Evening star., 1936-02-07

The slow legislative pace Of Congress
to date-snails pace is the word for it
is matter of wide remark. The Senate
during the month of January was in
session only II days-total time, Al hours
55 minutes. The total legislative time of
the House in January was 81 hours 48
minutes. The bonus bill is the only
important enactment to date. To all
outward appearances Congress is loaf1ng
on the job. The explanation, however,
is that Congress is waiting for its march,
ing orders from the White House. Mr..
RooSevelt's annual message to Congress
was devoid of recommendations except
with reference to neutrality legislation.
The administrations new neutrality
resolution has already come to grief.
The tax question is awaiting presidential
decision and Treasury recommendations.
Regular appropriation bills are going
ahead at the present session at the
normal rate of speed. The present lack
of orders to Congress from the PreSi-
dent is open to two interpretations. One
is that Mr.. Roosevelt does not know
yet what he wants from Congress at
this session. The other is that the
President Is deSignedly delaying his
orders until Congress has talked itself
out and until some prospect of adjourn
ment is in sight, and presumptively Con-
greSs is in q mood to make quick work
of new bills without over-much examina-
tion or debate to get through and get
home.
Senator Borah's decision to submit his
fr rlor r
referendum in Ohio by putting a Borah
slate into the convention primaries in
the Buckeye State gives point to his de-
mand that Republican delegates carry
to the convention explicit mandates from
their respective States and thereby make
sure that the convention nominee is the
truly popular choice of the party. The
Borah thesis is that "uninstructed" con-
vention delegates are conducive to back
room political manipulation by the
"bosSes" The notion, however, that in
structed delegations will preclude polit-
ical trading for the nomination at the
convention is an illusion. Instructed
delegations, so far as 1886 is concerned,
will mean only that Borah, Hoover, Lam
don, Knox and Vandenberg and other
aspirants each has bloc of votes, none
of them anywhere near enough to NOM
mate. Such a situation is directly pro-
motive of political trading rather than
the reverse.
ban on candid camera" photos OF
the President was issued at the White
House this week. Hereafter only spe-
cially posed pictures of Mr.. Roosevelt
will be permitted. The picture censor
ship announcement was not worded so
bluntly as this, but that was its purpose
and effect. The announcement merely
said that henceforth White House pho
tographers would be limited in their pic
ture making to "shots" from cameras en-
mounted on tripods, and to only one
"fiash." Hereafter the President will not
be caught unawares by the picture TAX
ers, minus his CHEEKY smile. A Roosevelt
photo widely published last week. show
ing the President at his desk with sag
ging shoulders, eyes closed and hand to
face, is said to have been the straw
which broke the camefs back. Some
previous candid camera photos have been
viewed by the Presidents staff as 'un-
hattering" II not downright unfriendly.
The new camera censorship is perfectly