Evening star., 1935-06-23
CAPITOL
SIDELICHTS
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

From all parts of the country-from
induStrialiStS, school teachers, debaters,
labor and trade organizations financierS
and politicianS-have come requests for
a definition of The New Deal" The
definition is furnished by Senator
Edward r. Burke of Nebraska:
The New Deal" is an old deal-as old
as the earliest aspirations of humanity
for liberty and justice and good life. 1t
is old as Christian ethics, for baSically
its ethics are the same. 1t is new as
the Declaration of Independence was
new, and the Constitution of the United
States.
Its motives are the same; it voices the
deathleSs cry of good men and good
women for the opportunity to live and
work in freedom; the right to be secure
in their homes and in the fruits of their
labor; the power to protect themselves
against the ruthless and the cunning.
It recognizes that man is indeed his
brothers keeper: insists that the laborer
is worthy of his hire: demands that
justice shall rule the mighty as well as
the weak
It seeks TO cement our society-rich
and poor, manual workers and brain
workers-into a voluntary brotherhood
of free men, standing together, striving
together, for the common good of all.
The job of secretary to a Congress
man is not an easy patronage position
to be held for the salary while young
man or young woman is going through
college, just a flll-in job-it is much
more often life job, one of professional
standing, requiring expert knowledge
and specialized experience. More and
more members of Congress are coming
to realize that they are most fortunate
in securing the services of some veteran
secretary who has worked for years in
the House or Senate Office Building,
rather than to give the post to some
bright young high school or college
graduate or ambitious young newspaper
man from back home-who is handi-
capped from the start by having to learn
the ropes here.
And to their great credit it must be
stated that majority of the secretaries
to members of Congress are recognizing
the opportunity for service through con-
slant effort on their part to improve
their value to their present member and
to future members. Most of the best
study along specialized lines and many
of them are taking law courses-not to
branch out and hang up their shingle,
but because the practice of law is so
intimately related to the making of
laws, and so that they can be better
fitted to perform their duties as Secre-
tarieS or right-hand men to members OF
Congress.
Just one illustration. Miss Loretta M.
Coots, secretary to Representative Cole
of Maryland, has been congressional
secretary for many years-more than
decade-and is known as an unusually
good one. She was formerly clerk to
the House District Committee, but she
wasn't satisfied; she wanted to be in
creasingly valuable to her member, so
she took a four-year law course In
three years, just graduating from Co
lumbuS University. But that's not all
she had an average of 9233 for her
entire course, and she won prize for
the best thesis on the gold clause
decision.
So hats off to the ambitious congress
sional secretaries, who are bent on i'm
proving themselves so they can do their
fobS better.