Imperial Valley press., 1941-11-30

WASHINGTON. Nov. % Formal
action OF the HOUSE of Representa-
tiyeS in permitting" Congressman
Ham Fish to testify before a led
elal grand Jury investigating Nazl
propaganda activities i'll the United
States provides one of the biggest
laughs and at the same time one
of the SaddeSt commentaries on the
workings of the congressional mind
you could ever find.
In effect, the House ruled that
Fish could testify only when the
House vas not in session. but on
The day after this great concession
vas announced, there We're two roIl
calls in the lower chamber. The
first, on a quorum call revealed
hat l25 members of the House
were absent from duty. The second,
a vote on the question of killing
the enacting clause OF a bill to reg
ulate deportation OF aliens revealed
that 100 solonS did not vote.
That gives you the inconsistency
of the picture: A third Of the mem
bers can be absent from the House
junketing to South America or Eu-
rope, at home making a speech,
working in the office, in bed with
the flu, or holding hands with the
state political boss That's all right.
But let a congressman be called
upon to do his duty as a citizen
and tell what he knows to a grand
jury-then the affairs OF state be-
come most pressing indeed.
Committee meetings must be hello,
heads must be put together and
brows corrugated. and the sacred
privileges Of this greaaaaat states
man-harumph' kat! kaf!-deliber-
ated upon as though someone had
proposed saving out his tonSllS with
a kitchen spoon.
FISTS ACROSS THE SEA
The men who will have to do
the fighting-the soldiers, sailors
and marines-are getting along with
their British brothers in arms just
about as we'll as they did in the last
war, which is not at all Death of
an Icelander in a braWl with US.
forces is typical OF What alW2r-
has happened and alwaya Will hap
pen when peoples OF two countries
are thrown toetner.
US. ports where British ships arc
under repair report constant clash
cs between Yankee gObs and British
tars. From Norfolk recently. came
news OF a repeat performance Of Q
gag that dates back to me last
war certainly, and pcrhape to the
Revolution.
SAID d British COB; "H&v, YanE
what's the color5 OF Your ilag?'
SAID the Yank: Red. white and
blue, same a. yours"
Said the Brtisher: Yo', but
what's that streak of yellow in it,
That's where the fight started.
CALL OF THE CITY
A new angle to the perennial
scrap between the little town and
the big city has been uncovered By
defense migration. Small business
man in the little towns alc COM
planning that the state employment
agencies, given the job Of recruiting
skilled labor for the defense plants
move IN to sign up all the good ga
rage mechanics, carpenter. metal
workers Of what have the. The
small towns then have 70 replace
these migrants D. recruiting semi
skilled Jacks Of all trades from the
farms, and the farmers yell.
Z. S. Employment Service has a
clearance system which attempts tc
co-ordinat" the activities Of the 1900
local employment services Of the
state system. but since there is no
federal control, which the Tolan
committee is now recommending
the state organizations set the pol
icy. and these state programs dit =
Ter widely. Raids by one state en-
p.ovmcnt service on the working
forces Of a neiphbOring state start all
lands of rows. oregon, fearful that
she Will lose too much OF her la
Dor, is doing everything possible TO
persuade workers to stay in the
home state.
At Hastings, Neb a Tolan com
mittee investigator heard one resi-
dent declare tlkt the Grain OF
young women from the town TO take
defensc JOBS in larger cities was a
worse loss than the departure oI