service lee It at the ver very when activity would e had id a n pro profound profound profound found effect on morale In the drouth area While bile this immediate issue Is 19 un unsettled settled the Importance of of storing water to mitigate the tho of dependency on rain Is large In the administration tion s It was stressed by bythe the tue PI during his trip back across the country In fact fact It Is et e that n a new economic study of the drouth region to relate fu future future ture PO power poster er and Irrigation de developments eop ments to the b best st ultimate te use of the available allabe water ater supply will wll shortly be he announced Obviously many existing projects are the result of pressure presure by states J and localities Individually Iy without reference to des de eop chop ments else elsewhere here Such In tI promotions it is Insisted we o resulted In a controversial contro muddle muddie regardIng water w rights ss which my id he-id to 1 legislation by con congress ress ned wInter defining the respective e rights of the state and federal goern go governments ments Streams such as the Piatt flow across state lines Every cry e lr there Is a shortage which results In contrast fpud feuds between Wyoming farmers and l farmers im So Co It Is with Ith mot most streams A national nation e policy lolly with sound planning Is Ii needed for the hole picture hut but meanwhile lack of labor policy dl da reat feats employ ment alms aims on big gus goY projects Copyright WN WJ J Service |