Evening star., 1934-04-30
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

In one of his earliest fireside chats
over the radio about a year ago
President Roosevelt recalled that
Theodore Roosevelt once told him
that if a public man could accomplish
to do, 1t would be a creditable record.
AS far as his first Congress, soon to
end, is concerned, F. D. RS batting
average should be we'll over .750.
Barring rejection of the st. Lawrence
waterway treaty and overriding OF
the Government pay-cut and veterans
veto, the President during his IA
months in Office has obtained from
Congress about everything he wanted
and prevented most of the things he
didn't want. Historians of the pres
ent session will record that it went
Roosevelt without use of the big stick.
When the President returned from
Florida, it looked as if he could not
possibly prevail during the remainder
of the session without resorting to
the bludgeon. That was the true in
wardness of his categorical" remark
to members of Congress who met him
at the train that he was "a tough
guy" Instead of the big stick, the
President employed the gentler arts
Of conference, conciliation and con-
cession, eliminating in the current
Capitol view that F. D. R. is about
the smoothest politician that ever
came down the Pennsylvania avenue
pike.
Secretary Hull was in his element
when he faced the Senate Finance
Committee the other day as an advo-
cate of the reciprocal tariff bill.
Tariff is Cordell Hulrs middle name.
Hardly any man in American public
life today equals him in intimate
kowledge of that drab and dreary
theme. To that pre-eminence he
mainly owes his presence in the cabi-
net, plus the fact that the policy
contemplated by the measure now be-
fore Congress has always been in the
forefront of the Roosevelt. program.
Republican Senators Reed of Penn
sylvania and Hastings of Delaware
fired leading questions at Judge Hull
while he was before the committee
with the apparent purpose of tripping
him up, but the suave Tennesseean
proved a ready match for every shaft.
Reed chided Hull with the fact that
Great Britain is recovering without
trying this so-called planned econ
omy." Hull was primed for that, too,
and replied: 1T may be true that
Britain has recovered 80 per cent as
against our 80, but her trade declined
only IA per cent, while we went over
the cliff for a As to SO per cent fall.
Thus British recovery is less than
ours-in addition to which there are
a dozen major factors of difference
between the two situations"
Apropos the plan to use P. w. A.
funds to begin construction of treaty
Navy, the Navy League issues some
graphic figures to show how far we
have Jagged behind other naval pow
ers in new construction since the
Washington treaty Of 1922. During
the intervening II years Uncle Sam
has laid down only A ships, while
the British have laid d.wn ISL; the
Japanese, 1853; the French, $50, and
the Italians las. In tonnage Britain,
Japan and France have each outbuilt
us almost two to one. Both the Brit
ish and Japanese navies are already
within easy range of treaty fleets in
1896, while we are more than 100
ships short of that level.
X \ n X
Miss Frances Perkins, Secretary Of
Labor, is the latest disciple of the new
deal to produce a book. She is now
completing the final section Of "Peo-
pie at Work." which Is scheduled for
publication Ia mid.May. Miss Perkins