The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-06-05

labor disputes bill plus the IVA and AAA amendments, thus making possible quick-wind up of congress.
 Liberal Fighters
 Strongly opposing this advice was u group headed by General Hugh Johnson and Felix Frank furter. They told the president that the wise and conservative thing to do was not yield an inch but take the offensive and fight all the way down the line.
 This militant element warned against abandoing the MIRA. They cited the fact that the labor department already was overwhelmed with complaints of wage reductions and h our in. creases. Unless the administra. ton acted with yigor, they held, more and more employers would make similar cuts--with tIc cer- tain result of widespread labor disturbances.
 At present, the militants argued, the aonus of killing the MIRA is on the supreme court. But if month or two hence nothing has been done to coun- ter theb low. they argued that public resentment would be against the administration.
 To this school of thought the president gave complete agree .ment. After listening to Johnson expound these views, he re. marked:
 "Hugb, it's good to find one of my advisers who still has fight in him."
 It was Felix F'rankfurter, Har- yard law expert on the history of the supreme court, who ex- plained to Roosevelt the long series of opinions which 1t had given in the past to block child labor abolition, minimum wage and various reforms.
 This was the backgrOund to the presidents militant action.
 The consensus of opinion now is that the supreme courts E--tilation of the MIRA has been the biggest boomerang in Roose- velt''s favor since the beginning of the New Deal
 Infant Care
 The bill introduced by Con- necticut's Representative Will liam Higgins to prohibit the dissemination of birth control information through the mails has added to the mail problem of already overburdened mem. bers of congress.
 Foes of the bill are deluging the legislators with demands that they oppose 1t. Because most of these letters come from individuals who take q keen i'm. tercst in public affairs, most congressmen and senators are careful to answer them.
 But not Jim Quinn. Pennsyl- vania democrat, a strong sup. porter of the bill.
 He merely sends the writer copy of the children's bureau pamphlet entitled Infant Care"
 Merry-G Round
 Alvin Owsley, newly appointed American minister to the Irish Free State, married into the Mason jar family. His wife is the daughter of Frank c. Ball, famous Indiana fruit jar king. One-time president of the Amer. ican Legion. Owsley has a mag. nificent home in Dallas, Texas, is a hand-shaker par excellence. The state department is becoming increasingly irked at the way President Trujillo is tyrannizing Santo Domingo. A situation similar to that in Cuba Is brewing rapidly. Com missioner Jim Landis of tho SEC is wearing a rueful face these days. He served for some time in the federal trade commission post once held by Commissioner Humphries. Now the supreme court has ruled that Humphries could not be busted: so the question arises whether Lands will have to refund the salary he drew during this period. What makes the situation doubiy irritating is the fact that Lan- dis wrote the opinion for Roose- welt by which he ouhted Humphrles. Even Landis's old boss. Justice Brandeis, over. ruled him.
 (Copyrialt. fDsB. hy United