Evening star., 1925-02-01
Capital Sidelights


Carolina, who called attention that 10
years ago there were 20 commissions,
boards and bureaus listed In the Con-
gressional Record. whereas now there
are 80 independent establishments,
that cost about half a billion dollars
year. AS late as 1915 there were
1928 employees in the Government
service outside of the 10 established
presided over by mem
bers of the Cabinet Eight years
later. in 1924. there were 51,643.
Representative Byrnes pointed out
that while members of the House re-
ceive $500 as salaries, and the same
amount has just been allowed to as
sitant secretaries OF great depart
ments like War and Navy, an assist
ant to a member of the Shippin e
Board is getting $4,000, almost as
much as a Cabinet member.
He cited as An evil growing out of
government by commission the de-
mands upon citizens for reports. say
ing that such commissions and bu-
reaus vie with each other in their eff
forts to annoy the citizens until the
average business mans life is just
one blamed report after another" He
quoted from a bulletin issued by the
Federal Board for Vocational Train
ing, entitled Diary of Home making
Activities" which showed that women
are told that they should report such
information as Planned evening
party with party" Helped Billy put
on overalis," or Punished Billy for
hurting AHce"-commentin As IL
any woman on earth would ever have
time to do anything il she stopped to
jot down all the information that
~ t. - Re nj
them to jot down and report. And
II they sent back that Information
what in the world would the board
do with it?"
Have you ever heard Of the big ice
pool of Alaska? Representative John
f. Rankin of Mississippi told his col
league about 1t. All the streams in
that region are frozen up in the Win
ter, s or 10 feet thick. After the long.
cold, dark Winter the people are SO
anxious for a change that while wait
ing for Spring, which is heralded by
the breaking up Of the Ice, they spec
ulate as to when the Ice will go.
A large clock is placed on the bank
of the stream, and to 1t is fastened a
long wire. the other end of which Is
attached to the ice, so that when the
ice breaks the clock Is automatically
stopped. Then guesses are sold as to
the exact day. hour and minute the
clock will stop. Whoever guesxes
nearest right gets all the money paid
for the privilege of guessing. In 1923
ice pool at Fairbanks amounted to
more than $1,000.
Every member of the House. ire
nf
agreed with Representative Henry L.
Jost of Missouri when he paid a trib-
ute to Mother" He said: Think OF
all the splendid relationships you
have known in life. Is there any one
OF them that can transcend that
which sprang from the travail of her
who first put her arms about you?
Is there any other word in the Eng
lish language that gathers and ex-
presses more of life han the word
mother? Is there anything so pure
ana so sweet as a mothers kiss? Is
there any interest so unselflsh and
so genuinely true as that Of a mother?
Surely he who has been warmed as a
baby and into manhood by a mother
love is blessed OF Cod
Representative Jost was speaking
In behalf of the proposal to allow
hiOAhcIS VI utNtdStu W OTIu W +
veterans to visit the graves of their
sons in Europe. He reminded his
fellow members that 1T was the
mothers of this land who furnish ed
the millions of soldiers for the Amer
lean battle line and il was their con-
tributton, their sacrifice. and their
sorrow that made the Stars and
Stripes triumphant"
Congress has Just been reminded of
Edward J. King of Illinois has pre-
served for future generations an in
teresting paper on this subject pre-
pared by Charles E. Fairman. curator
Of art works in the Capitol, by
having 1t inserted in the Congress
sional Record. He was not referring z
to the debt on account of the dis
covery of this continent by an Ital-
ian, but to the fact that Italian ar
lists adorned our Capitol Building.
Mr.. Fairman paid particular re-
spect to the work of the two broth
ers, Giuseppe and Carlo Franzoni,
many of whose relatives are now
living in Washington, and both of
whom died here. All the works of
the former were destroyed by the
British when the Capitol was burned
in 1914, but records exist showing
that he had done many remarkable
pieces of sculpture. Some of Carlo
Franzonis earlier work is preserved
in the Vatican, Rome, and Louvre,
Paris.
The recent eclipse of the sun so i'm
pressed Representative Hays B. White
of Kansas, when in a few moments
the pail of night, with its chill and
darkness settled down over a large
portion of our country" that he told
his colleagues he realized for the first
time in his life that the following
lines by Lord Byron might have been
inspired by just such an exhibition
I had a dream that was not all dream.
The bright sun was e1tinguished, and the
stars
Did wander darkly in the eternal space,
Rayless and painless. and the icy earth
Swung blind and backening in the moonless
air.
Morn came and went. and came, and brought
And men forgot their passions in the dread OF
this their desolation.
All of which, with attendant ap-
plause, showed that sentiment is not
dead in Congress.
In these days of dry America
with a rum fleet doing a land office
business offshore and a Coast Guard
fleet doing its best to protect the in
tegrity of our shore. it is interesting
to see just how wet this country is,
physically. Representative Harry B.
Halves of Missouri is witness. He
tells US that in addition to $4,000
miles of navigable streams we have
a coast of 21,354 miles. The Great
Lakes represent combined length
of navigable water of 1,400 miles, or
as far as from Paris to Constantine
pie. There are some 20 first-class
rivers of from 100 to 600 miles in
length emptying into the Atlantic
Ocean from the Appalachians. The
Cnln m hia Riyer ON the Pani6c ridn ic