Show J J Jj i j A Washington Daybook j i jBv B Bv B RODNEY EY DUTCHER WASHINGTON Feb 19 19 10 Downtown Down Down- town the boys were vere all asking each other whether they had been measured measured mea mea- measured for un uniforms But it was consent consent con sent day up in the house of represent and if it hadn't been for Congressman Congressman Con Con- gressman Tom Blanton of Texas you'd roud never have known that anyone was worrying about the Chinese sit sitS The consent calendar comes bc before ore the house every two weeks and the bills on it are minor measures favorably reported by committees committees com com- which no one cares about very much except the sponsor and some of his constituents Such bills are declared passed by unanimous consent if no single member mem memo ber ser objects On the floor Ioor only a fourth of ot the seats are filled From the galleries the proceedings arc are most of ot the time so much hub hut bubo aub The buzzing of conversation between congressmen often otten drowns out the member who has the floor Ioor The clerk yammers monotonously the I titles of or bills bilIs and hardly anyone can understand a word of it Jt Only by closest attention to the calendar and its many bills can you tell teIl which bUlIs bill bUl billIs Is up About a score members are following following follow follow- ing inS the calendar The rest read newspapers newspapers news news- papers talk or pay a vague sort of attention S So Someone o m in e con 0 n e c occasionally occa shouts for order Speaker Jack Garner in a brown suit and an anold old fashioned old choke collar gets it sometimes merely by rapping with his gavels gavel's handle Is there objection he chants chants and and There is Js not Which means a bill has passed What kind of a bill Nine out of ten on this calendar had to do with bridges to bridges to permit railroads coun tics ties persons states and towns to build spans over navigable streams And one to declare the Mud river In Kentucky Kentuck a stream Another to authorize sale of part of ofa a cemetery reserve on an Indian res res- Bills dealing with improvements improve improve- ments on national parks or minor Indian In In- dian than affairs Mr LaGuardia of I New York squat little man with hi his glasses pushed back on his head almost al al- most ost to the collar makes most of the noise in a high squeaky voice Mr Blanton of Texas rivals him in accents reminiscent of country stores full of If feeling They study all bills to see that no noone noone noone one puts any anything thins over The first bill bilI sponsored by Hill of Alabama would extend veterans' veterans hospital and home facilities to confederate vet vet- erans crans It is admitted that practically no rio confederate vets could or would avail themselves of the right that it was just a Very gracious gesture of or Ia I Massachusetts wants I Ito to study the bill closely so it is held i up Blanton demands unanimous unanimous unanimous consent for a minute five speech and gets It along with a warning from LaGuardia that we will wilI have to tighten up on these requests He protests sending battleships to China expressing the fear that we will wilI got get involved in m a war to save a few Chi Chinese Chinese nese merchants Then theres there's a b bill to extend provi provisions provisions of the desert land law Suddenly Suddenly Sud denly you find LaGuardia yelling nl ni Knutson of Minnesota whose bill would provide an international toll toU bridge up at Baudette but is objected to because it involves private proper property ty at the end of a federal aid road project eel LaGuardia in shrill rage screams screams' Im going to object Dont Don't tell me I cant can't object They sit down 20 feet feel from each other glowering and growling You hear Knutson beefing at LaGuardia for flying lying of off the handle But the house is on the next bill the official official om- om cial stenographer is paying no attention attention atten atten- tion to the loudest noise and takes the words of ot a speaker who cant can't be heard in the galleries Soon you hear Milligan of Missouri complain complaining ing that a bridge bill biJJ has been passed with ith the word respectfully where it should have read respectively The house passes an amendment amendment amend amend- ment changing the word The next bill concerns permission sion for a bridge over a 1 river called the and you decide that's enough of the house for one day Watching Consent d da da for the first time is an experience but you soon get fed UD un with that sort o of thin thins thin |