Show I NATIONAL I AFFAIRS Reviewed by CARTER FIELD Stalemate in house dooms action on new legislation and antl amendments New Dealers using Ohio defeats cats A A's as s third term argument Criticism of o F. F B. B 1 is his his- history history his his- history tory repeating itself WASHINGTON There There Is a stale stale- stalemate stalemate stalemate mate on Capitol Hill In fact the administration decided last session that this session should be just that The opposition knows nil about the decision but Is powerless to do any any- anything anything anything thing about it The truth which was realized be be- before before fore adjournment last summer is that the administration does not have the votes to put anything new through the house of representatives tives and the opposition does not have the votes to repeal any exist exist- existing existing ing lag law law or or for that matter to amend one That Tha t is the reason there will be beno beno beno no amendments to the national labor relations act this session Neither those desired by the ad ad- administration ministration which are trivial nor those desired by the opposition which might be sweeping And In between these two the amendments desired by the American Federation of Labor will also fall Into the dis dis- card That Is the reason there will be berto beno no amendments amendment to the wage-hour wage law neither law neither the inclusion of other groups as desired by the White WhiteHouse WhiteHouse WhiteHouse House nor those Intended to eliminate eliminate nate useless bookkeeping both by firms and the government as de de- de sired by the opposition The administration can block al ale almost al- al almost most anything It wants to hold up The opposition has the the he same power It Itis Itis' Itis ItIs' ItIs is Is' is' is true that the re reo reciprocal reciprocal ci pr 0 c a 1 trade t r a de agreement making snaking power of the ad administration ministration will be extended despite violent opposition But this cuts across party lines A great many Republicans favor it A Afew Afew Afew few Democrats op op- Senator pose it Nobody knows for instance what the attitude of the Republican candidates for President will be on it Of the three leading G. G O. O P. P candidates for the nomination Thomas E. E Dewey has not ex ex- expressed exI expressed I pressed himself whereas Sen Rob Rob- Robert Robert Robert ert ert ertA A. A Taft and Sen Arthur H. H have widely different notions Hard to Discover What The Administration Wants Apparently the biggest battle is over appropriations but it is by no means so simple to discover what the administration really wants in any of the test votes It will be recalled that President Roosevelt in submitting his budget called for new taxes calculated to raise Nobody on Capi Capi- Capitol Capito tol to to Hill HiJI thinks the President actual actual- actually ly wants those new taxes before election They think he actually wants congress to cut from rom his budget in order to make them unnecessary Obviously it would be next to Im Im- Impossible Impossible possible to get any two people in inthe inthe inthe the country who could go over the whole budget and reach a perfect agreement as to where cuts totaling nearly a half hail billion dollars should be made Each would have to yield a little here and there in order for forthe forthe forthe the two to approve the result But congress is definitely deter deter- determined determined mined mind that there shall be no new taxes at this session and it is just justas as determined that there must be drastic enough cuts in the budget to prevent the necessity of boosting that forty-five forty billion dollar debt limit before election Using U ng Defeats in Ohio As Third Term Argument Talk about turning defeat into vic vie victory tory tory those those Ohio Roosevelt men are really making history They are turning a crushing New Deal defeat in two Ohio congressional districts into the best argument argument ment they have found yet why Pres Pres- ident Roosevelt must run for an an- another another other term One point of their bit bit- bitter bitter bitter ter criticism of Gov John W. W W Brick Brick- Bricker er cr for calling the special elections is now turned on to show their Dem Dem- Democratic Democratic brethren in other states as aswell aswell aswell well as Ohio why Roosevelt must sacrifice himself and endure four more years in the White House Their attack on Bricker was two- two first first d first that It subjected the state treasury to a heavy expendi expendi- expenditure ture about and second that It forced a vote at a time when there were no national or wide state can can- candidates candidates to bring the vote out obit o t and hence gave the Republicans an ad ad- vantage It Is this second point which they have been talking ever since In November they are arc saying to anti anti- third unless we have Roosevelt on the ticket you see sec what will happen the happen the Republicans will carry Ohio If It we have Roosevelt on the ticket we will carry the Buck Buck- Buckeye Buckeye eye state and if it we do the might as well not make a n campaign for they cannot win with without out Ohio Incidentally it is rather interest interest- interesting interesting ing and the Ohio boys are arc not over over- overlooking overlooking looking this point either but Ohio has been on the winning side of every presidential contest for a good many years Of ot course It went for its native son William McKinley both In 1896 and 1900 It went for Theodore Roosevelt In 1904 for Taft in 1908 1008 and for Woodrow Wilson in 1912 Sc Se m to Fit in With Lewis Lewis' Gloomy Comment Much more important it went vent for Wilson In 1916 the last close clos presidential presidential election although although every erry er ry state bordering on Ohio except Kentucky to the south went for Hughes Altogether the third term boost boost- boosters boosters ers think they have a mighty good argument Obviously the G. G O. O P P. victory in the seventeenth congressional congressional congressional district by some plural plUral- plurality plUrality ity can be construed only as a sign pointing to a Republican victory in November The point is that this particular district has gone Demo Democratic cratic in every election since 1928 Most significant however is the fact that this district went heavily Democratic in 1938 1038 which is the year Senator Robert A. A Taft and Governor Bricker on the Republican can ticket swept the state Projection of this curve as the political analysts would say would woul mean that Ohio's 26 electoral votes would go Republican In the presidential presidential presidential election unless the unless the magic name of Roosevelt is on the ballot Incidentally what Is worrying some of the New Dealers no little is that this pair of elections in Ohio in each of which the Republicans did better than In 1938 when they carried the state fits in with John L. L Lewis' Lewis gloomy comment that Illi JIll Illinois nois Indiana Ohio Pennsylvania and New Jersey are all set to go Republican unless there is some new hope given to the country by bythe bythe bythe the Democrats I Criticism of F. F B. B 1 I. Is History Repeating Itself After what the British called a good press for all these years a turning in the lane is to be detected with regard to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to to wit the men G-men of J. J Edgar Hoover Criticism is beginning to appear in newspaper editorials and on the floor of the house bouse and senate Significantly enough the first bit of open criticism on the floor of the senate came from Senator George W W. 1 Norris who hung the label so close to the neck of this out out- outfit outfit fit that it provoked no smiles at the de de- department department of justice Senator Norris In a a way it is his history tory repeating itself Back in the reign of the first Roosevelt there grew up a suspicion on Capitol Hill that Theodore was using the secret service to get dirt on individual individual ual senators and representatives presumably to provide a further ar ar- argument argument ar- ar argument when such gentlemen should be called on the White House carpet to persuade them to vote right This naturally aroused aroused- a good deal of indignation In fact so strongly did the legislators object to being shadowed that they wrote a restriction into the next appropriation tion bill providing that the secret service operatives opera tives should in the fu fu- future future ture have just two functions and only two These were the detection of counterfeiting and the physical protection of the President of the United States It was years later In the Harding administration that the next shudders shudders shudders ders ran through Capitol Hill This time Instead of the treasury secret service it was the th department of justice which was accused of dig digging Ig- Ig ging up dirt on congressmen The particular instance was that Attorney Attorney Attorney ney General Harry M. M Daugherty wishing to hamstring Senator Bur Bur- Burton Burton ton K Wheeler at the time press press- pressIng pressing Ing an investigation of Daugherty put some of his sleuths on the Mon Mon- Montana Montana tana senators senator's trail But while this proved a grand talking point for the critics of Daugherty and Daugherty-and and Incidentally for the defenders of it Wheeler Wheeler It did not re re- suit In any legislative action F. F B. B I. I I Chiefs Activities In Florida Seen Unfortunate It Is unfortunate In many respects for J. J Edgar Hoover that his ac activities ac- ac activities led him In certain directions this year Notably his vice crusade in Florida The whole point is that it Is not regarded as a smart addi addition tion to the functions of the federal government government-at at a time when econ econ- economy economy omy is the watchword and the FBI chief Is trying to get more money for his bureau while most other gov gov- governmental governmental governmental bureaus and agencies are being slashed slashed to to go after gam gain gambling bling and purely Intrastate gam- gam gambling gambling bling at that The Florida authorities announce every so often that the lid Is on on-nc on nc more casinos But time passes and for one reason or another or per per- perhaps haps no reason save loss of Interest gambling in the smart winter whiter col colony col- col colony ony is resumed Just why any anyone one In the govern government ment meat of Florida should care particularly particularly to stop the gypping of wealthy visitors is something else again but the point Is that Florida officials have plenty of power to stop it if U I they want to Dell DeU Syndicate Service |