Evening star., 1939-04-09
Capital SideIights
Bu Will P. Kennedy


since Representative Fred Bradley of
Michigan threw feast for his colleagues
as an off-shoot of the Escanaba JAM
boree celebrating the spawning run of
the silvery fish. Representative Bradley
used his own plane as an air-taxi in
bringing distinguished guests and some
of the choicest food supplies to Wash
ington. For years it has been a practice
for members of Congress to advertise
the products of their district by dis
tributing some of the select crops among
their colleagues-sugar, potatoes, prunes,
apples, cheese. peaches, oysters corncob
pipes. and what have you?' Fred
Bradley went them all one better-he
furnished feast, and fed his guests all
State products to show how self-sustain-
ing Michigan is Here is partial list
of the edibles. besides smelt: Baked beans
from Saginaw, potatoes, Escanaba; ap-
ples Bangor whole kernel golden BAN
tam corn, Grand Rapids; cherries Free
mont and Traverse City, red raspberries,
East Jordan; vegetarian vegetable soup,
St. Joseph; spiced peaches, New Era;
cheese, Carney; beets. Norway: catsup,
Lake Odessa: butter. Norway; coffee sub
stitute, Battle Creek: salt and mineral
water, st. Louis: grapejuice. Pennington,
apple juice. Traverse City: rutabagas,
Sault Ste. Marie; green peas Rudyard,
and milk and buns, Detroit.
Representative Charles A. Plumley of
Vermont-an educator from away back"
is always alert to see the country ade-
quately informed regarding Vermont
achievements-and sound thinking. Now
he emphasizes what The Vermont Plan"
has done with regard to vital relief
problem. Just four years ago, he says,
the State Legislature passed and the
Governor signed the original Old-Age
Assistance Act in Vermont. Since then
the Vermont Old-Age Assistance Depart
ment has made more than 5000 grants
to needy persons over IS years of age
spent little more than S2,500000 and
had requests for assistance from nearly
$4,000 aged persons. w. Arthur Simpson,
director of this humanitarian system, who
has been Mr.. Plumley's guest, gives a
perience: "The principle of aid to the
aged is wise and just, and old-age as
sistance is here to stay unless 1t is be-
trayed by it's own friends in wanton mis-
handling There has been an alarming
tendency in many States to initiate pro-
grams of pensions for the aged with little
reference to the adjustment of grants to
ha individual Drov
humanitarian standpoint and exploited
as vote-catcher the old-age assistance
pension movements promise to headline
unsound fiscal policies for the Nation"
He emphasizes that NEEDY aged should
get the pension and funeral money, but
that the pension rolls should be held
down to those actually NEEDY" or the
system will bear too heavily on frac-
tional part of the people who will become
unable to support it and the whole system
will break down."
X v
The extraordinary spectacle of men,
Der of the United States Supreme Court
sitting in the Senate chamber listening
oNeSAeANSAS w VIC LldhA1lS VI lllc laws
which he has for many years helped to
administer discloses how deep is Asso-
ciate Justice James c. McReynolds' in
terest in the '1aw." He was Assistant
Attorney General IS years ago and later
Attorney General He Is now complet-
ing his 25th year on the Supreme Court
bench.
His home State-Colorado- re-
Gently paid well-deserved tribute to
the Grand Old Man" in the House,
Edward T. Taylor, chair
man Of the Appropriations Committee,
after IL years in the State Legislature
and 30 years in Congress; On behalf of
Chambers of Commerce Rep
Edwin c. johnson presented
Mr.. Taylor with gavel made from ma
terials gathered in the Black Canyon,
which, largely through Mr.. Taylor's
efforts has been preserved as national
park. The head of the gavel is of red
cedar thousands of years old; the handle
of mountain mahogany. 1t is inlaid with
polished stones from the canyon rims
ana gray and pink unfinished granite
from the canyon walls. It is orna-
mented and strengthened with bands Of
Colorado silver.