Evening star., 1936-01-15
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

uary 20. The affair promises to develop
into q Landon-for-P fove feast.
The Governor to date has put forward
no farm program of his own. He has
Just been quoted as saying that "a. A. A.,
sound or unsound as it may have been
in some Of its long -time, permanent i'm
plications. nevertheless was the only
major agency operating to meet the ad-
mitted farm emergency" On that basis
Landon says he and Kansas gave the
lately departed full cooperation" His
only published comment on the Supreme
Courts action in scrapping A. A. A. is
that the decision necessarily caused
confusion and, to many, disappointment.
Pacific Coast political observers declare
that whether California remains loyal to
Roosevelt this year depends mainly on
Senator Hiram Johnsons campaign
activities. It's generally assumed he will
be for the President as in 1882. Despite
@. o. p. claims, based mainly on business
discomfort with the New Deal, that Cali
fornia will 60 Republican this year, the
consensus is that if johnson stumpS the
State for the Democratic ticket California
will remain in the Roosevelt column. The
first California contest is due at the
primaries on May 5, when the E. P. I. G.
wing of the Democratic party will attempt
to elect slate of Philadelphia convention
delegates pledged to production for
use" plank in the national platform.
Senator McAdoo has been conferring at
the White House regarding the California
situation.
X
Supreme Court Justice Harlan F. Stone
manifests his abiding interest in the
Bureau of Investigation by occasionally
dropping in at Oman headquarters in
the Department Of Justice on his way
home from Capitol Hill for friendly
visit with Director ]. Edgar Hoover and
to keep abreast of bureau activities. 1t
was soon after Mr. Stone became Attor-
ney General in 1924 that, at his personal
instigation. Mr.. Hoover was put in charge
of the bureau. During the intervening
IL years the Supreme Court justice has
never ceased to take pride in its develop
ment as a major branch of the Federal
law enforcement system. To Justice
Stones original initiative are attributed,
in large degree, the innovations and
practices which have progressively raised
the Bureau of Investigation to its present
high level of service and efficiency.
Friends of national defense, contem-
plating the extraordinarily large naval
appropriations proposed in the current
budget, believe that negative naval con-
ference results at London assure full and
prompt approval Of the half -billion-odd
dollars asked for. The high figures are
due to the fact that Uncle Sam has at
last embarked upon regular program
to complete treaty fleet by 1912. With
limitation prospects smashed by Japan's
demand for abandonment of the 5-5-3
ratio, big navy plans probably face no
serious opposition in Congress.
Sir Arthur Willert, former Washington
correspondent Of the London Times and
recently q visitor In the Capital, is the
author Of q book entitled What Next
in Europe7" Just OF the press In New
York. It's frankly disquieting account
of menacing conditions lover there" but
ends up on the optimistic note that "the
democratic countries still have time for
q supreme effort to put things right and
to devise some means Of tolerable COM
munity life with their dictatorial neigh
tosssrisAt. isssJ