The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-02-15
THE NEW DEAL
 IN WASHINGTON
At Hast We May Find Out How Many Are JObless . Congressman Beaten When He Tries to Be Thrifty.
By RODNEY BUTCHER fDcnpocrat PapcF) Washington
 CoFPespOndent

0I AsVO4S6A OO OAAASAS
 fDennocrat PapeF1 Washington
 Correspondent
 Wnshfneton, Feb. IS. IS - After five years of depression. in which 1iiionployment has constantly been the gravest of all national prob- ioms, there's a chance that the gov- Grnment will try to find out how many unemployed there really are
 Harry Hopkins and Secretary Frances Perkins seemed determin- cd on an unemployment census m ffIe early days of the New Deal. Ap- parently they forgot about 1t. An uneaSy feeling has always pre- vailed that 1t might be easier tc meet and golvo the problem If It were first measured.
 Tn fact, Senator Bob Wagner of New York was proposing census of the Jobless six years ago, even before the depression.
 Senator Edward P. Costigan Of Colorado expects to introduce ar1- other such bill before long, hoping to end a situation where unemploy- 1nent estimates range from eight to 14 millions.
 Secretary of Commerce Dan Roper, boss of the census bureau. 1s anxious for an unemployment poll. The administration hasn't swung its support to the idea. be- cause the census would cost about 91S.O00,00O. That matter of money seems the only factor of indecision
 Costigan favors detailed anal yBis of the sltuatlon--with break downs to measure such phases as s.arA r1 Aef hn tor, seasonal unemployment, and shifts from industry to industry.
 A. F. of L. figures for December estimated the unemployed at 11.529,000.
 Economy Beats Durgin
 The Democrats lost an election the other day and reports to national headquarters indicate 1t was because one of their congress- men tried to be statesman.
 In November Congressman Fred Durgin of Indiana was defeated by Fred Landis, Republican, by about 10000 votes. Landis died and in the subsequent special election Durgin lost by 5000 to Charles A. Halleck.
 Durgin had introduced a bill to consolidate rural mail routes While other congressman were whooping it up for more federal spending. Durgin unwisely sought economy. Rural letter carriers, jobs endangered, lobbied against him..
 Travelling around as those fel- lows do, they're dangerous force and are credited here with Durgin's defeat.
 But Durgin and his friends say he might have won even at that If the AAA hadn't been so dilatory in sending out corn-hog benefit cheeks. Claiming that by election time, Jan. 29, few of the November payments had been made, they ac- cuse Republicans" in AAA of [ sabotage.
 Frank Fefends Stephens | Jerome Frank, brilliant gen. Arai counsel of AAA until he was bounced out for too much lib- NraIism, recently wrote this column 1 Co take issue with charges by other i New Dealers that Assistant Att !. tbrmey General Harold Stephens had bungled presentation of the ssi10k oil" case which the govern ment lost in the supreme court.
 My own opinion Is that Harold Stephens not only is one of the Rbiest lawyers in the country, but that he made in his brief and in his argument the ablest presenta- tion of the oil case that could have been made" says Frank.
 Everybody knows Stephens is the ab1est of the D. J. lawyers. But the D. J. needs more like him.
 aH 4n1t Int ested in court defense of the 38 hour week in the cotton garment industry later say they were so sore at the way a D. J. attorney presented their case in district sn- preme court that they wanted to throw pop bottles at him.
 That isn't sol" one of h e m Missed as the lawyer made a state- ment. He spoke 50 loud that you could hear him all over the court room and received a surprise look from the Judge-who, however, de- cided for the government.
 Boost Collins for Job
 The whole Mississippi congress kdonai delegation has endorsed ex- Congressman Ross Collins, liberal Aemocrat, for a federal job of some Kind.
 Even Senators Pat Harrison and Theodore Bilbo, his recent political enemies, joined in. Collins gave up his house seat last year to run unguccessfully against Senator Stephens, Harrison's man, and Bill bo.)
 Mississippi politicians have way of enthusiastically endorsing each other for appointive jobs in an effort to reduce the elective competition at home. Collins would complicate the senatorial situation If he opposed Harrison next year.
 Collins, in congress, became an expert on the war department and es sometimes said to know m e shout the army than anyone else en town. The generals dislike him heartily. kCopyright 1895, NEA Service Incl