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Show 1 I WEEKLY MAI'S A V.1US l!Y J().EI'Il 11". LallDE Hatch Bill, Leiul-Speiul Defeat Doom 3rd Term Possibilities; Congress Permanently 'Rebel' i klJlTOK'S NOTE When opinions are expressed in these columns, they are those of the news analyst and not necessarily of this newspaper.) Released by Wes'.crn Newspaper Union. IS . V : ''W A . ' I ,-- -; ,'' ' ' ' ' i U ; r ; . ,- i i i " ' :P 1 : 1(7 1 -GLOATING, JUBILANT REPUBLICANS (SEE CONGRESS) Michigan's Mupes, Massachusetts Martin, Michigan's Wolcott. CONGRESS: Rout In one day the senate ground out 229 bills. The house turned out 244 in six hours. One of these provided S2.50O for an oil portrait of ex-President ex-President Hoover, a Republican who fell into disrepute when Franklin Roosevelt came to power. In a way this was symbolic, for it was Republicanism's Re-publicanism's day to howl and Franklin Roosevelt's hour of gloom. Passed by the senate, his emaciated emaci-ated lend-spend bill had limped from the hostile house bapking committee, com-mittee, finally reaching the floor where a motion was made to consider con-sider it. Growled the rules committee's com-mittee's Carl R. Mapes (Rep. Mich.): "I can see no justification for this legislation." Chimed in the banking committee's fellow Michi-gander, Michi-gander, Jesse Wolcott: "This bill's purpose ... is to circumvent the national debt limit." While the rules committee's Chairman Adolph J. Sabath of Illinois pleaded desperately, des-perately, Republican Minority Leader Lead-er Joseph Martin of Massachusetts smiled contentedly. The motion lost, 193 to 166, and Joe Martin's Republican-Democratic coalition had won. Next day came two more defeats. Adolph Sabath reported his unmanageable unman-ageable rules committee could not reach an agreement on the bill to increase federal housing subsidies by $800,000,000. (Later, when the administration forced a house vote, the President' was again rebuffed 190 to 170.) A few hours later the house slashed Mr. Roosevelt's third and final deficiency bill from $215,-891,168 $215,-891,168 to a paltry $53,190,059. Later, in the senate, this bill hit a filibuster snag when efforts were made to attach at-tach a rider restoring WPA wage Heaped atop his earlier neutrality defeat and the house-voted labor board investigation, the President's lending, housing and deficiency setbacks set-backs spelled but one thing to observers: ob-servers: Congress is permanently anti-White House, and the historic 1934-39 era of pump priming is over. Calm in defeat, Mr. Roosevelt donned a seer's robes to tell reporters report-ers an economic slump can be expected ex-pected now that lending-spending legislation is dead. Next two days the stock market rose. (Meamvhile a purvey indicated tliaL even minus pump-priming, government agencies hat e some $1,600,000,000 available avail-able for loans like those outlined, compared com-pared with $1,950,000,000 which the lend-spend bill ivonld have spread over three years. Available: Reconstruction Finance corporations $1,360,000,000: Export-Import bank's $44,000,000: Rural Electrification administration's S40,000,-000: S40,000,-000: Farm Security administration's $1)),000.000.) The President signed the Hatch bill to remove all but top-bracket federal fed-eral officials (i. e., senate-confirmed appointees) from political work. This, too, was a setback, for the President thereby slashed the throat of his huge nationwide organization which might help re-elect him in 1940. But sign he must, for obvious reasons, and with his signature went a message urging thoroughgoing thorough-going (and thoroughly practical) amendments next year to clarify the measure and extend its sway to state and local employees. But the week's biggest result was this: Franklin Roosevelt's congress went permanently obstreperous. And even though he might win a third term, the President knew he could do nothing against such opposition. This called for thought . . . Also in congress: C Apparently killed for this session, controversial amendments to the wage-hour act, which would eliminate elimi-nate 2,000,000 processors of agricultural agricul-tural products. The White House objects. C Also deadlocked, amendments to liberalize and extend benefits of social so-cial security, pigeonholed after senate-house conferees failed to reach a compromise. Summer Sessions By custom, each pre-election year brings its quota of congressional congres-sional investigations. While most weary senators and representatives were heading back home, a larger-than-usual group of seekers-after-the-truth remained in Washington for post-graduate work. Among them: (1) a house committee to study the national labor relations board; (2) a house committee to study proposed changes in the tax structure; (3) Rep. Martin Dies far-famed far-famed committee on un-American activities; (4) Sen. Joseph O'Ma-honey's O'Ma-honey's monopoly committee; (5) a house merchant marine committee investigating Alaskan fishing conditions. condi-tions. Up for last-minute consideration consid-eration were many others, including a new appropriation for the LaFol-lette LaFol-lette civil liberties committee, a committee to investigate the status of aliens, another to survey the condition con-dition of American Indians. MEXICO: Gufjey and Oil Simultaneously in late July appeared ap-peared two articles, one a newspaper newspa-per story by Marquis Childs, the second a Saturday Evening Post account ac-count by Ruth Sheldon. Subject of both: Mexico's expropriation of British-American oil lands. One heavily veiled allegation of both: That Pennsylvania's oil-operating Sen. Joseph Guffey, a, Pittsburgh politician named Walter A. Jones and W. R. Davis, an American promoter, pro-moter, have had a hand in handling the expropriated oiL Unimportant in themselves, the articles had important repercussions. repercus-sions. In the senate West Virginia's Matthew M. Neely and New Hampshire's Hamp-shire's H. Style's Bridges both arose to ask an inquiry. Answered Joe Guffey: "I want to assure my colleagues col-leagues . . . that I have nothing V - j ? j 1 1 y JOE GUFFEY have nothing to conceals to conceal." At the same time he blasted Writers Childs and Sheldon. Whatever the cause, Mexican oil suddenly became so hot that Ambassador Am-bassador Francisco Castello Najera rushed back from conferences with his boss, President Lazaro Cardenas, Car-denas, with new proposals for Donald Don-ald R. Richberg, counsel for oil companies. com-panies. Minus official announcement, announce-ment, proposals were said to pro-vice pro-vice a 51-49 division of stock between be-tween Mexico and oil companies, respectively, U. S. technicians being be-ing rehired at their previous salaries. sal-aries. Damages would be paid. A y dropped into the ointment two days later when Mexican news reports hinted government expropriation expropri-ation of the 8.750-acre El Potrero sugar property American-owned. BRITAIN: Fancy's Flight "If we could halt the ivar of ivords . . . if some action could be taken which would tend to restore the confidence of people of peaceful intentions of all states of Europe . . . if only that could be done . . . then I still feel I knoiv of no question that could not and should not be solved by peaceful discussion." Periodically, idealistic Prime Minister Min-ister Neville Chamberlain goes on such flights of fancy. This one came when he, like the head of another an-other government across the Atlantic Atlan-tic (see CONGRESS), was anxious to send his pestiferous lawmakers , - f : b 1 sl V Ami fx'-"- - ' ) WINSTON CHURCHILL He smelled appeasement again. scooting off on their summer vacation. vaca-tion. Commons did not want to adjourn ad-journ in the first place, and Mr. Chamberlain's plea made Laborites the more suspicious.. It sounded to commons as if its prime minister were going hunting with his umbrella again, bound for more appeasement. Up rose fiery Winston Churchill, whom Adolf Hitler's Hit-ler's propaganda bureau has branded brand-ed a "war monger." Said he: "Germany is massing troops at the Polish frontier and preparing for a speedy advance ... We trust the prime minister's faith, but there might be differences of judgment. . ." Next day commons adjourned. GERMANY: Bond Issue Last March 7 the German government govern-ment filed registration statement for a proposed $73,000,000 issue of bpnds in this country, to meet interest payments pay-ments due American investors. About $35,000,000 in bonds were to be issued at once, the remainder during the next four years. Always mysterious, Germany's economic status was immediately probed by the securities and exchange commission com-mission as provided under the securities se-curities act When the Reich refused re-fused to supplement its statement and thus eliminate "deficiencies of data," SEC moved for a hearing in Washington August 15 "to determine deter-mine whether grounds exist for in suance of a stop order suspendini ... the registration statement." Meanwhile, guessing wisely that SEC's move might be a continuance of the administration's anti-axis position, po-sition, Germany's embassy merely protested, gave no information. |
