The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-12-28

assistant secretaryships ill the State Department.
 All such stuff is considered fair play and part o; the congressional rigmarole The trickery comes in more specific words and deeds. Here are three typical examples.
 First, the so-called Hand grant" railroads have been lobbying for years to secure repeal Of the law which now requires them to haul government freight at about half the rates of ordinary shippers. The law goes back to the 1850's when pioneering railroads were given big acreage in the west to promote set clement. The railroads agreed to it. It wasn't obnoxious when the gov ernment had little stuff to be hauled. but in these war times when most of the freight the railroads haul is government goods, the half fare mounts up.
 LITTLE HOPE FOR
 LEGISLATION
 Legislation to amend the land grant law has actually been intro duced in congress by Representative Lyle H. Boren of Seminole, Okla. It hasn't had much of a chance, but Senator Henrik ShipStead of Carlos Minn, in the closing days of the 78th congress introduced an amendment to the Bcren bill which, if adopted, would nullify the whole business. Shipstead simply proposed that the repeal should not go into effect until all of the railroads own freight rate differentials were re- moved. That would mean never.
 Second, another smart trick which almost got through was the attempt by Senator Burnet R. Maybank of Charleston, s. C., to tack an amend ment onto the 1945 farm crop ln- surance bill. Maybank's amendment had nothing at all to do with crops or insurance, either. Its aim was to permit Federal Reserve banks to deduct from any check a percentage charge for it's collection, the larger the check the greater the amount deducted for it's collection. The Federal Reserve Board has ruled that this is no longer permissible, and Senator Maybark had previous ly introduced separate bill to per- init banks to continue the charges. By introducing the substance of his bill as an amendment on the crop insurance bill. the senator appar- ently thought it would have a better chance of going through. Forum ately, a majority of the senators saw through the scheme and voted it down.
 HOW AMENDMENTS
 KILL BILLS
 Third prize example of this type of smart politics came from Repre- sentative Howard w. Smith of Alex andria, Va. Smiths record on labor matters is pretty we'll known. He is co-aut11or of the Smith-C Connolly act, has fought the labor unions all up and down both sides of the Potomac, and couple of years ago he was chief congressional critic of the National Labor Relations Board. Knowing this. his colleagues were recently surprised to have him get up in the midst of debate to raise congressmen's allowances for clerk hire and propose an amend ment which he said would put a 75-cents-an-hour minimum on wages for all workers. Judge Smiths amendment didn't have chance, as he no doubt well knew. But before the blow fell, other con- gressmen let fly few cracks at this kind of monkey business, there by proving that not all congressional minds work in these devious ways.
 Should someone suggest bill to provide milk for starving infants, :" said Congressman Michael J. Brad ley of Philadelphia, "the gentleman from Virginia would propose an amendment designed in some way to get at the glass blowers union."