Evening star., 1934-08-31
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS

It has been suggested that Ameri-
can newspapers could well serve their
readers by explaining the system of
voting in Germany, where in the
recent plebiScite 46,e00,00o votes were
cast in population Of 65,000000 and
where vote of 1000 Geo against the
government was deemed an indiea-i
ton of widespread opposition" The
figures are not understandable in the
United States, where the highest num-
Der of votes-that of 1932-fell short.
of 10000, 900, Notwithstanding pop
ulation of double that Of Ger,
many and universal suffrage. Even
the system of multiple voting, under
which individual princes, counts,
dukes and other land owners may
have been permitted to cast votes in
proportion to their holdings, as
against the single vote of the Or
dinary workingman, fails to remove
the discrepancy. Questions which
the cables inspired and which the
American newspapers might answer
include: How could 100000 votes
be cast In a country of 65,000,00
POPu1AtAOAs WHY OOCo GA OPPOoAA6
vote of 100000 menace the power
of government? Did the small
minority constitute q substantial part
of the men Of voting age? Were the
dissenters bold individuals who could
not be intimidated and who reflected
the sentiments held by large numbers
Of electors who did not vote at all?
If fear was factor, what would be
Germany's total unrestrained? Did
the overwhelming Endorsement of the
Hitler program, reported as IL to !,
represent merely q few thousand
Aristocrats, who under O multiple
voting system cast hundreds of thou
sands OF ballots each?
4
Revision OF the emergency recovery
program into O permanent rehabilita-
ton plan to be submitted to Congress
next Winter by President Roosevelt Is
now under way. Preservation Of the
good parts and elimination Of those
features which proved unworkable or
hurtful are being sought in numerous
conferences in Washington and Hyde
Park. The statutory life Of most of
the emergency agencies Is limited to
two years and their continuance will
depend upon legislation by the Con-
gresS to be elected in November. Some
may be dropped, others modified, and
still others strengthened. Several of
the agencies are under severe attack,
| notably N. r. A, A. A. A. and F. E. r. A.
On the other hand, P. w. A., H.OL.C.,
F. D.1. c. and F. H. A. are singularly
free of criticism. Praise has largely
supplanted the ridicule which greeted
the C. C. C. (Civilian Conservation
Corps at its inception. This rela-
lively unimportant agency Is credited
with having solved in large part the
itinerant-boy problem, with having re-
moved jobless young men from city
streets and with having taught In
| camp schools hundreds of illiterates to
read and write while extending oppOr-
tunities Of high school and vocational
education to additional thousands
among the forest workers.
James D. Preston, former hard
working superintendent Of the Senate
press gallery and now Senate librarian,
is on his way home from London,
where he spent his vacation studying
British methods of preserving and ex-
hibiting historic documents. Century
old records have been dug from their
dust at the Capitol and classified by
Preston, who now wishes to make them
available to the public. He spent most
Of August in London'S Hall Of Public
Records.
The radical wave in California
which placed Upton Sinclair, inter-
| nationally known Socialist, at the top
of the Democratic State ticket may
cause the newly-organized American
Liberty League to dip into politics
ahead of schedule. Pleas are being
received by the leagues officers to
organize a State branch in California
at once for participation in the Fall
campaign. Jouett Shouse, president,
previously had said the league would
not engage in political activities this
Autumn, thereby indicating 1886 was
the year the leaguers had in mind
| for political action. However, Sim
| clair's nomination for Governor and
the capture by his forces Of the Dem
ocratie party Just when that party by