The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1939-07-06
OUR CONGRESSMAN
News Letter Written for The Ely Miner by
WILLIAM A. PITTENGER
Member of Congress- Eighth Minnesota District

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upon an embargo against furnishing
supplies to those countries is automatic.
If, as claimed, the President will insist
upon the kind of legislation he wants,
then no one can predict when Con-
gress will adjourn. The Senate is wait
ing for the House to act on this matter
before taking up any neutrality
measures.
Transportation QuestiOn-From time
to time there have been occasional re-
marks about legislation to put all
forms of transportation under the In
terstate Commerce Commission. This,
of course, includes transportation on our
rivers and our Great Lakes. During
June, progress has been made towards
preparing such a bill and reporting
same to the House. 1t is due most any
time and may come before June 30th.
No more important legislative develop
ment has happened during June and
every American citizen is vitality af-
fected by the question of what it costs
to have freight hauled; whether it be
by water, rail- or truck. This matter
will occupy prominent part in Con-
gresSional activities during July.
Duluth Superior Bridge Bill-Work is
going forward in connection with this
bill which was introduced in the House
of Representatives on May %, 1885,
This bill offers the first real oppor-
tunity that the people of Wisconsin and
Minnesota have had for free toll
bridge between the two states. More
about this later
More Pump Priming-One of the
latest administration" moves is a plan
for $3,860,OO0,OO0 for self -Hquidating
projects and other Government plans
to combat the depression. This pro-
posed new spending program for the
most part does not appear popular with
members of either the House or the
Senate.
The Hibbing School Band-Outstand
ing during this session of Congress was
the visit on June 10Th, to the City of
Washington, of the Hibbing School
Band, comprised of forty school boys
and forty school girls. Through efforts
of Sidney Sarff, president of the Min
nesota State Society at Washington,
the Columbia Broadcasting company
featured the band over a nationwide
hook-up, the concert taking place on
the steps of the Nations Capitol and
being attended by many Minnesota
people, including the Senators and
members of Congress.
The 81 millionth car put out by the
Ford Motor company at Detroit recently
was the center of intense popular in
terest while it stopped here a short
time on cross-country run from the
New York Worlds Fair to the San
Francisco exposition
I was among the many who took a
look at this car, not because 1 had not
seen it before-but the fact that it was
No. 100000 of Mr.. Fords wonderful
creations lent significance to it that
greatly intrigued me.
AS I stood there looking at this
latest product of the motor industry, I
it had turned out to be in the pro-
motion of human progress and general
welfare. For one thing, in the short
span of only three decades, since Henry
Ford conceived the idea of making in
dividual travel available to the masses,
the automobile industry has grown to
be one of the biggest in this country, if
MI fhn ~ r., Il - 41,oA
it has given rise to a number of new
and highly important industries from
the standpoint of greatly enhanced ma
tional wealth
In my opinion, the motor industry
would still have been in its infancy,
probably never got under way at all,
had its originators been compelled to
obtain governmental sanction for their
enterprise. In all likelihood We would
never have had mass production of
motor vehicles, nor the telephone, tele-
graph, radio, motion pictures, talkies
television, etc., had their inventors and
promoters been denied the opportunity
to exploit their projects among their
fellow men. 1t was under this Ameri-
can principle of free and untrammeleo
individual enterprise that made then
development possible and profitable.
Thus society has been greatly en-.
riched and the general welfare i'm.
mensely expanded because private in
itlation was given free play and tn,
individual permitted to assume tn,
risks enherent in launching new en-
terprises. Of course, not all of the nev
inventions proved equally useful AM
necessary nor all such investment
profitable. Human nature being wha
it is, there were bound to be fax