Evening star., 1932-04-27
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Tom Hefiin established his fame for
! all time yesterday as the Barnum of
| politics. He staged the greatest show
| on earth, at least as far as the United
| States Senate is concerned And how
| he loved it! Packed galleries, a crowded
| floor, five solid hours all to himself,
| cynosure Of every eye, and Heflin the
| sole theme-What a man, what a
| chance! No matter what becomes of
| the big Alabama noise, whether his
leather lungs exercised themselves for
| the last time in the Senate chamber or
| not, HeffinS yet unborn will be entitled
| to recall the occasion with ancestral
| pride. No man in Congress, with the
possible single exception of Borah,
could have magnetized such an audi
ence to Capitol Hill. Tom was at the
| top of his rabble-rousing form. His
voice is as ineXhauStible as a foghorn.
1t was as resonant at o'clock as when
he went into action at IL. Senators
and squirrel-heads (Heflin's pet name
for newspaper mem Snickered at his
theatrical flights Of pathos and bonn
bast, but the galleries were Spellbound
By their votes he would have won his
case hands down. Unfortunately, Toms
fate rests with the men he once in
advertently called fellow Senators" !"
It's extremely doubtful whether he
harangued a single one of them into
changing his vote in Hef1in'S favor.
X X X
Some of President Hoover's defenders
come forward with the interesting dis
closure that, when you deduct the
fabulous sums spent during the past
three years on veterans benefits and
Federal construction. the current C1933)
Hoover budget (S2,554 202,000) is lower
than any of the last four Coolidge
budgets. These Subject to the same
deductions) were, in 1925, 1927, 1928
and 1929, respectively. $2,886,854, 900,
So. 791 ,579, 900, 81 $40 426,00o and 50, ,720,-
991 900. Economy Cal" according to
the figures, which are Of official
origin. seems to have had nothing on
Economy Herb" Gen. Hines, the
administrator of veterans affairs, told
the Ways and Means Committee yes
terday what these have come to repre-
sent in Treasury outgo. President
Coolidge's 1926 budget provided for
1858 1874 900 In veterans aid. The
Hoover 1888 budget earmarkS 1888, co.
coo for that item. In 1928 Uncle Sam
spent S135 100000 on construction; this
year, he's spending $575, $4,000.
X x
Washington friends are Just in re-
ceipt of the full text of Col. Theodore
Roosevelt's inaugural address as Gov
ernor General of the Philippines at
Manila on February 20. 1t wound up
with a brand-new piece of political
history This is a most solemn
moment in my life. said Young
Teddy. mot only have I always had
an abiding interest in the Filipino
people, but the same held true of my
father. When Governor Of New York
he wrote to his intimate friend, SEN
ator Lodge, that he did not wish to be
candidate for Vice President because
his ambition was to be Governor Gen
eral Of the Philippines"
II the economy wave rolling over
Congress should eliminate appropria-
tions for the Navy Band, Capitol Hill
is likely to hear from the country's
20 ,000, 900 or 30000,000 radio listeners.
For the past few years Lieut. Charles
Benter and his melody men have been
tremendous favorites with them. Their
music is an almost daily coast-to-coast
broadcast feature on the programs of
both the National and Columbia
chains. Through the cooperation of
all Navy Yard commandants at Wash
ington, well equipped auditorium for
the special purpose of putting the
band on the air is now available.
Thus, instead Of being an organization
whose music used to be heard by only
q handful on occasion, radio has con-
verted the Navy Band into q truly ma
tional institution.