Evening star., 1935-02-22
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Some Of those dead cats which used
to be hurled at Gen. johnson will be
flying through the House and Senate
when the bill to give the N. R. A. an
other two-year lease of life is under
discussion. Many members of Con-
gress have been waiting for a long
time to crack down on the Blue
Eagle, and now they have their
chance. It is the spokesmen of small
business and of organized labor by
whom the most vehement assaults will
be launched The oppressive" and
"monopolistic" character of the code
system and the antitrust laws will
come in for plent- of vitriol. N. R. A.
will, of course, have defenders. as
well as aSSailantS. In the end there's
no doubt that President Roosevelt's
request for extension of the act will
be granted, but important amend
mentS are in prospect. The admins
tration realizes that there are numer-
Gus holes that need plugging, espe-
cially in the field of enforcement. But
F. D. r. stands firmly on the conten-
tion that N. r. A. has proved boon
that must be perpetuated. The whole
proposition is now up to Capitol Hill
and the White House waits to see
what congressional wisdom can do to
perfect mechanism hitherto largely
experimental.
AS it promises to be many a day
before lawyers themselves comprehend
the true inwardness of the Supreme
Courts ruling in the gold cases, MIR.
and Mrs. Average Citizen can hardly
be blamed for being in a state of
fog about the technical implications
of the whole business. The prompt
ness with which excitement has sub
sided indicates that just as the coun-
try survived going off the gold stand
ard and dollar devaluation and came
to realize that neither action affected
the daily lives and pocketbooks of
Uncle Sans children, so it will
weather the latest monetary hula
baloo and soon forget it.
X y X
Andrew w. Melons plans to estab-
lish a $50,000,000 museum of art in
Washington take no one by surprise
who is familiar with the former Sec
retary of the Treasury's passion for
rare pictures. Throughout his II
years in the cabinet it used to be said
that "Uncle Andy" had only two real
hobbies, neither of which had to do
with Federal finance. One was his
old masters; the other, the project to
in, q No CT
ernment public buildings which were
provided for while he was In Office. His
paintings and the Capital magnificent
we're Melons all-time enthusiasms.
Intimate friends have long known of
his desire to do something big for
Washington in connection with his
art treasures.
To cope with the deluge of Town.
send plan communications some men,
bers Of Congress are sending out form
letters Of reply. Here's what Repre-
sentative Compton I. White, Demo-
crat of Idaho, is saying: "Your COM
munication with reference to the
Townsend plan has been received. A
bill embodying the provisions Of this
plan has been introduced in the
House and is now being consid-
cred by the Ways and Means Com
mittee. I am in favor of a national
old-age pension plan that will support
the men and women Of this country
who have reached the age Of retire.
ment in comfort ease and security by
giving them an adequate pension. I
am working to bring the Townsend
plan for consideration to the floor Of
the House, where practical and
feasible old-age pension law can be
worked out and passed. I assure you
I shall support and vote for such a
measure"
Mariner 8. Eccles, governor Of the
Federal Reserve Board, has been in
New York during the past few days.
Wall Street gossip was to the effect
that he came to Lower Manhattan
as a missionary for the new banking
bill, which proposes, among other
things, considerably to enlarge the
poVer Of the Federal Reserve Board.