Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-27
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS

general. officers and enlisted men in
the Regular Army read on the aver
age of II books a year each, accord
ing to a survey of the subject made
by the War Department. OF these
II, eight books a year are drawn
from Army libraries. These libraries,
including 220 at Army posts, 1877
travel libraries and five on Army
transports. circulated 77S,089 books
last year.
The death of Bert NJ. Fernald,
Senator from Maine, makes another
large-sized gap in the ranks of the
Republican stalwarts in the Senate.
incidentally it robs that body of one
of the best of the present-day story
tellers. Ferna1d was not given to
spread-eagle oratory. but In the
cloak room and committee rooms
was an ever-ready teller of amusing
jokes and anecdotes - stories to
which no printed page can ever do
full justice. Legend has 1t that In
addition to his stories he once sang
song when appearing before
committee to advocate inclusion In
pending tariff bill of a schedule
which his Maine constituents desired,
and SO charmed the committee by
his voice that they succumbed to his
requests. He was an ardent base
ball fan, too. He never missed the
opening game of the series at the
Capital. Usually his companion on
such occasions was Pat" Harrison.
the Democratic orator from Mis-
sissippi. Withal, Fernald was
hard and conscientious worker, chair
man of the Senate public buildings
committee, ranking member of the
Senate commerce committee and a
by no means inactive member of two
other important committees. He had
charge of the $165,00O,OOO public
buildings bill. which was one of the
legislative landmarks of the present
Congress, and was in the thick of
the fighting over the rivers and
harbors bill. His death will greatly
weaken the ranks of this bills sup
porters when the fight on the floor
of the Senate is staged next De-
cember. Fernald was an irrecon-
cilable in the League of Nations fight,
and was opposed to the entry of the
United States into the World Court
On this last question he differed
sharply with the administration, but
in general he was a staunch Re
publican regular and a warm ad-
mirer of President Coolidge.
y u
Investigation Of the oil companies
by the Federal Trade Commission
with a view to determining their
profits and whether or not the price of
gasoline is arbitrarily made or un-
warranted" Is reported to be under
way, but as yet has attracted no no
tice. Park Trammell, Democratic Sen
ator from Florida, was the prime
mover in instigating this investiga
ton. His strenuous efforts to get q
resolution through the Senate requir
ing the Trade Commission to conduct
the probe and report to the next SEES
sion of Congress made little Roadway
for many months. Then shortly be-
fore adjournment, when a situation
developed where roll call vote on the
Trammell resolution appeared inevi-
table. opposition melted away as IL by
magic, and 1t went through the Sen
ate in a couple of minutes with no dis
senting voice, except a faint NO"
from Senator Harreld of Oklahoma.
Trammell after a month in his home
State came to Washington this week
to see what had happened to the In
vestigation. He did not get a whole
lot Of satisfaction. He delivered him
self of fresh verbal onslaught
against the oil combine and the EEK
tOrtions" being eXacted from the gaso-
line-buying public. Trammel is live
wire and believes that he is ON the
trail Of real Democratic issue-an
offset to Republican talk of prosperity
and the benevolent trust busting rec
ord of the Department of Justice
under President Coolidge.
(copyriEht. 192o.)