Evening star., 1929-04-21
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL r. KENNEDY.

Women in Congress are taking their
place prominently in some Of the most
important legislative work. For ex-
ample. Mrs. Ruth Bryan Owen Of Flor
ida has formsIly asked to be assigned
to membership on the important zor-
eign affairs committee. Mrs. Edith
Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts was
two years ago offered place on that
committee, where her late husband had
served for a long time with distinction.
Mrs. Rogers has In fact been one OF the
most active members of Congress, re-
gardless Of sex. She is recognized as
leading the fight for adequate hospitai-
lzation for the veterans, and has been
instrumental In getting increased ap-
preparations for the Department Of
Commerce so that New England In
dustries could be benefited.
Today. Mrs. Rogers Is flying by air.
plane TO Detroit, Mich, to urge upon
the airplane industry the opportunities
for manufacture of airplanes and ac-
cessories in New England, and especially
in Massachusetts,. She was recently
instrumental in having an airplane fac
tory located in her home city Of Lowell,
SO that she now speaks from personal
acquaintance when she recommends to
the industry that they can secure ready
markets and high-grade employees In
her home State.
with Mrs. Rogers at the Detroit gath
ering will be Miss Amelia Earhart, Lady
Mary Heath, David s. ingalls,, Assistant
Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics,
and many others prominent in the field
Of transportation.
Mrs. Ruth Hanna Mccormick Of IL
linois Is one Of the woman members
who Is most prominent in the Repub-
lican party councils, where her father
was q dominant factor. She was q
member Of the committee Of Is selected
by Ogden Mills, Undersecretary Of the
Treasury TO confer on the proposed or
ganization Of q National Republican
Club. with headquarters In Washington,
and she has been selected as q member
of the important subcommittee which Is
to confer with DR.. Hubert Work on
plans and policy for the new national
organization.
Most Of the people throughout the
country do not seem to realize as vet
how different this session of Congress
Is from the usual session. The people
are agerly scanning their home town
papers each night for the news from
Washington Of particular significance
to them, and the Washington corre-
spondents are driven frantic trying to
find locals" for home consumption.
or course, there are the usual raft Of
bills introduced, but they are not to
receive consideration until the Decem-
Der session.
This extraordinary session Is called,
and proposes to stick to that Job, for
the purpose Of passing just two bills
farm relief and the tariff >Of course,
that statement is trite, but it Is Just
beginning to sink in how much Of o
difference that restriction makes.
Compared with that goal of two
laws, the last (Seventieth) Congress
put 1,722 laws on the statute books, the
preceding (Sixty -ninth) Congress passed
,423, and the Congress before that 996.
In the present session only four COM
mitteeS are organized and only two OF
them have bills referred to them
whereas the usual session has all COM
mittees at work. For example, In the
Seventieth Congress there were 1884
bills introduced. 435 joint resolutions, 35l
simple resolutions and so House con-
! current resolutions. making q total OF
1880 bills and resolutions considered
by committees
During the Seventieth Congress the
House passed l.584 House bills and reso-
lutions and 1876 Senate bills and resolu-
tions. The House passed $50 House bills,
20 House joint resolutions and 10 Sen
ate bills and joint resolutions which did
not become laws.
There were introduced in the Sen.
ate 5,903 bills, ga Joint resolutions, SO
concurrent resolutions and 351 simple
resolutions. The Senate passed GAL bills
and 70 joint resolutions. The Senate
committees made 2,074 reports. The
Senate passed 301 bills and resolutions
which did not become law.
OF the GAS House bills which became
laws there were included eight omnibus
pension bills, which, added to one Sen
ate omnibus pension bill, contained
This made the grand total of laws
including those enacted in omnibus
pension bills, 1883.
The President transmitted to the
House 103 messages In the last Con-
gress, executive departments transmitted
876 communications and 1857 petit
tions were filed.
And yet some people wonder what
Congress finds to do and others protest
that Congress does so little.
And the present extraordinary ses-
sion Is going to have plenty to do to
pass just the two measures that Presi-
dent Hoover urged them to act upon
\ \
With the iron framework of the In
| ternal Revenue and Commerce Depart
ment Buildings attracting the atten-
ton of the great throngs Of visitors to
Washington. there is timely interest in
the fact stated at the Capiol yesterday
by Chairman Richard N Elliott Of the
House committee on public buildings
and grounds, who is also a member ol
the Federal Public Buildings Commis-
! lures alone $500 carloads OF Indiana
| limestone are being haule into Wash
! ington Most people would be inclined
| to think that amounted to tearing the
| heart out of the State Of Indiana
These two structures are to cost, TO-
gether, nearly 5000, 900. Here Is
concrete evidence that while the City
Of Washington gets the monumental
buildings to house Government activi-
| ties, the actual cold cash that comes out
If the Federal Treasury to pay for them
goes into other States.
| X X 4 \
The playground movement started in
Boston by Joseph Lee less than quar-
| ter of q century ago has spread ali
over the world, as the. Children's Bu-
reau of the Federal Government testi-
| fies. In 1926, through the generosity Of
Mrs. Bertha Guggenheim. q playground
furnished with American equipment
and under the charge Of trained d.
rector was established under the wall
of the old City Of Jerusalem, just within
Zion Gate. Here 600 boys and girls OF
! a1n ANe
| learning to play together. Another
! playground is planned for the new part
of Jerusalem, outside the walls, and
one for Tel Aviv, wholly new Jewish
/ city, founded in 1910. Urgent requests
| for Fairgrounds have also been received
from Haifa and Tiberias.
--z---.-ses-.-----
It's Like 'Whoopee."