Evening star., 1931-12-18
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC BILLI4N FILE.

Woodrow Wilson's Revenge" would
| be good name for the tragi-comedy
now i'll progress on Capitol Hill in con-
nection with the debt moratorium
| Twelve years ago United States Con-
| greSS controlled by the Republicans
| played ducks and brakes with a solemn
| international agreement negotiated by q
| Democratic President. Now Congress
! dominated by Democrats and Progress
+ SIVeS Is holding up an equally solemn
| international covenant to which Re
| publican President pledged the coun-
| tryS name and honor. Herbert Hoover
is going through the bitter experience
| OF discovering that there is nothing
| new under the sun. He's also finding
out that politics at Washington is poll
tics, no matter what the party affili-
alton of a President who has a Con-
| gress on his hands White House dis
! appointment over developments in the
House and Senate is deep. 1t is justif-
| able disappointment Mr.. Hoover had
| every reason to expect. after the care
| full advance soundings he made last
| June, that ratification of the mora
| torium this month would be the merest
| formality. Apparently the temptation
to play politics proved irresistible
x = =:
II,
brand this session G Congress the most
| nationalistic, anti-1oreign session held
in many moon. Something resembling
the Chinese Boxer cult, with its antip-
| athy to foreign devils. seems to pre-
| vail at the legislative end of Pennsyl-
vania avenue. Even world minded
statesman like Senator Dave Reed, Re
! publican, Of Pennsylvania has sue
| cumbed to it. The big Navy party is
sitting back and smiling with Satisfac-
ton over the amazing turn of events.
| Its leaders feel that it will be far easier
| in such an atmosphere to secure the
| enactment of the treaty Navy than if
| Congress were in more hoSpitable
| frame of mind toward abroad" On
| slaughts against Hoover International
! ism" in the House, such as emanated
| from the Huddlestons. the McFaddenS
| and their conferees. are probably mere
| zephyrS in the congressional wind COM
pared to what will blow when the
| Borahs, the Johnsons ct al. clear for
action in the Senate
Senator Claude A. Swanson's selec-
! tion as one of the United States dele
gates to the Geneva Disarmament Con-
ference is warmly applauded. The Vir-
|
political hands in the Senate He is a
| negotiator par excellence One of his
admirers says that Swanson is able to
| accomplishment with whispered word
| to a colleague on either side of the
aisle than the noiSic - Spcechmaker can
achieve in an hon. .aGlngue There'l
! be aicuty VI orpOI Unity for that kind
of pargtinlng CO pacity at Geneva. With
nothing to ask for itself except a sue
cessful outcome for the conference,
| and little to give away in the
shape of further reduction of her
own ornaments, Americas role is
likely sooner or later to become that
| essayed by Bismarck in the historic
Congress of Berlin-the honest broker
Swanson has played it times without
| number in the Senate
Who are the Four Horsemen of Con-
gress? Judged by the unfailing regu-
larity with which they are seen in the
saddle in Rock Greek Park and on
other Capital riding paths, they are
Senators Borah of Idaho, Oddie of Ne
braska and Glenn of Illinois and Rep
| resentative Davenport of New York
Each and all of them contend that
| horseback riding knows no peer as a
means of keeping men fit. Senator
| Oddie finds it has only one draw
| back. He rides to reduce. but says he
| always comes in hungry and eats more
afterWard than he should
| !: X X x
Vice President Curtis, who ought tx
be addicted to riding If anybody should
having once been jockey. has for
saken 1t for walking, and claims that
his daily constitutional of 25 block.
from his hotel to the Capitol is what
does the trick of maintaining him al
par. He doubts If he could continue tt
dine out for his country night aftel
night if 1t weren't for his long dali,
walks
X X
The Ways and Means Committee O.