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Show SEEN and nEAR around the NATIONAL CAPITAL; By Carter Field FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT Washington. Most significant in connection with Gov. Herbert H. Lehman's attack on President Roosevelt's Supreme court enlargement enlarge-ment bill was the fact that the President Pres-ident has turned, one by one, against so many of his former close advisers and lieutenants. The recent fight for leadership of the senate Democrats, to fill the place made vacant by the death of Senator Joseph T. Robinson, demonstrated dem-onstrated this in a striking way. For all the four years of his first administration, Roosevelt's closest confidant among senators was very generally regarded as Senator James F. Byrnes of South Carolina. In fact, if Senator Robinson had died a year ago there would have been little doubt on Capitol Hill that selection of Senator Byrnes as leader lead-er would be the thing the White House wanted. Actually Senator Byrnes discovered, discov-ered, shortly after the recent battle bat-tle began, that all the White House wires were being pulled for Senator Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky. Senator Sen-ator Byrnes found he had no chance at all. He was caught between two millstones. So he retired from the race, and Barkley was chosen. The most effective supporter the President has had on Capitol Hill has been the very non-talkative Vice President, John Nance Garner. The Vice President was really ousted as one of the President's advisers months ago, when he became very vociferous, in the privacy of the President's office, in insisting that the government should take a strong stand on the sit-down strikes. Senator Sena-tor Byrnes lost his popularity at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue for the same reason. Favored Barkley Neither Garner nor Byrnes had ever liked the court bill, but they were following the President on it, just as Joe Robinson and Pat Harrison Harri-son were. But the President knew their hearts were not with him on this issue to him the most important of all. That is why he was for Barkley Bark-ley for leader, instead of Harrison. He has always known he could depend de-pend on Barkley. Back in 1932 he was so anxious to get Barkley for temporary chairman of the national Democratic convention that he agreed to let Jouett Shouse be permanent per-manent chairman if Shouse and his friends would not oppose Barkley for temporary chairman. This agreement was made with Robert Jackson, then secretary of the Democratic national committee (the New Hampshire Jackson, not the Robert H. Jackson of New York who is now assistant attorney general). gen-eral). Listening in on an extension telephone was Harry F. Byrd, now a senator from Virginia. The importance of a vigorous temporary tem-porary chairman at a political national na-tional convention is extraordinary in any close contest. On him depends the job of overseeing the selection of the permanent list of delegates! Senators Sherman Minton of Indiana Indi-ana and Lewis B. Schwellenbach of Washington were called in with Senator Barkley and Senator Key Pittman of Nevada after the death of Robinson. This gave a clue to the present situation. They are among the most radical men in the upper house. Wages and Hours Bill The average senator and representative, repre-sentative, in trying to figure out just what he should do to play safe on the bill regulating wages and hours, is like a golfer about to drive. He must remember to get his stance right for direction, his grip as the pro told him to keep it, also to keep his left arm straight, just which part of his anatomy to move first in pivoting, and above all to keep his eye on the ball. The only trouble with this illustration illus-tration is that in worrying about the wages and hours bill there are considerably con-siderably more things to remember, remem-ber, forgetting any one of which may prove far more disastrous than when a golfer tops, hooks, slices or whiffs. Who could have foreseen, for instance, in-stance, that freight rates would be important? It started when some Southern congressmen, insisting that the South must have a differential to permit its employers to work their labor longer hours and pay them less than their competitors in the same line in the North, gave as one reason for the necessity of this "advantage" "ad-vantage" that the South pays higher freight rates. It so happens that the interstate commerce commission is now digging dig-ging into that question, under active prodding of certain commercial interests in-terests in the South. Insiders predict though predicting predict-ing what the I. C. C. will do is almost al-most as dangerous as forecasting court decisions that there will be orders from the high court of commerce com-merce adjusting freight rates in the South. This would have the effect of depriving the Southern congressmen of one of their arguments in favor of the differential, if the decision of the I. C. C. is as predicted. But it will not end the discussion provide an unexpeeCv'1" in annoying thT some of the Soutw; almost certain Z l 3k t cries from the truckl 2 forced by coZ their rates. n 10 tt;,; Muddied the Water Meanwhile, of course -knows that the freight' ri: ' went was just thro' r, the water-that nobod, J weighing these freight L! ' ly as an argument for ft V"-tial V"-tial m favor of the tl and hours regulauor! Uth C Hi For of course no changed rates Is going to chaa tion with respect to ft, workers on whom the Souft.:" for such a large propor0 labor The fact that a Ce ' be able to send his crops w1' at a little lower charge fo not going to make him pay his workers more-,ti; get out of it. And he Is E0":; just as sore on his rcpreH-.' 1 and senators if they vole CZ-to CZ-to him as if there had b-charge b-charge in the freight rales V ever. ; So no decision by the I r r going to modify the course 0.. fighting for a differential fa-' the South. It is merely N deprive those advocating the"-, ential of a sideline argunw Z deprive them of it just time they are tired of tafe how. i . " " All of which makes It just a -clearer why so many senator, representatives would like to " this bill, and a good many 0! over until next session. It u, just as ticklish then, but the; i ; like to stop worrying now! Very Few Left Once there were plenty o! 1 publicans in high public office,: ably in the senate and house ol-resentatives, ol-resentatives, who had the sane; eral ideas about their part;: Joseph T. Robinson had ate ; There are mighty few, if any. 1 and those who even come : striking distance of Eobinsos': : ting average are without esc;;: so branded as "reactionaries" "Tories" that in presidential:: paigns they are regarded by c:1 dates and national chairmen a; bilities rather than assets. Robinson believed that the : important thing to determine ;i any official act of his was wh: it would help or hurt the d: cratic party. Absolutely mm on this, he never allowed an;: sonal view or prejudice to ir.i : , him in the slightest if it seen;: : him to run counter to the fr for electing a Democratic Pre:.: at the next election. The best illustration is proh:'::.i There may live a man whoca:: flatly that if Joe Robinson badi :; been in politics he would have:: a dry, or a wet. But most i i friends around Washington a::, tie Rock doubt it. Robinson ; never one of those politicians ' ., make public speeches one w. talk privately the other. Wra:: inson embraced an issue, whs" may have been the original re:s for his taking that side, he c the way. He made speeches!"' Then with extraordinary sp: changed to the new position, s' came just as fanatical abcut t- Loyal to Party Prohibition was mentic: cause it is one of the nsos-j-j demonstrated cases. Bote- born bone dry under the ps:!?-:' " ership of William JewiuP ' : He became wet when the ; - -turned in that direction at; Democratic national cor';; . ., Like many others, Kf-;;;. convinced by the 192S lanfc--; the country was overv.he.r.;: and hence that any nation . win an election must be drj. So at a national commit-; ing the following year. Washington hotel, when :; Raskob proposed a new P-;. ing the door to repeal. , made one of the most -speeches ever delivered a- - , gathering. "You shall not nail the ' crossbones of an outlaw -the masthead of Democr shouted. But three years la er, , s. Democratic national ... went all the way wet .. form and then nominal eo .. D. Roosevelt, who accep t form, Robinson became , wet again! What few NArther"; erners underst:.no i . this extreme P'5' South sound politics i t"e j.; .; of the generatiW-0, s.:.i since reconstrucin'tt u of the Democratic Ptta;!--vital issue in the i--- " thing else sinks " when compared! to 1 , e It has been 4' iny co':V since there vc,,s 'r' , bio feeling nb'outWU"'- ffi Bell Sy jdIO" ' |