The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1940-09-18

Chairman Sol Bloom, respectively
of the rules and foreign affairs
committees.
They're both veteran lawmak-
ers.
Congressman SABBATH, the ia
Their Of the House." is Just ending
his seventeenth term; Congress-
man Bloom is ending his ninth
The formers a Chicagoan; the lat
ter's a New Yorker.
Two Vital Committees
The rules committee is the most
powerful group in the house OF
representatives. II virtually die
tates what proposed measures
shall come BEFORE the House fer
consideration. Generally speaking
1t can smother those 1t disap-
proves Of, and facilitate action on
those it favors.
Naturally such authority could
be abused by little coterie Of IA,
II 1t weren't exercised with the ut
most fairness. Chairman Sabath's
fairness has next to never been
questioned.
The present committees power
was vested mainly in the speaker
ship until Sthe chamber deprived
the speaker of 1t, back in Uncle
Joe" Cannon's day, and turned 1t
over to the rules committees
guardianship, and its chairman
practically runs the committee.
The senate has a rules commit
tee, too, but II hasn't the other
committees potency.
The foreign affairs committee
always is important, but just now,
with the international situation
what it's been under today's con-
ditions, its Importance Is ire
mendous.
The Pairs Backgrounds
SABBATH. by birth a Czechoslovak,
came to this country in his youth,
developed a law practice and grad
uated onto Chicago's municipal
bench. He was a local institution
in the city courts In my early
newspaper career in that city. It
literally mourned his loss as a
magistrate when he was elected to
congress, although it was itself
that elected him. He's congress
sional liberal even ante-dating
George w. Norris in the senate,
though I guess George preceded
him a trifie in the house Of repre-
sentatives.
Scarcely needful to say. he's a
Democrat-or he wouldn't be
committee chairman in a Demo-
cratic congress. He also is loyal
New Dealer, but no brain truster.
Sol Bloom always has been a
business man. And a darned sue
cesful one. He's one Of the richest
lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
He's a native Of Pekin, nj,
and he started with nothing. He
was q news kid subsequently in
San Francisco. Gradually land
not so blamed gradually he broke
into large scale commercial life.
landing presently in Gotham, be-
cause he wanted a major field to
operate in. He wasn't a mere
Spectator; he dealt In substan-
tialities.
But Sol. as he piled up his mil
lions, didn't turn reactionary He's
remained liberal; not. however,
overly radical. He's a New Dealer.
like SABBATH, but no excessive one.
He knows foreign affairs like
nobody's business. He knows EN-,
not by academic study, but as a
result Of having travelled all over
the world, drawing his own con-
illusions. He did this after he'd
made his money. Just to amuse
himself and family Then, having
graTtated into congress, and be-
ing already interested in the sub
ject, he slid automatically into the
Houses foreign affairs committee
and ultimately rose to its chair
msnship, by right Of seniority and
compstsscy
IT'S well recognized In congress
that Chairmen SABBATH and Bloom
have made good on their jobs
and then soma