Evening star., 1942-02-10

Henry McLemors. lawmakers. Now
1t knows it. BY that quiet grab Of
pension money our members Of Con-
gress have proved that they are a.
fearless as a panther with a black
jack in each paw, as scornful Of
criticism as an alligator with .
stainless steel hide.
This is comforting. 1t IL good TO
known that, no matter what pres
sure Is brought to bear on them,
our leaders will 60 quietly on their
way, voting for what they deem At.
There are other things to be con-
sidered, too. What better proof
than the pension bill would a citi-
zen want that Congress is all out
for defense. Is on the double alert
and ready to protect the far-nung
interests Of this Nation7
When . Congress gets down 10
watching out for itself. seeing to IL
that not one member Of it shall be
inconvenienced when he has to leave
the public trough and rough IL
through life again, then 1t becomes
obvious that 1t Is watching out for
every taxpayer In the land. Yea
sir, 1t Is tribute to the organizing
ability Of our lawmakers that, even
when they are faced with the null
titudinous duties Of . Nation at
war. they overlooked not one detail.
Their vote for pensions will serve
as tremendous inspiration TO our
armed forces. Gen. Douglas Mac
Arthur Is much too keen q psychol-
ogist not to use 1t for lifting his
heroic little band Of defenders to
even higher efforts. I can almost
hear him now as he talks to his
men In the not and steaming tungles
as they prepare q counterattack
against the Japanese.
Men, he might say, men, vs
now have double cause for which
TO strike. Not only must We fight
for our country. We must fight for
those unselfish, far thinking mem
oers OF Congress in Washington, who,
without q thought for themselves,
Just voted themselves comfort in
their old ages. We may not have old
ages. men, those Of us here. We may
not get past next week, but 1t thrills
me to know that there are those In
the Government who. do not feel
that all will be lost II We are lost,
There are those who are % con.
hdent Of victory, 20 sure OF our
might and right, that they hays
voted themselves . down payment
ON . farm. . first payment On q
little house. and plan to spend their
declining years IN sweetness aod
Light To the attack, menS.
Speeches similar to this at stn1s-
pore, along the Burma road, IN the
cold and greasy insides Of sub
marines and on the high seas might
well result in giving US the maddest
fighting force in all history. This
is what members Of Congress might
be thinking Of.
Looking at 1t from another angle,
what type Of man needs q pension
more than q legislator? Try to
name any other profession which
Is so bountifully supplied with
gentlemen who need to be looked
after when Father Time or the
voters Of their district retire them
from active service.
What can an old member Of
Congress do7 What can Q new one
do, for that matter7 No ono would
want this country cluttered UP with
half-starved statesmen. A fat, we'll
fed one is problem enough. much
less one who has . hungry look In
his eyes.
We don't want to have 10 take
them into our homes and shelter
them, do we? Would you like the
prospect Of having a member Of
Congress move into your spare bed
room and spend the rest of his life
there, cluttering up the place with
old Congressional Records, reciting
speeches he made against the evils
of the corn bore in 1926, holding
caucuses with himself in the clothes
closet, and generally making .
nuisance of himself?
No, you wouldn't.
Well. the pensions take care Of
that.
They'll be able to retire. TO some
secluded spot and. alone, dream Of
those days when they knocked down
$4,000 per year and walked the
marble halls in Washington Just as
If they had been real, honest-to-
goodness statesmen.
distributed BY MeNsusht Syndicate. Incl