The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-04-10

wrong with Congress. This criticism raises the point that if you want to hire somebody to write you law you'd look first for lawyer. Never theleSs the big idea of representa- tive government is that it is sup posed to pick good cross section of the population to do the govern ing and Congress as it Is now set up gives only good geographical cross section, picking one Congressman for every 100000 odd souls. What would help, it is claimed would be to let Congress have an advisory body which would truly represent in better proportion the occupations of the people with the correct per- centage of bankers, soda jerkerS, race track touts, hillbillies, house. wives, beauty parlor operators or what have you.
 SIDE INTERESTS
 HIGHLY VARIED
 It's a nice idea to fool around with, but a further examination of the previous or side-line occupa- tions of the present members of Congress shows that it is about as variegated a lot of jacks -all- trades as you could ask for.
 Even in the Senate, top-heavy as it is with lawyers, lot of them list other interests and occupations on the side, such as banking or farm ing. That makes occupational classification a little difficult, but picking them by their principal avo- cations, the 26 non-laWyer Senators divide up as 10 neWspapermen and publishers, seven businessmen, three farmers and stockmen, four profess sional off1ceholders who can best be classified only as politicians, one educator (Thomas of Utah and one snowman and radio entertainer (Taylor of Idaho) who can prob- ably speak for the crooners and SWoonerS.
 Note that the newspapermen and publishers rank second only to the lawyers as throwers around of weight. The businessmen run the gamut. O'Daniel of Texas is a flour salesman, Gurney of South Dakota runs a seed and nursery business in addition to radio station. May bank of South Carolina is a cotton exporter, and Wherry of Nebraska is an auto and furniture dealer and embalmer.
 It's the non-lawyer members of the House, though, that show up the real variety of American life. In the present Congress are 78 bus- inessmen, 27 educators 26 newspa- permen and publishers, 25 dirt farmers who don't claim any other occupation, Is lifetime politicians and professional off1cehilders, a vet erinarian, six doctors, two dentists, three engineers, two stage stars (Helen Gahagan Douglas and Emily Taft Douglas) and two pharmacists Durham of North Carolina and Tibbott of Pennsylvania
 BUSINESSMEN
 OF ALL SORTS
 It's among the 78 businessmen that you get real diversification of interest. Nineteen are real estate and insurance men, which is under standable when you think how they get around and meet people. Aside from that concentrationeits a hodge podge. Seven builders and contrac- tors, oil and gase men, and men, manufacturers, and one Shipbuilder clothier, adhesive maker, miller mine operator, grocer, architect, merchant, gold mine, ice cream maker.
 Over 20 per cent are veterans IT in the Senate, 121 in the House. Fourteen served in the Navy. Eight have served in the present war, four in the Spanish American War, one in the Boer War (Senator Robert son of Wyoming).
 Eleven of the CongreSsmen were foreign-born, coming from Czecho- slovakia, Poland, Wales, Scotland, Sweden, France, Bohemia, Germany Ireland and Greece.
 Only one admits he was born in a log cabin, A Leonard Allen of Louisiana.
 On the whole, pretty represen- ative bunch.