New Britain herald., 1929-11-22
WASHINGTON SCENE
 OF COMIC DO|NGS
Concert" on Senate Floor, Out spoken Cop Among Funniest
BY RODNEY BUTCHER


 Washington, Nov. 29.-Eithcr this Is the funniest place in th" world or, else things that have been go- ing on here are all very sad and ought 10 be deplOrad by right thinking citizens. No doubt some ofeour noblost American institutions would be undermined if a certain proportion Of the voters did not al- ways insist on taking Washington B. riously.
 To some Of us who have not lived here too long it's a question whether this ought 10 bc called the national capital or the national bughousc.
 There is material for series Of T0s or so articles on this theme. but your correspondent will try 10 con fine 1t 10 one.
 The Senatorial Cut-IDs
 One can pass over such deHb- crate wit as the spectacle of Sen ator Norris and his friends pick ing up musical instruments and pre- tending to give concert on the Sepate floor. of somebody's bright idea oi planting a big green bot,l" on@ Senator Brook lharts desk and of another senator's trick of putting q cocktail shaker in another senator's desk drawer. The real laughs here are derived from things funny but not meant 10 be funny.
 Last fall we were all being urged 10 imagine Mrs smith in the White House. Yet more absurditie9 hay" occurred in the Washington social racket thece last few months than were ever noted while the Smiths ruled the executive mansion in AL bany. Where else in the world could the question of where Mrs and MT. Gam were to sit q; dinner have be come such q burning national issue, stirring up Congress. the State De partment and the White House? Now on top Of that unsettled prob lem has come the Hiram Johnson incident.
 The facts. briefly, were: Senator Johnson was conspicuously left off the list Of guests at q White House dinner for Ambassador Dawes 10 which all other Foreign Relations committeeman were invited. News papermcn gave the White House plenty of time to correct il by call ing attention to the omission but, ac- coGding to them, q spokesman for the president said: "I don't know anything about it." Other senators, including Borah and I.aFollctte, talked loudly Of th" supposed snub 10 Johnson during the dinner. Morn ing newspaper stories agreed in. front-page stories that this was Hoover's naive method Of rcbuking Johnson for his irregulartity.
 The whole Senate buzzed. Senator Dave Reed dashed to the White House and urged the need of an eX- plantation. Mr. Hoover wrote John son that there had been a mistake. Everyone agreed with that, but a thorough canvass reveals no one who thinks 1t was accidental. Either the president, realizing his error. cstab- lished diplomatic alibi Or everyone else in town is crazy, Washington in sist on believing the worst.
 Then look al Senator BroOlhart. who is getting eight-column head lines with his story Of the one booze party he attended in 1926. Everyone knows that whenever two CT more politicians get together in Washing ton something is likely 10 be poured ] and there have been q thousand big ger and wetter parties since the one Brookhart attended. The only thing 10 match that one is Senator How ell's recent discovery that Washing ton was wet and President HooVer'8 challenge Of the statement.
 The OutSpOkcn Cop
 Perhaps you've read Of q young cop named Allen here who has stood the whole police force on it's head by making il look like a monkey cage. Allen has accused the force Of everything that's improper for po- licemen and his independent iuvesti- gGtions have cost several high of ficers their jobs. Al last Allen has been tried and convicted Of insub- ordination. but l." got away with it for months, thanks 10 friends in