Evening star., 1935-04-08
CAPITAL JAMMED
By" NEW DEALERS"
Wartime Scenes Mark Leg
isIative and Departmental
Rush and BustIe.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
A picture Of what is happening in
the National Capital today. this week,
this month, would be difficult for any
camera to portray
For In Smoke-f filled rooms of the
crowded hotels are business executives
OF almost every important indust-...
The atmosphere is tense. There Is
anxiety over impending legislation
On Capitol Hill are callers crowding
the of11ces, button -holing the Senators
and Representatives; prominent con-
Stituents from back home engaged in
lengthy conferences-everybody busy,
harassed, overworked and under
strain.
In the ever r-growing Government
bureaus and departments are thou
sands of officials and clerical personnel
everybody going at top speed and
seeming to be under pressure.
The psychology is that of wartime.
Government is spreading out into
more buildings than can really house
the Governments operations COM
fortably. The new buildings just
finished are jammed and the rented
space is on the increase.
Economics and Politics
Truly Washington has become the
economic and political capital of the
Nation. And, what Is more, many of
the persons who ordinarily are busy
back home managing their businesses
are here a good part of the time. This
means lots Of long distance telephon-
ing. lots of conferences with lawyers.
lots of work for the printing firms and
the mimeograph outfits and all the by
products OF the biggest single trans
formation in Government that We
have seen since Is years ago this very
week, when America went on . war
basis
Sympathy above all others should
be extended to two groups-the young
New Dealers, who are breaking their
backs trying to administer dificult
and complicated laws, and the mem
bers of Congress who are trying to
frame more laws in keeping with the
general purposes set forth by the New
Dealers.
It's reform administration In
every sense of the word and that is
one reason why the administrators of
the new legislation are working day
and night in an endeavor to meet the
numerous obstacles and make the new
proposals as practical as possible.
In Congress the situation is not
unlike last session. The pressure is
the same, If not even more intense.
But the tendency TO examine more
carefully the different legislative pro-
posals and to listen to the pleas of
constituents is more pronounced this
time.
The mail pouring into the Capitol
is indescribably big. Members are
irritated that they cannot answer 1t
all. They need more clerks and more
help, but the belief that the emer-
gency in letter writing will be over
soon impels them not to add perma-
nent expense to the staff.
Every member likes to acknowledge
q letter from a constituent. But form
letters aren't liked at all, either going
or coming. Senators and Representa-
tives usually do not feel under any
obligation to acknowledge form letters
The truth is members of Congress
ought to have 8 clerical staff to help
them sift and classify the incoming
mail. For it would be most unfortu-
nate to have the people diminish their
protests or their letters of approval
just because of the physical difficulty
in handling correspondence
What is needed is more and not less
! facilities for members of Congress to
enable them to keep in touch with
public opinion.
The real problem of the moment,
however. is for those persons who
come to Washington to see their
Representatives in Congress on busi-
ness. Many a company is faced with
ruin by pending legislation. Many a
company will have its operations ma
| terially curtailed or restrained if some
of the bills 60 through. Should all
the administration measures be passed
for instance. there will be a revolu-
tionary change in the management
of businesses related to foods, drugs.
cosmetics, agricultural products that
are processed, public utilities, banks
and trust companies. certain aspects
OF advertising. and manufacturing
establishments that employ large num-
bers Of employees, especially as labor
relations may produce more strikes
and more labor controversies.
Much to Explain.
The visiting business men find the
Senators and Representatives cour-
teous and willing to listen. But it's
difhcult job to explain the tech
nical aspects of legislation to members
who cannot possibly become familiar
overnight with every piece of legisla-
tion. whereas the departmental ex-
perts who feed the bills to Capitol Hill
have spent months figuring out all
| the devices and words that will ac-
complish the general economic re-
form they have in mind.
| In other words, the theoretical
groups of the New Deal clash with
| the practical men in the realm of
business and finance and then the
individual members of Congress find
themselves in the role of mediators
and umpires, trying to reconcile con-
flicting interests.
It's q gruelling ordeal for all con-
cerned and unless Congress does ad-
journ in June or thereabouts, with
much of the legislation side-tracked.
the nerve specialists and the sani-
tariums may find themselves with an
|