Show fA Gli Few Legislators Authors Of Bills They Introduce By News Analyst and tor Service Ice 1616 Eye V. Washington D D. D C. C A bright young railroad executive who has his cum laude in law from troma froma a famed university was sitting with me In Burts Burt's the other F day Burts Burt's is a sort of greenroom for radio radio ra- ra dio folk tolk and others who move and speak and have their being in what is euphemistically referred to as Washington's RadIo Ra Ra- dIo center Inspired or infuriated by bythe t the presence of so many of the few who say so much to so many my friend launched forth into a tirade on the responsibility responsibility of at the publicIst You cant can't play baseball according accord accord- according ing to football rules he saId shaking shaking shak- shak ing a menacing fist at me and that is what Washington officials are doIng You studied political science 30 years ago I studied it only 20 years ago And you know perfectly well wll that the present generation is I not following the rules laid down by our foundIng fathers You ought to tell the public about it Now maybe the principles of our government are wrong I am not defending de- de fending them But I am saying that we are arc deserting them Rule of the majority a republican form of government gov- gov government operated by the representatives represent represent- of the people is a travesty when legislation is jammed through by minorities And I mean bureaucrats as well as lobbyists This happened when the senate was neck deep In the final debate over the OPA and my friend claimed congress was revolting revolt revolt- lag ing against what he called the high pressure methods of the adminis- adminis Since the congress was tearing tear tear- tearing ing the administration measure to shreds at that moment I pointed out that while it was true that congress was sore at Stabilizer Bowles for what they called propagandizing the example was not a very good one So he proceeded to develop his theme with specific references all too familiar to me and my colleagues col- col leagues ot of the microphone and typewriter type type- writer Town Seethes Seethe With L Lobbyists S You too are familiar with the power of the pressure boys as my friend Kenneth Crawford called them in his revealing book by that name Crawford estimated there were active lobbyists in Washington Wash Wash- Washington ington when World War II started There are many more now Speaker Speak Speak- er Rayburn said the town was seething with them We all remember the seven digit sum of money contributed to a campaign campaign cam cam- I fund whIch came out of the members members' dues of one great labor I union True the head of the union later quarrelled with the president I whom he had helped elect because the president refused to take his I i orders Nevertheless this example Illustrates what big money attempts atI at- at I tempts and sometimes succeeds in doing We know too that when the en- en entire tire Ure economy of the country was locked to a dead center by strikes in two essential industries coal and transportation and that when the government Itself gave orders those orders were disobeyed MInority Minority Mi- Mi rules rule was operating then MInority MinorIty Mi- Mi groups nullified the wishes of the duly elected duly elected representatives of the people My frIend with all his vehemence vehemence ve- ve with hIs allegiance to management made no claim that the demands of the railroad men the coal miners were unjust He merely said that in order to obtain what they considered justice the powerful leaders of the organizations organizations to whIch they belong were able to play baseball according to football toot foot ball temporarily rules at least The theory that the creation of at the laws ot of the land has been taken tram from the hands of the elected representatives representatives of the people was put forth by Crawford in The Pressure Boys sev seven n years ago ngo when he said It is improbable that a single single sin sin- gle important law enacted in the thelast thelast last 10 years has been written by its congressional sponsor or its nominal author Administration bills are prepared by New Deal experts experts ex- ex in executive departments Legislation independently Inaugurated inaugurated rated is almost invarIably prepared prepared pre pre- pared in the office ot of a lobbyist Congress maintains a legislative I drafting service which writes bins bills for committees but it seldom is called upon by individual legIslators for tor assistance in writing any minor bills LaFollette Bill Would Revamp Thomas Mechlin writing on thIs subject in the current VIrginia Quarterly RevIew touches on the subject of readymade legislation He tells how a lobby gets its own stag staff together and knocks out n a bill which the front office would like to see made a law eventually It then runs the draft over to a large law firm which has one of Its members in congress Although the congressman con con- gressman cannot personally represent represent sent the client the method used in submItting the proposed legislation through the body of at the firm takes care of at that U If the lobby is well organized It will exploIt high high- powered publicity tram from then o on n out I am constraIned to admit that tha t much in all of these assertions is i true But I would like to mention n three hopeful signs on the horizon minuscule though they may be Two were measures introduced but no not t acted upon in this session of con con- gress They will be presented again and have a good chance of passing One is the LaFollette measure for fo r rn revamping congress one provision n of which increases the technical assistance assistance as- as available to members The second is a bill introduced by Representative Sabath of Illinois whIch provides for an Inclusive all investigation oJ of lobbies Most congressmen con con- congressmen gressmen dont don't like lobbyists and Sabath's bill as Mechlin admits was a crystallization of at this feeling The third indication was a resolution resolution tion introduced during the OPA fight by Senator Taylor D D. D of Idaho authorizing the publication tion of a document on how each senator senator sen- sen ator voted on every measure He said that the people are becoming more aware of theIr political responsibilities responsibilities re- re that politics is no longer solely in the hands of politicians politicians ward heelers and lobbyists Congress Is sensitive to the need of a restoration of majority rule but the only real hope lies flea within the majority itselL itsel Unfortunately the giant sleeps I e South Dakotans See Sec Swearing Swearing-In Two recent visitors to Washington Washing Washing- ton Mrs Evelyn Baker and Mrs James Magee of Custer and Belle Fourche S S. S D. D D can tell their friends back home in the Black Hills region that while they were here they took in three events which might set the tone for tor all such future events The ladies winners of a radio contest contest con con- test to honor women who did their bit during the war years visited Washington during the week when three top drawer government officials dials all close friends of Harry Truman Truman Tru Tru- man were sworn into new jobs The swearing swearing-in of a cabinet officer officer used to be a rather modest af- af affair fair The his family afew a afew few friends and his office staff a few ot of the press usually gathered in his new office and the whole affair af- af affair fair was over in about the time it itt t t- t c for bride and groom to say I do J i. i ue e Fred Vinson and Lewis did travel to Capitol Hill for their inaugurations as t t. IS ury and labor secretaries respectively But those events occasioned no such hoopla as did the ceremonies ceremonies cere- cere monies which made Tues MondaY day Wednesday Washington newsone news newsone one late week in June Mrs Magee and Mrs Baker and five thousand other spectators tors plus the navy band gathered on the White House lawn to watch Mr Vinson Vinson Vin- Vin son take over his new office as chief justice of the United States they saw John Snyders Snyder's big moment made bigger when President Truman Truman Tru- Tru man strolled from the White Louse to the treasury portico to watch his St S1 Louis crony take the oath as head of the treasury department and they observed tall young look ing John Steelmans Steelman's swearing swearing-In as director a ceremony which took place in the rose gardens gardens gar gar- dens of at the White House Having observed these impressIve impressive sIve occasions the Black Hills visItors visitors tors could appreciate the widely widely- whispered remark of Undersecretary of at Navy John Sullivan Sullivan Sul- Sul Sullivan livan got his swearing swearing-in done quietly quiet quiet- ly and traditionally on June 18 As Sullivan congratulated John Steelman Steel Steel- man after the rose garden ceremony cere cere- many mony he asked Well are yOU the last of the June brides |