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Show Washington Comment The heroic effort by which the wave-hour bill v,a-: wrenched from control of the hou-e rule-; committee commit-tee constituted the event of the week in congress. An orchid goes to handsome Repre-en'ative Mary T. Norton of New- Jer-ey, who is the -launch backer of the measure and has worked like a Trojan in its behalf every minute of the special session. The lighter moo.j oi a still-dallying congress was piovided by Vice-Pre.-idert Garner bagging a buck; other would-be nimrods promptly voted them-idves them-idves a holiday in the autumn woods and congre.-.s is just having to get along the best way it can, without a full house. So much time has been wasted that Senator iia.'kley insists the senate meet at 11 o'clock instead of the customary custom-ary 12, each day until the end of ilie special session. And now. having hav-ing barely convened and having accomplished exactly nothing, the boys are beginning to figure how-soon how-soon they can get away. It is aiiiu.-ing to note that the only legislative measure of the sess'ori which went through to .-mash victory vic-tory was when congress voted itself it-self a 222,000 mileage appropriation. appropria-tion. Previously the mileage situation situa-tion has stood something lik-i thk: Seems that back in lS'j.'i a raling as made by the acting c-ontrolle: f the treasury, J. R. Garrison, o the effect that the regular annual an-nual mileage appropriation is not available for special sessions. This was based on the fact that the mileage law of 1806 referred to '-re "going to, or returning from Lach regular session." In the past, it has been customary when special sessions were called for co:.rress o take action in the form of a resolution making the mileage appropriation ap-propriation for the next regular .t-sion available for the special -ession. Knowing congress of old, he general opinion was that the . i...;c.,;cr? ..-C...M v?t: 'hornsclves a nice Christmas vacation. i-eC-fss-:.'U' about December 22. not to return re-turn until the date of the eeguiar -ession in January. The mileage 'il! fr- a session amounts to -551,-0' foi the senate and $175,000 or the house. Kepu: llcan party leaders, it is an.jtiCiu this week, have -egun to plan next year's congressional i-ampaign with a definite h 'i.e of annexing 21 senate seats. Only four Republican seats will be at ' stake in 193S while 30 Democratic ones will be decided by the 'voice of the peepul". Nine of the SO are in the south, which is barren giound for Republican hopes, but of the remaining 21, there are (Continued on last page) Washington Comment (Continued from first page.) seven whose pi-eJent incumbents incurred White House displeasure during the ill-fated court bill controversy con-troversy and may, at the polls, run into party trouble. These seven are Senators Tydings of Maryland, Van Nuys of Indiana, Xiilette of Iowa, McCarran of Nevada, Ne-vada, Smith of South Carolina. Clark of Missouri, and George o, Georgia. The Republicans lose a stalwart in Senator Steiwer of Ore- ( gon, who has announced that he j will retire, and the Democrats are I already planning to take his seat. Likewise, in Pennsylvania Democratic Demo-cratic hopes are centered on the seat now occupied by Senator Davis. Republican Senators Gib- son of Vermont, and Nye of Nortn j Dakota, both must stand for reelection re-election next fall and face Demo-j Demo-j cratic threats. Political seers are keeping their ' eyes on congress, claiming that ! the remaining months of the reg-! reg-! ular session will go far toward de-j de-j termining presidential selections ; for 1940. So far, Senator Vanden-i Vanden-i burg leads, of course, with Sena-! Sena-! tor McNary second, in the Republican Repub-lican line-up. The Democrats are : still haunted by that third-term I spook, which certain leaders seek to allay by such qualifying phrases as ''only in case of war" or ''only by overwhelming popular der mand." |