Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-17
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Men who have talked with him lately
report that President Hoover Is afraid
That Congress is going to fritter away
so much OF its time on details of farm
relief that the whole business will be
seriously delayed, If not altogether
dished. Mr.. Hoover is evidently of
opinion that the question has ALREADY
been so thoroughly threshed out that
there's neither rhyme nor reason In
any more beating around the bush.
Inc President wants action, and wants
IL now. He believes the plans worked
out by agriculture's spokesman in Con-
gress, and which generally coincide with
nus own ideas, are sound. Being such.
hoover cannot see why they should
become the object Of protracted wind
lamming-though that is not his word.
The President faces his first congress
slonal music. He's about to find out
AS one OF his trusted leaders on Capt.
toi Hill puts it-that you can't order
Congress as you can order q gang of
men on an engineering job or on a re-
lief enterprise
X X X X
The equalization fee old guard. can
tanned by Chairman Haugen of the
House agricultural committee, realizes
that 1t Is on the verge of surrender, but
seems to be resigned to its fate. You
can hear some of them claiming that
the Presidents farm plan provides for
the Zee IN another form, and that the
rose is going to smell just as sweet
under the name of Treasury funds. In
other words, the equalization scheme
called Tor contributions toward losses
IN the sale of surplus crops from the
farmers themselves. Now (say the
equalizationists) such losses will be
covered out of the 100000, 900 revoly-
ing credit to be set up in the Treasury
Department. The Presidents message.
adopting the physicians lingo. said
that farm difficulties cannot be cured
IN a day." Well, the old McNary-
Haugenites appear disposed to let DR..
Hoover try the medicine he now pre-
scribes and see how far his kind of
cure" goes. Two field marshals of the
one-tlme militant equalization army
George N. Peek, who sold" the fee to
AL Smith in 1928, and Chester Davis
have stacked arms and returned to
non-agricultural and non-political pur-
suits.
Mr.. Hoover hopes that Congress will
attend to its farm-relief and tariff
revision knitting, and practically moth
ing else, and then quit. Politicians aver
that the President obviously doesn't
know his Capitol Hill onions-and espe-
cially his tariff onions. What they
mean is that once you take the lid off
the tariff in Congress, the sky is the
limit. What they especially have in
mind is that the tariff is about the most
explosive single piece of political dyna-
mite in captivity. Parties and Presi-
dents have toyed with it in the past at
their peril and to their undoing. One
old hand in the House goes the length
sage may turn out to be an event as
momentous as the Taft Winona speech
which helped undo big Bill" In the
presidency. Mr.. Hoover proposes that
Congress confine itself to Limited
changes" in the tariff. Congress will
have good deal to say on that score
before the special session is adjourned.
X X X X
Walter H. Newton, liaison secretary
at the White House, was a guest at a
swagger diplomatic dinner party the
other night. More men than women
turned up, so that the number of
"stags" at table turned out to be unex- !
pectedly large. Newton was one of
them. II knew that'd be my luck" the
Minnesotan lamented during the eve
ming, "as soon as I was handed No Is
for an automobile call-number at the
door,"
X X X X
While the Gridiron Club and its
company of mere men were making
merry in washington last Saturday
night, the woman members of Congress
were being entertained at a party OF
their own in the home of one of their
group. During the evening it was de-
cided to dispatch the following tele-
gram to the Gridiron Club: "Inasmuch |
as we understand 1t to be your ir1vio- |
liable rule only to invite men to your
dinners, and islasmuch as members of |
Congress are additionally among your
honored guests, win you kindly take
note that this body Of eight gentlewom-
en- of the House has tonight jointly and |
severally voted to designate Mr.. Edward |
Everett Cam as our ofacial host for |
any and al future occasions"