Detroit evening times., 1942-07-16
Senate Wife
Hits Critics
Of Congress
Entitled to K Gas Cards
She Says-Tells Why

By WESTBRoOK PEGLER

BY wESTBROOK PEGLER
THE recent criticism of Con-
gress has been widely de-
bated but most of the discussion
which followed the original blast
has been mere wind and WITH
cism.
Inasmuch as the attack re-
ceived much space, l herewith
present a letter from the wife
of d senator, who offers, ! think,
the best reply that has been
made. She says:
81 read with interest your
two articles dealing first with
Senator LaFollette's resentment
of the general attack by tho
press on Congress because of
the possession Of x-cards and
your further remarks concerning
Ray Clapper's lofty comments.
members Of Congress and
their families are accustomed to
criticism. That Is part Of public
life and men who cannot take
criticism had better not enter
politics.
ST AM afraid that the burning
i resentment that members
of Congress and. may add, 100
per cent of their wives, feel
toward the recent journalistic
orgy Is directed toward what
was q fragrant example of dis
honest reporting and misrepre-
sentation.
Most OF the men who Joined
the pack would scorn any one
who lifted sentence from con-
text
THE Washington newsmon-
gers did precisely parallel
thing when they lifted that
X-card story from background.
Every newspaperman In
Washington should know that
an enormous part OF every con-
gressman's mail Ia composed Of
requests from constituents for
service for themselves, their
state or their city In the way
of representation before some
government agency.
SCOMETIMES, the requests
~ are unreasonable but fire.
quently they are the result Of
definite need for assistance. It
Is perfectly legitimate business.
"The least impressive con-
gressman is I'm Washington rep
resenting 100000 sup posedIy
sovereign people.
"In addition to his legislative
work, he must represent them
to the federal government.
"Much of this work Il done by
a personal visit to one or more
government departments. have
known Important matters to
take several conferences.
Congress has no provision
for (local) official Transports
tion.
"When n congressman visits
an executive department on
official business he either hires
a cab or drives his own car.
when representative Of
the executive department visits
congressman he has only to
leap into an official car, oper-
ated by unrationed gas from .
government garage.
81 HAVE no objection to even
minor officials having these
conveniences, but I look with a
jaundiced eye on any reporter
who, knowing that IL II So,
raised a great furor about tho
X-cards for members of Con-
gress.
'It IL definitely a little yellow
journalism and l suggest that a
few Of the more reputable men,
bers Of your profession remove
their contemptuous gas from
Congress and turn IL on their
fellows.
There were something like
$4,000 X-cards In Washington,
but all the noise was made about
ZOO issued to Congress.
IL think there II n brazen
drive on to discredit Congress.
THE people do not know very
much about the way these
things are operated, nor would
the average man respond to
misrep e a { | on with a
thoughtful response Of Well, my
congressman must have a lot Of
official business I'm Washington
N"INHE radio commentators and
i news writers held up the
members Of Congress rs a lot Of
cheats and chiselers and, In my
opinion. they did IL because 10
was good story and they
would not suffer from recrim-
nations at the hands Of Con-
gress that they might from some
government agency.
at seems to be intellectually
fashionable Just now TO attack
Congress. IL was not so long
ago that IL was intellectually
fashionable to be unpatriotic and
attack everything that was
wrong In this country, ignoring
what was right.