Evening star., 1939-08-20
Capital SideIights
By Viii p. Kennedy

Miss Mary Jane Rabaut has gone home
to Detroit to take charge of the family
home and her younger brothers and
sisters While her parents, Representative
and Mrs. Louis c. Rabaut, are touring
Europe. Mary Jane. while on duty in
Washington, works for her father and
lives at a hotel She is learning to plav
an accordion, and practice in a hotel
room isn't what might be called popular
with other guests. So, after dinner she
has had to walk back to her fathers
offlce and practice there-Which some
times attracts the attention not only of
Capitol policemen and charwomen but
OF many other occupants of the office
building.
Under the caption "Crackerland in
Washington" Representative Leslie c.
Arends of Illinois, in a recent publica-
ton, paid tribute to his colleague. Rep
resentative Everett M. Dirksen. He said
that Minority Leader Joe Martin is the
strateglst of the Republican organiza
ton in the House. but that Dirksen is the
field general" He added that ''Dirksen
is one of the est-informed men in either
party and in either branch of Congress"
representative Bob Mouton of Lou
lslana has gone back home to work hard
on his great contribution to development
OF the Southland-impyovem of al
ready famous Les Jardins de Mouton at
Lafayette which he originated. This is
one of the show places of that region.
The United States Botanic Garden au-
thorltleS-David Lynn. architect of the
Capitol. and William A Frederick, en-
gineer and landscape architect in charge
OF the Capitol grounds-are going to Join
Representative Mouton in a couple of
weeks and plan further improvements in
these famous gardens Mr. Mouton is a
hortlculturist by profession, owns and
operates the largest aZalea and camellia-
japonica nurseries in this country and
has lectured all over the United States
to garden clubs and horticulture schools
on these plants. He formerly operated a
business and language school, was COL
lector of customs in Haiti was inter-
prefer and intelligence officer with the
first outfit of United States Marine Avia-
ton overseas and Mayor of his home
town. He is cooperating in providing
an unequaled collection of azaleas and
camilla -japonicas in the Botanic Gar
den.
The Federal Government supplied one
fifth of the entire revenues of the 48
States last year, in the form of grants
in-aid. In recent years some of these
Federal grants have been used to finance
such new State activities as old-age as
sistance and unemployment compensa-
ton.
Two State universities-New Hamp-
shire and South Dakota-have estab-
lished new bureaus in governmental re-
search, which will serve as clearing
houses for local and State governmental
problems. There are now approximately
100 departments, Institutes or other agen-
cies connected with universities engaged
in fact-finding about governments.
-
Representative (and former Governor)
Ralph o. Brewster of Maine is heading
a Nationwide drive to develop more ade-
quate utilization of the potato-growing
industry started by Bishop Fenwick when
ne imported shipload of Irish immi-
grants and started them growing the one
crop with which they were familiar, in
Aroostook County, Me. Through this
drive Representative Brewster hopes to
get for the consuming public uniform
sized white potato. The culls could be
utilized in the manufacture of starch,
chemicals, alcohol and plastic materials
He claims that the white potato is the
largest vegetable crop in the United
States-around 375,0OO,0OO bushels an
nually, and that Maine is the chief pro-
ducing State for late, or main crop
around 44,000 900 bushels.