Evening star., 1938-04-11
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Not since the Senate rebuked Woodrow
Wilson over the treaty of Versailles and
the League of Nations has any President
of the United States ever been set back
on his ears so decisively as the House OF
Representatives has just manhandled Mr..
Roosevelt Its pigeonholing OF the re-
organization bill is comparable to the
revolt of the House inSurgent Repub-
lcans, under Representative NOW Sen
ator) Norris militant leadership, against
the Taft administration in 1910. Already
politicians are wondering whether his
tory is about to repeat itself-if the fate
that overlook Taft two years after that
event is in store for F. D. R. in 1910. The
Presidents defeat is far more prestige
shattering than the Supreme Court
knockout. Before the Senate killed the
judiciary bill. in consequence OF the
popular uprising against it, Roosevelt
had achieved practically everything he
wanted in the way of a reconstructed
bench and switch in its viewpoint. The
House reorganization vote fills his cup
of humiliation to overfloNing. To
certain degree, it was the Democratic
leadership that brought this about-a
mistake in strategy that may cost some
body dearly before the smoke of battle
clears away. In making the OConnor
recommitment motion a categorical vote
of confidence or mistruSt in the PreSl-
dent, Speaker Bankhead and Repre-
sentative Rayburn deliberately sub
jected Mr. Roosevelt to the possibility of
the crushing personal rebuff he was
doomed to suffer.
X x X
Men pass Institutions last. Whatever
fate has up her sleeve for Franklin De-
lano Roosevelt, the far more important
thing is the exhibition the lower branch
has just given that the Congress OF the
United States still lives. On record for
this President and all future Presidents,
to read and realize is the demonstrated
fact that the elected representatives OF
the people are ready, even at the risk
of committing political suicide, to stand
up for and safeguard the constitutional
rights of the legislative arm. Dictator
minded or not, Franklin Roosevelt has
planted deep in the hearts OF millions OF
his fellow citizens the fear that he seeks
one-man power violative OF the funda-
mentals of the American system. The
country plainly has put up with about as
much of that sort of thing as it intends
to. Reorganization enabled Congress to
invoke the spirit of Verdun and say at
last to the President: Thou shalt not
pass" Long after this historic day.
chroniclers will depict that aspect OF
events at the Capitol last week as para
mount.
New Dealers can thank their lucky
stars-if they have any left-that Uncle
Sam doesn't do business under a parlla-
mentary form of government. If he did,
Mr. Roosevelt and all the rest of them
would today be out of jobs. An adverse
vote of the national legislature, in such
countries as Great Britain, France,
Belgium and the Scandinavian democra-
cies, automatically requires defeated
administration to take to the tall tim
bers. M. Leon Blum was ousted from
his second premiership at Paris Friday
by exactly the kind of action in the
French Senate which was taking place
in the House at Washington and at al
most the identical moment. The Roose-
veltians are intrenched for another two
and half years. But their authority
in Congress is smashed beyond repair.
More than half Of the Senate Democrats
rebelled on reorganization, and one
third OF the House Democrats followed
suit.
Politically conscious Washington nat
urally is Immediately concerned with the
effects of Roosevelts successive major
legislative routs-Supreme Court, wages
and hours, and now reorganization-on
Democratic election prospects this year
and In 1910. The average trained OBJ