The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-02-10

President Roosevelt, and the third
by the Supreme COURT Especially
now that the Supreme court has a
liberal majority! And especially as
Hugo L. Black, for years one of the
most rabid of the utility baiters, a
man who believed in reading pri-
vate kilograms of all and sundry in
the hope of discovering some utility
propaganda against the death sem
tence when that was pending in
congress, is now a member of the
COURT
Put in a Dilemma
So Willkie puts the government in
dilemma. To accept his offer is
to admit that government action is
and has been frightening investors
from putting their money into util-
tiles. That fastens the blame
squarely on the government fer the
failure of the utilities to spend that
billion dollars year additional for
the last three years, which Presi-
dent Roosevelt and the securities
commission and the. power commits
sion think they should have spent.
Further, it knocks the props from
under the Roosevelt contention that
the operating companies are all
right, but it is the wicked holding
companies, controlling the. operat-
ing companies, that prevented this
spending just as lobbying measure
to force repeal of the death SEN
tence.
But to reject his offer is to make
the actual picture verse, so far as
these same investors are con-
cernedl Which again puts the adj
ministration squarely on the spot as
being responsible for the depres-
sion, or at least one of the impor-
tant-according to its own ex-
pressed judgment--reasons for the
depression.
Surprise Reverse
Passage of the federal housing
bill, 1t was generally agreed at the
time President Roosevelt called the
special session of congress on No
vember 10 last, was the one thing
congress could do quickly to con-
tribute to the employment situation.
and to help business conditions.
The President had other plans in
mind for that session. One of them
was the wages and hours regulation
bill. Also he wanted to get a start
on his pet government reorganiza-
ton bill, and generally clear the
ground SO as to expedite the legis-
lative bill in the regular session.
But there came the surprise re-
verse for the wage-hour bill, and
no one ON Capitol Hill really thought
any progress would be made on the
reorganization bill. General opin-
ion was, as that special session con-
vened, that just two things would
be accomplished: (1) congress
would rush through the housing bill,
and Cd congress would crystalline
its ideas on the impending tax re-
vision.
But here is January of the regular
session slipping away, with the
special session passed into history,
and the housing bill just agreed up
on in conference. There were va
rious excuses, one of which was
that the father Of the bill, Senatort
Robert F. Wagner of New York.
has not been we'll.
The trouble was over one of those /
peculiar combinations of politics
and face-saving which so often arise
In any governmental body. In this
case it revolved around the amend
ment introduced by Senator Henry
Cabot Lodge, Jr., of Massachusetts,
and accepted by the senate. And it
was the discarding of this amend
nent that made conference agree
nent possible.
This amendment merely provided
hat no mortgages should be APP
proved and brought within the scope
If the act unless the prevailing rate
Of wages had been paid in the con-
struction Of the houses thus mort
gagged.
Not So Simple
Sounds fair and simple, doesn't
It? Well, SO 1t did to the senator's
he day young MIR. Lodge proposed
It. But it's far from simple. In
Eaets- the housing experts in the adj
stated frankly that the
if enacted, would sim
ply make their program unwork-
able-that congress might as well
1ot pass the bill at all.
Why was it so difficult to straight
en- this thing out? Face-saving is
he answer. Senators and represen-
tatives do not like to vote against
for prevailing wages"
1t would sound bad when the op-
ponent talked about it in the next
primary, or election. Too many
people would get the impression
hat the representative so voting
was against fair wages.
Worse than that, in this case, il
would put the union leaders and the
lobbyists in hole. The truth is
hat while the building trades have
been pretty tightly organized they
nave concerned themselves chiefly