Evening star., 1937-01-03
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

Clearly outstanding among all the new
incoming members of Congress is Henry
Cabot Lodge, jr., of Beverly, Mass, who
succeeds to the Senate seat held 145
years ago by his great-great-grandfat
George Cabot, native of Salem Q75D =.
Senator -elect Lodge represents the best
type of the younger generation in ma
tional politics-a noble leader of the
Young Republicans-who holds his office
with too much dignity for mean patron
age-bickering party squabbling. He comes
in with the traditions of the Office bred
into his bone and absorbed into his un-
usual intellect and zeal for service And
ne has important and human-interest
work cut out for him.
Here is something Of his background,
with constant Harvard influence
George Cabot was member Of the State
provincial congress, a delegate to the
State constitutional convention, which
ratified the Constitution. he came to the
United States Senate as a Federalist, was
appointed first Secretary of the Navy in
the cabinet of John Adams. but declined:
a member of the executive council of
Massachusetts, delegate to the famous
Hartford Convention and served as its
presiding ofhcer. Then along came his
great-grandSon, Henry Cabot Lodge-one
OF the most distinguished and ablest
among all those who ever served in the
United States Senate-editor of the North
American Review when only % years old,
two years before he graduated from
Harvard and three years before he was
admitted to practice law; lecturer on
American history at Harvard when he
was 26. editor of the International Review
when he was 29. lecturer at Lowell Insti-
tute when 80, author of many historical,
biographical and political works. served
in the State Legislature and in Congress
both as Representative and Senator from
1887 till his death in 1924 He was chair
man of the Republican National Con-
vention, in Philadelphia, in 1900. at Chi
cago in 1908 and 1920: chairman of the
Platform Committee in the Republican
convention of 1904 and 1916, held many
important commissions, including mem
bership in the Conference on Limitation
Of Armaments in 1921.
And now-Henry Cabot Lodge, jr., who
has two special desires on entering the
Senate in the footsteps of these distin-
guished ancestors. One is appointment
to the Foreign Relations Committee, of
which his grandfather was so long and
ably chairman, and the other to have the
privilege of using the desk that was for
so long his grandfather's. Neither of
these desires seem likely of early fulfill
ment. The Republicans with a mere
corporal's guard in the Senate must
suffer a serious reduction of their quota
on the important committees, with the
result that instead of vacancy on For
eign Relations to which Lodge might be
assigned, two hold-over Republicans must
reluctantly relinquish their places on that
committee.
Senator Frederick Hale of Maine now
has the desk which was used by Senator
Lodge and hates to surrender it to his
young colleague. but because even Sena-
tors are sentimental and because of the
very extraordinary sentimental claim of
the young namesake Senator Lodge for
his grandfather's desk-as new family
tradition-it is believed that Senator
Hale will most graciously relinquish his
hold.
Senator Lodge will probably be as
signed to the Committee on Education
and Labor, Of which his senior Senator,
David I. Walsh, was chairman until he
assumed Craftsmanship Of the more i'm
portant Naval Affairs Committee. But
Walsh still retains membership on Edu-
cation and Labor, while Representative
William P. Connery, also Of Massachu-
setts is chairman of the House Labor
Committee-so Massachusetts, will be
strongly intrenched on labor questions in
both House and Senate.
There is human interest in this pros
pective assignment for Lodge, because
during the campaign at rally in New
Bedford, Mass, mill girl endeavored to
hand the President a note. She was
brushed aside by the police. but the
President sent his personal bodyguard to
get the note. 1t pleaded with the Presi-
dent to do something for us girls" say
ing that their pay had been reduced from
$11 or $12 to 81 to Sc. At recent press
conference the President announced that,
responsive to his appeal, his fight for
minimum wages, maximum working
hours and abolition of child labor had
lust begun. He said that obviously some
thing must be done to restore the working
conditions that existed under the Blue
Eagle of the N. r. A. Now Senator Lodge
will be in the thick of any legislative
action on labor questions, and the
Presidents minimum wage and child
labor proposals bark back to Grandfather
Lodge, who was a pioneer in that field,
having proposed constitutional amend
ment early in his congressional career.