Evening star., 1938-01-30
By Lucy Salamanca.

6 ~ NE HUNDRED MEN AND
A WOMAN" might will be
the theme here. for this
~ Is the story of q lone
woman who crashed the gates of the
most exclusive mems club" in the
world-the Senate OF the United States
Of America. And II the door swung
open initially at the magic sesame of
a Governors appointment, 1t was
showed open good and hard the second
time by none other than the capable
hand Of the woman who had earned
the right to second push by winning
in the public elections over such for
midable candidates as the war Gov
ernor Of Arkansas, the Democratic ma
tional committeeman and former
head Of the American Legion
However condescending fate may
have been in the first instance. there
Is only one explanation of Hattie w.
Caraways presence in the United
States Senate today. She is there be-
cause of her own record, because of
her proven ability to grasp intricate
legislative problems and deal with
them in the same straightforward and
intelligent manner that men of equal
ability bring to similar tasks, and be-
cause of her downright good common
sense. Chivalry no longer enters into
this political picture. Senator Cara
way is in Office today because she has
earned the right to that Office, and no
mistake about 1t
On February / the senior Senator
from Arkansas will celebrate her 60th
birthday anniversary. I don't think
she will mind my giving the number
of years away, for, despite the definite
charm Of her womanliness. there is no
coquetry about her Her dark brown
hair is parted plainly In the center
and drawn back into a frank little
knob. Her round, genial face, lighted
by gray eyes that snap and twinkle,
IS innocent Of makeup. In fact,
frank shine on the nose causes not
too much concern. And her unas-
Stunning. black clothes are roomy and
comfortable. Yet the charm and dis
tinction and appeal of this capable
member Of the upper house register
the moment one Is ushered into her
presence, hears her soft Southern
voice. gets glimpse Of her friendly,
unaffected smile, and listens to the
simple. direct and matter-of-fact ex-
plantations Of her ideas Of national
service.
NO MATTER what you may think
= of women in politics-and per-
sonally believe only the very excep-
tional woman has any place there
you can't help coming away from an
interview with this wholesome and ef-
flcient individual with little glow of
satisfaction just because she is sitting
in the Senate of the Nation, contribut-
ing her calm, cool judgment, her
honest, homely philosophy, her INTEL
ligently- considered decisions, to the
legislation Of the land. You may even
find yourself wishing that more men
among our legislators possessed SIM
liar qualities to an equal degree.
RETWEEN you and me, when Sen
ator Hattie Caraway consults with
a colleague nowadays, she's just being
nice about things-it Is certainly no
indication that the Senate's feminine
member is politically at sea. The
Senate's feminine member, in short,
has learned with remarkable celerity
and surety to stand firmly and square,
ly on her own two feet and ask no
odds of anybody. She has accom-
plished the remarkable feat of con-
vincing even dear old die-hards of
another era that she is United
States Senator, and the fact that at
the same time she happens to be
woman has nothing whatever to do
with it.
Even those who may have felt at
the outset that woman in the Senate
constituted an intrusion are the first
to concede today that Senator Cara
way is one Of the most popular men,
bers Of that august body. Colleagues
pause at her desk to exchange greet
ings, consult her with respect to
legislation, comment on the trend
Of events. There is no condescenSaon
In their attitude whatsoever. They
respect her as colleague, as q
fellow committee member. as we'll
informed and capable official.
She has never missed committee
meeting and she is a member Of such
important committees as Agriculture
and Forestry, Commerce and Library,
and is chairman of the Committee
on Enrolled Bills. She Is particularly
interested in commerce and agricul-
ture. for they most nearly affect her
State. These" she says matter of
factly and with qualification, "are
matters know something about. Just
by looking at me you ought to be able
to tell I'm q farm woman. And as for
flood control, Arkansas has more miles
Of streams than any other State IN
the Union"
It is, of course, fortunate for
Arkansas that she was born on q
farm and lived q rural life until her
marriage to Thaddeus Caraway, IN
1902. Even in Jonesboro, Ark, where
the young couple took up their abode,
she puttered about kitchen garden
with marked success Later she helped
her husband manage cotton planta-
ton. These experiences not only gave
her a pretty good grasp Of matters
agricultural, they developed the prac-
tical side of her nature-already well
In evidence.
SENATOR CARAWAY believes that
- all women are essentially prac-
tical. They've always had to BE-"
she explains. "since time began 1t