The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1938-05-19
On Capitol Hill
Labor Big Factor in Victories of
Pepper and Hill-TwO Anti-New
Deal Senators Use Same Stuff
In Economy" Speeches.
By GEORGE l.. KNAPP


ator Claude Pepper of Florida, seek
ing second term in the Upper House
at Washington and running on a
straight, uncompromising New Deal !
platform, got nearly 60 per cent Of
the total vote at the primary. And
that total votes more than $4,000
greater than the one cast in the same
state in the primary of the Presiden-
tial year of 1885,
Here are two things that need ex-
planning. Take the second first.
This is the first election since Flor
ida abolished the poll tax Before this,
the would be voter had to present his
tax receipt to get his ballot This year,
they were free from that Outworn
piece of Oligarchy. People long dis
franchised for poverty swarmed to the
polls; and friends of Senator Pepper
who know Florida say that he got at
least 80 per cent of that "new vote"
Why not? After all, who needs
New Deal more than the citizen SO
poor that he is disfraSchised by poll
taxi?
This explains the total vote; and
partly explains why Pepper got more
than twice as many votes as his near
est opponent. There are other factors
in that smashing victory, and the big
$ gest of them was labor.
Labor went down the line for Sen
ator Pepper. The State Federation of
Labor indorsed him. So did the rail
road unions; who also sent into Flor
ida special edition of their Wash
ington paper, Labor. The CIO has a
small membership in Florida; but evil
IDENTIFY, most of those who were there
cast their ballots for Pepper.
X X X
1t should be noted here that Lister
Hill, elected Senator from Alabama
by vote of more than two to one to
fill the vacancy left by the appoint
ment of Hugo l.. Black to the Supreme
Court, also ran on straight New
Deal platform, and also had the united
support of labor. The A. F. of L..
unions were for him; the railroad
unions we're for him; the mine work
ers and the steel workers of the CIO
were for him.
The victories of Hill and Pepper are
two reasons why the wage-hour bill
was taken out Of the Rules Commit
tee to a certain victory in the House
and very probable enactment at this
session. Both CIO and A. F. of l..
are behind this bill-and the news
coming up from Alabama and Florida
showed that even in the South, labor
can deliver the goods.
x X X
There ought to be more teamwork
among the anti-New Deal Senators
1t is really mistake for two of them
to use exactly the same stuff from
outside sources on the same day. The
chaps who set up and read proof on
the Congressional Record cannot help
noticing it; and sooner or later, their
information gets out.
On March %, 1888, Senator Byrd of
Virginia was giving one of his well
known economy speeches. At the bot
tom of the first column of page 1922
in the Record comes this sentences:
"There are several thousand dis
bursting officers of the United States
On the same day, Senator Burke of
Nebraska was giving one of his well
known economy speeches. At the bot
tom of the second column on page
5627 of the Record, comes this SEN
tence:
"There are several thousand dis
bursting officers of the United States
From this point on for a page, the
two speeches are identical, except
that Byrd used quotations from the
U. S. Code while Burke merely re-
ferred to them. In one place, BYRD
says certain" and Burke read it
extreme; and no one can tell which
was right.
Senators who specialize in hating
the New Deal really ought not to get
their wires crossed that way. 1t is
likely to start horse laugh.