Evening star., 1944-01-11

face. David Lawrence.
Unquestionably the grievances O
the folks back home are not con.
cealed from the members of Con
gress. There are so many question.
on which Washington rulings affec
business and industry, as well a!
labor and wages and salaries ano
even the order of the draft in the
selective service system, that the
member who does venture to q
home finds plenty of discussion. HI
spends much Of his time explaining
to be sure, that he may be an i'm.
portant figure to the constituents
but in Washington he doesn't rur
either the Army or the Navy and he
doesn't make all the rules and regu.
lations which the citizen has to un-
derstand and then try to obey.
In broad sense, the attitude o1
the citizenry is not far different
from what it was during the World
War. Businessmen are preoccupiec
with the problems of risking capita
and the creation of reserves so as
to keep business going when wal
contracts are terminated. Labor
union leaders are disturbed because
the Congress seems disposed to put
restrictions of one kind of another
on labor union activities. Mothers
and fathers of servicemen who have
been overseas long while are-be-
ginning to ask when the boys are
likely to be given furloughs. This is
question that the Army and Navy
find it necessary to answer over and
over again. It's largely matter OF
shipping and if the furloughs were
granted on the basis of length of
service or some other arbitrary for
mula, there would not be enough
ships to take care of the returning
soldiers and sailors-at least not
enough to handle actual needs at
the battle line and spare the ton
mage for furloughs.
Some plan for handling the fur
loughs is being worked on always.
Undoubtedly the pressure from the
parents through members of Con-
gress has had some effect and nearly
everything that can be done is being
done. But even this does not seem to
BE a satisfactory assurance and the
member of Congress is importuned
to arrange for one furlough ahead
Of another-matterS that he really
cannot control. For the Army and
Navy can't allow political or con-
gressional pressure to influence their
method of selecting those who are
given furloughs. It's the situation
in each combat unit, the time
needed to get requirements trained
and up to the front, that counts.
Perhaps the most vital question
that is bothering the people gen.
orally and one that they asked more
than any other from members of
Congress is: How long is the war
going to last?" Those who have
sons in the European theater of op-
erations probably got the general
information which Washington has
been giving out that some time in
1914 or early 1945 the conflict in
Europe might end. AS for the Pa
cific Ocean war, where 100000 or
more sailors and marines and a
large body of soldiers are stationed,
the answer given is that "in one or
two years" after the European war
is over Japan will be beaten.
But the average member of Con-
greSS doesn't have any better infor-
nation on these points, really, than
does the citizen who reads the dis
patches from day to day. The con-
stituents like, nevertheless, to get
the latest direct from the Sena-
tors or Representatives Going back
home isn't all rest or vacation, as
so many observers think. It's often
a bigger strain than staying right
here at the Capitol, but it's a neces-
sary part of a members career and
often he learns enough about public
sentiment to guide him in a general
way for a year or more thereafter
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