, 1935-04-23
WASHINGTON
BY George Durno


house with such a whoop. single
handedly among the major veterans
organizations. The American Legion
sponsored the defeated Vinson bill
and took it on the nose.
All things being equal. and all vet
Grams wanting their bonus money,
administration ire-pullers figure
Senator Pat HarriSon's bill will serve
as a final basis OF compromise. In
case you have forgotten. this one
would rebate the adjusted service
certificates * they finally become
due in l938-but may be discounted
for cash at banks in the interim.
Aces-At the moment the Ameri-
can Legion leadership appears TO be
well boxed. They are committed TO
fight for immediate bonus payment
out they backed a losing horse when
the measure was up in the house.
The Veterans OF Foreign Wars,
numerically smaller but said TO be
gaining steadily in membership, are
in a key position. They can take
credit for the Patman bill, which
would pay off at once in greenbacks,
and therefore they and their con-
greSSionsl allies are preparing 70 dc
tate the terms of any compromise
between house, senate and White
House.
Most OF II presumably has been
worked out already OF Senator Har-
rison would not have put in his al
tentative bin. Harrison saw PreSi-
dent Roosevelt a dozen times on the
bonus question before putting any
thing on paper.
Alibis-The greatest protection a
president has in his high office. Dis
gruntled members Of congress may
storm up TO the White House door
as full Of cross-quetisning as a dis
trict attorney but If the president
says he is not fully coverSant with
the situation, that neatly ends it.
Witness the bank reform bill. writ
ten by Federal Reserve Governor
Mariner Eccles and bitterly oppoS-
ed by Senator Carter Glass, Of Va.
father of the Feleral Reserve act,
and important banking interests.
There was a miX-up as TO whether or
not the White House was willing to
have the bill split in two. with con-
gress passing the non-controversial
part Immediately and holding the
sore subjects for future debate.
Half a dozen stories circulated
around Capitol Hill. all reputedly on
the highest Of authority. as TO hat
should be done. They indicated that
the president was willing TO have the
bill divided. and they equally in
dicated he was most opposed TO such
action.
Winner-When Senator Glass at
last went TO the White House he was
told by Mr.. Roosevelt that the latter
had not yet read the bill. The nj
tor said he earlier had been told
there we're no White A)uSe obiec-
tionS 10 splitting the Dsnk bill If
Representative Henry B. Steagall Of
Alabama chairman of the House
Banking and Currency committee,
consented.
And there has been the rub. Stea-
gall won't consent TO a division OF
the bill. Two administration Sena-
tors have told diametrically opposite
stories as to what the White House
really wants. Glass cannot pin the
president down to cold facts be-
cause the president says he has not
read the bill.
II would be a good bet that the
bank reform bill. as II passes the
house, will measure fairly well up
to administration desires.
C0nflicts-The senate Is trying
ing TO put one over on us" said a
house leader. Its stalling on NRA.
It's putting in the bonus bill and
waiting to put forward the security
and banking bills ahead of MIRA
II that game isn't checked you will
see the house compelled TO take up
NRA first. That means that the
house will attract all the dead cats
from industry and labor. and then
the senate will pick u work to
pieces and get credit for a perfected
bill. It's the old senate game. See
what they did to us on the work
relief resolution"
And yet. whenever the senate on
ginates any bill squirting at rails
ing OF spending money the house
promptly objects and insists upon
acting first.
Quandary-There is one member
Of the present congress who has no
bread-and-Salt inhibitions about the
White House. That one is Mrs. Isa-
bella Greenway, of Arizona. AS a
bridesmaid TO Mrs. Roosevelt, Mrs.
Greenway Is a welcome visitor at the
executive mansion at all times. She
and the First Lady met as school
girls at a fashionable New York fin
Ishing school.
So Mrs. Greenway frequently
takes breakfast. dinner and luncheon
at the White HouSe-and then goes
up to Capitol Hill and votes the way
her independent spirit dictates. Wit
ness her vote on the bonus (although
it must be remembered Arizona is
a very strong veterans state).
But this charming. vivaciouS lady
does not find the life Of a congress-
woman all beer and Skittles. In fact.
she Is a bit fed up and has not yet
decided whether she would like to
return. She has found that some OF
the duties OF the national legisla-
ture are not compatible with a lady's
conscience.
acknowledgements OF states are
casually dropping into Washington,
Just to 2 the cherry blossoms and
incidentally 70 ask for a few mil
lions for work-relief. Every state can
present a list Of public works. in
Guiding federal projects, that cries
aloud for treasury succor.
The governors don't ear whether
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