Evening star., 1942-05-16
Congressional X Cards

When the Senate of the United
States finds it necessary to indulge
in formal and heated debate on
resolution pledging its members to
abstain from improper use of gaso-
line obtained through the medium
of x ration cards, it would seem that
the time Is at hand to pause and
take stock of what is happening to
our national sense of proportion.
1t must be obvious to all that the
resolution, which the Senate quite
properly rejected by an all but unani-
nous vote. was preposterous on its
face. In effect, it would have re-
quired of the members a formal
pledge to exercise common honesty
in the use of gasoline. That, from a
legislative standpoint, presented
situation which could hardly have
been more absurd had the Senators
been voting on pledge to refrain
from beating their wives Unfor-
tunately, however, the resolution,
which should not have been offered
in the first place, was dignified by
debate which would afford genuine
cause for concern if it reflected the
considered sentiment Of Congress.
Some members of the Senate,
judging from their remarks, believe
that the controversy masked a sin
lister conspiracy Senator La Toilette,
man of intelligence and judgment,
charged that there was "a deliberate
campaign Con the part of the press
to undermine the faith of the people
in the Congress" If that is correct,
then the outlook is ominous For it
would be a calamity if the people
actually were to lose faith in Con-
gress. and the press could be guilty
of no greater folly than to lend itself
to any campaign to that end. But
what are the facts?
The question of the propriety OF
Issuing x cards to congressman was
raised when the Office of Price Ad-
ministration originally indicated that
members of Congress would not be
entitled to receive unlimited allot-
ments of gasoline. The press re-
ported this as news Then came
Wednesdays discussion in the House,
when some members protested
against the granting of X cards to
their colleagues. This, too, was re-
ported as news. The next step was
the making of special arrangements
for issuing ration cards to members
Of Congress and their secretarial
staffs-another matter which was
duly reported in the press, as it
should have been.
The scene then shifted to the SEN
ate, with the introduction of the
resolution which was rejected yes
terday. But the press was not re-
sponsible for the resolution; it merely
reported it's contents and what the
members said and did about it. II
these things have impaired conf
dence in Congress, the fault hardly
lies with the press.
Not the least unfortunate aspect
of this whole affair is the fact that
the nub of the controversy-the ac-
tual issuance of x cards to Congress-
mems a relatively inconsequential
matter, whether it be considered
proper or improper Some 15,60O x
cards were issued in Washington, and
of this total considerably fewer than
400 went to Congress. Considering
the number of Congressman, this
certainly is not out of line, and the
probability is that very few members
of Congress will abuse the privileged
status which the x card confers on
them.
Had the matter been handled
properly from the beginning, there
would have been no occasion for the
teapot tempest which has been
stirred up. But it has not been
handled properly at any stage, and
least of all by those who would read
into the publication of the news
diabolical plot to destroy Congress.