Evening star., 1933-02-12
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Win the contest IOr SpeakerShfp OF
the House In the incoming Congress
warming up, and much undercover ne
gotiating of deals and combinations.
some Of which are strictly along sec
tional lineA and with two Of the three
outstanding candidates from the South
and one from the North-Representa
tives Joseph w Byrns of Tennessee and
John McDufie OF Alabama from the
South, and Reprepresentative Henry
T. Ratney OF Illinois, from the North
1t is interesting to study history of
such contests.
For more than half a century, since
the days CT Representative Samuel j.
Randall in the 47th Congress, all of
the Democratic candidates for Speaker
have been from the South-Georgia.
Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North
Carolina, Tennessee and Texas They
were: In the 48th, 49th, 5Oth and 5lst
Congresses, John G. Carlisle Of Ken
tucky; in the 52nd 53rd and Saith Con-
crosses, Charles F. Crisp of Georgia;
in the 55th Congress, Joseph w. Bailey
Of Texas; in the 56th and 57th Con-
crosses, James D. Richardson of Ten
nessee; in the 58th, 5sth and 6Oth
Congresses, John Sharp Williams of
Mississippi; in the 61st. 62nd, 63rd
Clark of Missouri: in the 9th Con-
gress, Claude Kitchin of North Caro-
lima; In the 68th, seth and 10th Con-
crosses, Finis +. Garrett of Texas, and
in the list and 72nd Congresses, John
N. Garner Of Texas.
OF these 10 Democratic candidates
Tor Speaker In the past half century.
the four elected were oil from the
South - Carlisle. Crisp, Clark and
Garner.
The sectional fight over the Speak
ership in the incoming Congress CEN
ters about the effort to break the half
century precedent and elect a North
ern candidate. Representative Henry
T. Rainey Of Illinois, whose friends
urge him as entitled to the honor
unoer the seniority rule and by right
OF progression from the floor leader
ship.
The thrill that q member of Con-
gress gets from accomplishing some
thing entirely outside Of selfish politi-
cal advantage-in which he has q heart
interest, sympathy for some poor per-
son who looks to him for relief, by ex-
sSAdhA8 WIG bChCAaCbAcllS VI tIle COV.
ernment to some lowly person in dis
tress or In appreciation Of q mother
who sacrificed her son to the Nations
cause-was experienced the other day
by Representative Sol Bloom of New
York. For 10 years he has been fight
ing to get Congress to pass bill for
the relief OF Mrs. ANNA M. Eopolucci,
a double Gold Star Mother.
Representative Bloom explained the
case to his colleagues thus: "On April
l, 1917, the ship on which Mrs. Eopo-
lucci's son was serving was torpedoed
He had been in the service for 10 years
prior to that time. When this young
sailor boy went into the lfeboat, the
lifeboat contained food and water, and
that was the last time any one saw the
boy or the sailors who we're with him
in the hfeboat. It was adrift in the
open sea. The Navy Department to-
cay claims that the young man off,
cially died on April l, according to
their records. There Is no telling
April 6, when the war risk insurance
act went into effect.
He may have been alive on April 6,
and the widowed mother Is claiming
for the death Of her son only the
same as all widowed mothers have re-
ceived In war insurance for the death
of their SONS. It Is not taking any,
thing out of the Treasury that she Is
not entitled to. She gave her all for
our country, and under the circum-
stances I do not think that the Navy
Department or the War Department
has right to claim that the boy was
dead on April /. Suppose he was
adrift on the high seas on April 6
or z. The report shows that there was
suficient food and water in the LIE
boat to last him for 10 days"
He emphasized that the widowed
mother is not constituent of his; that
she lives in "Voteless Washington, :"
and therefore has no political infiu-
ence. He points to this act of justice
by Congress as proof that any resident
of the District Of Columbia, where the
residents have no representative Of
their own in Congress, can get mem
bers Of Congress to take q sympathetic
human interest in such caseS.
Representative Bloom counts this as
one Of the greatest qualifications of
his service in Congress-to have won
his 10-year fight to get the $5 900 al
lowance from the Veterans Admins
tration for this widowed mother who
lost two sons in the World War.