Imperial Valley press., 1939-03-17
A Lot Of People
On Labor's S Spot
BY CHARLES p. STEWART


There are some few stunts at
which Washington can outdo any
other city in the country-perhaps
any other city in the world. For
instance, it is hard to think OF
another metropolis where u strike
of hotel employees can dislocate
everyday life as it does here. For
one thing the capital has, in pro-
portion to its size, prodigious
number of ultra-SWanky hostelries.
Naturally 1t does. 1t has very
large, more or less temporary and
financially rather Well-heeled pop
ulation-members OF congress and
government officials.
To great extent these folks are
hotel denizens. They patronize
first class hotels, too. And of course
the place everlastingly is full OF
tranSientS in the private life clas-
sification, in town in connection
with chickering's between Uncle
Samuel and their perfectly enor-
nous corporate interests. These
chaps include such personalities as
j. P. Morgan occasionally or Wen
dell Wilkie of Commonwealth and
Southern-mogulS of the premier
order. We even have kings and
queens at times. Royalties, to be
sure, usually are quartered at their
respective embassies, but they have
equerrieS and lords and ladies in
waiting who have to find hotel
accommodations These visitors re-
quire nobby surroundings.
All of which accounts for our
MayfloWers, Willards, Cartons, ct
cetera, the usual stopping places
of our comparatively short-time
guests, and for our Wardman Parks
and ShorehamS, residential hotels
mainly patronized by those who
stay for quite a while-the execu-
lively governmental bunch, Sena-
tors and representatives.
Such Folks Strike Bound.
Now, obviously it is most embar-
RAISING to the municipality to have
sojourners of this type strike bound
here, wholesale.
The heck of it is that there's no.
where else for them to go.
If Miami were to have a hotel
strike, vacationers could go to Palm
Beach instead, or stop off at At
lantic City or journey to southern
only possible concentration point
for people who are trying to tram
sact official business.
Kings and queens, foreign ennis
SarieS and domestic lobbyists per-
haps could have postponed their
respective arrivals when the Wash
ington hotel strike was declared.
But executive federal functionarieS
and legislators have to be here all
the time, anyway And at least
solid so per cent of them live in
hotels outlawed by the strikers.
True, the strike-bound hotel
arrangements Immediately asserted
that their various services were
not materially handicapped.
Nevertheless, pro-labor guest
at one of these inns was not in IA
vor of crashing the picket-line to
get into and out of his Washington
home. A few did it; they had to,
in preference to eating at lunch
stands and sleeping on park bench
es, but they didn't like it,
Cameras Caught EN-
The worst of it was that candid
cameramen snapped them doing
their picket line breaking. Such
pictures necessarily would figure
largely on next election day.
Senators Glass of Virginia and
Lewis OF Illinois defied the light
nlng. Theyre not particularly pop
ular with labor anyhow. Senator
ROBERT r. wagner (super-la -laborite)
snooped out and in through a post
ern exit and entrance of the Hotel
Shoreham, without physically cut
Cmg the picket line. He had to-t8
get down to the Capitol Building
and back again. Plenty of other
lawmakers undoubtedly did the
same thing without being spotted.
Lucky the legislator who has a
nome of his own in Washington or
its suburbs!
by the way, Phil Murray of the
united Mine Workers and Sidney
Hlilman OF the Clothing Workers
Two OF the chief lieutenants of Cen
eralissimo John L. Lewis of the
CIO in the national labor strife
were guests in one of Washington's s
Strike-bound hotels when the strike
proke out. They checked out in a
hurry. l don't know what refuge
tney hunted but it Just goes to
snow how miscellaneously side
Swlpng that strike was-all the wav
from ultra-capitalism to basic la.
bor-
NO wonder it gives Washington
hotels a headache.