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Show j u Washington Comment At this writing, a jaded congress is predicting for itself three more weeks before adjournment. The victory in the senate on the wages-hour wages-hour bill encouraged leaders '.o believe be-lieve that in three weeks the president's presi-dent's remaining program will reach full enactment and that the weary legislators can then go home with no loose ends hanging over. Surprisingly enough, there are. rumors that the administration would not be at all displeased if congress departed right now, the theory being that since it has accomplished ac-complished so little this season, the new deal plan to take certain issues to the country in the fall would be very effective since it could point with unction to the fact that congress has done practically prac-tically nothing for "the peepul". If the legislators should take a spurt and accomplish something not the full administration objective objec-tive a telling point would be lost . . . Meanwhile, the white house continues urbane. Mr. Roosevelt gives no sign that the loss of his pet court measure was heart-breaking. At his first press conference after the debacle, he was more than ever serene and smiling. No one could read "defeat" "de-feat" in his debonair manner. He gives the impression that his crusade cru-sade for court reform boro much fruit, and while he remains noncommittal non-committal about his future attitude atti-tude toward the court problem, most people believe that he ha fur from abandoned the issue. Another "fireside chat" is said to bo in the wind if congress tries to leave court reorganization out of its future plans for the nation. A point that is interesting authorities around tho capitol of late is whether or not there renllv is a vacancy on the supreme court bench. Tho idea is that Justice Van Dcvanter did not resign he only retired under the provisions of the Sumners-McCarran act, draws his full pay, and, according to some constitutional authorities, is still a member of the bench, subject to call. If such is really the case, then no successor can be appointed until the status of the matter is settled. However, sm'cu-lation sm'cu-lation as to the identity of his successor suc-cessor is rife in all quarters. Frank Murphy, governor of Michigan, is tho latest name to lx' added to the roster of rumors, due probably to bis presencn on the. presidential week-end cruise. Stanley Iieed. solicitor general of the United States, is another potential successor succes-sor to Justice Van Dcvanter. Senator Sena-tor I.aFollettc, an.li his hrothnr, Governor I,n Follett e of Wisconsin, are two other possibilities with whom tin gossips nre busy. Kven Secretary of State Hull is promi nently mentioned, but Secretary Hull is already 6G and mpreover, j he is interested heart and soul in ; his reciprocal trad? program and probably couldn't be persuaded to consider a switch from the state department. j The new deal insistence that : prosperity is here again and here ; to stay is bolstered by reports j from various industries which are given widespread publicity. For instance, Secretary of Interior Ickles says that the heavy increase in traffic in the national parks is unquestionably proof of revived prosperity. Seems that from October, Oc-tober, 1936, to July, 1937, visitors numbered 3,419,544. This is a gain of 22 per cent over the same period of the previous travel year, according accord-ing to the national park service which keeps track of such things. Shenandoah national park, Virginia, Vir-ginia, had 631,745 guests this year, an increase of 66 per cent . . . Another increase attributed to renewed re-newed prosperity concerns of all things the piano industry. In spite of the radio, sales in 1937 number 130,000 the peak figure for instruments sold since 1930. Air travel shows tremendous increase in-crease too, the Air Transport association as-sociation of America reporting an all-ti me boom, with 41,180,337 passenger pas-senger miles flown last month. Traffic for the first half of 1937 amounted to 174,820,643 revenue passenger miles, an increase of 46 per cent over the same period of 1935. |