The daily independent., 1937-07-30
NM MlAh

Blamed for Rebellious Congress;
FDR'S Contact Man Irked Many
BY Failure To Call A Spade A
Spade; Housing Bill Again In
Danger As Useless Rival Bill Is
Advanced; CCC, With Quota
Increased Has Difficulty Get
ting New Recruits.
Washington-When the history
of the present Congressional seS-
sion finally is written, some res
possibility for it headaches and
inanities will be placed in the lap
of Charlie West, smiling, back
humping contact man on Capitol
Hill for the President.
Every Presidential contact man
has a tough time. Love does not
permeate his path. He cannot stop
en- route to pick buttercups lest
he feel the imprint of congress
sional foot on the seat Of his
pants.
But Charlie West, by and large,
has done a little worse than u.s.
ual.
Charles trouble seems to be an
irrepressible addiction to soft
soap. He has forgotten the art OF
calling a spade a spade. For in
stance, after the death Of Senator
Bachman, he told Representative
McReynolds of Tennesse that he,
! McReynolds, was sure to be ap-
pointed in his place. West lndl-
Gated that he learned this at the
White House during the conVer-
Sation between the President and
Governor Browning of Tennessee,
and that the information was alb
solutely accurate.
Later. when McReynoldS men
toned to colleagues his expected
senatorial appointment, Repre-
| sentative Jack Dempsey of New
Mexico, wishing to let his friend
down easy, said:
We'll, Mac. I've heard just the
opposit. 1 heard it was Berry who
was getting the job"
We'll, l got it from West" re-
piled McReynoldS, "and he cer-
tainly ought TO KNOW
Yes. Mac" suggested Demp
Sey but maybe the President
thinks you're too valuable where
you are as chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee"
1t turned out that Dempsey was
right and West wrong. George
Berry was appointed Senator from
TenneSSee-at ROOSeVelt'S Sug-
geStion. Naturally McReynoldS
was sore He felt that West had
double crossed him. And when the
Presidents controversial relief bill
came before the House he made
an impaSSiOned speech against it.
Housing Bill
Considering the fact that it
ranks as major legislation Senator
Wagner'S loW-cOSt housing bill
has had harder shedding than al
most anything on the New Deal
calendar. .,.
Kicked from pillar TO post for
three years. the measure finally
was reported by the Senate Labor
Committee last week and the way
appeared clear for speedy enact
ment. The White House was be-
hind it and everything looked
rosy.
But this hopeful prospect, it
now develops, is limited only to
the Senate. On the House side,
the situation is far from cheerful.
Representative Frank Hancock
of North Carolina is author Of a
rival bill, suddenly has demanded
hearings on Wagncr'S measure
despite the long and extensive
hearings already held by the Sen
ate.
Actually, Hancock is trying to
kill the bill. UneSs he can be per-
suaded to drop his obstruction or
be overridden by his committee
colleagues. he will succeed in
Scuttling it.
His own personal measure.
largely a copy of Wagner'S care
fully prepared proposal with some
qualifying sections tackled on to it.
hasn't a ghost of a chance. He
introduced it in January and for
seven months did not make a
move to hold hearings on it. But
now that Wagner's bill has a good
chance to get through. he sudden
ly is raising clamor for hear
ingS.
Secretly backing Hancock is
Chairman Henry Steagall of the
House Banking Committee. The
Alabaman is co-spon5or of the
Wagner bill, but under cover he |
is hostile to it and is quietly work.
ing hand-in-glove with Hancock
to prevent its passage.
Jim Watson
Sunny jim Watson. former
U. S. Senator from Indiana and !
Republican floor leader. is about !
to stage a return to public life
as a New Deal appointee. Sena-
tor Charles McNary, who succeed |
ed Watson as G. o. P. boss, has
recommended him as the Republi-
can member of the federal COM
mission assisting New York auth
critics in the construction of their |