Evening star., 1947-04-20
Odd Facts Are Where
A Seeker Finds Them

| A Seeker Finds ! hem
Our Human Foibles Stalk Pages Of
Almanac and House Reports
By Gerard d. Reilly
In an age blighted by the cult Of
specialized knowledge. the World Alma
mac has been justly praised as an
antidote to this deplorahle trend. While
TO the uninquisitive 1t is merely .
handy book Of reference. the true
humanist does not regard 1t In this
light. Browsing through its pages, q
thoughtful reader can find food for
reflection in the fact that less than
one Derby winner in four has gene on
to win the Preakness and the Belmont,
that the total of Confederate casualties
at Cold Harbor was disproportionately
low, and that the number of Democratic
voters In Allegheny County has increased
steadily since the Grant t-Greeley elec-
tion of 1872.
An equally rewarding storehouse Of
miscellaneous information is the publi-
cation of the annual hearings of the
House Appropriations Committee Be-
tween the covers of these volumes the
whole complicated establishment OF the
Executive Branch of the Federal Gov
ernment passes in review. Since on the
occasion of these hearings each depart
ment and agency gives an account of
! It's stewardship, the mass of learning
available from perusal OF these vol
umes is enormous. Moreover, as this
material is presented in question and
answer form. 1t possesses certain
dramatic quality.
The actors in this human comedy
are as interesting as the facts elected.
The protagonist in all these hearings
is the chairman of the subcommittee
who usually conceives his role to be
that of gruff but kindly Jove. Terrible
in his wrath to those bureaucrats he
suspects of padding" their figures or
holding Congress in low esteem, he
occasionally reveals his heart of gold
by gracious word of commendation.
A master of the intricacies of budget
estimates he skips nimbly from "justi-
f1cations'' to green sheets" to the de-
light of his colleagues and the confusion
Of the witnesses. His associates on the
committee supply Greek chorus to
the chief actors expressions OF praise
or lamentation.
The witnesses-the officers appearing
to explain their proposed budgets-f1it
slowly across the stage. Like the char
acters in the old miracle plays, each
represents certain type. There is the
dignif1ed cabinet officer undecided as
to whether to ignore or retort in kind
TO an impertinent thrust by his inquisi-
tors, the obsequious budget officer sup
plying his principal with helpful
answer, the loquacious technician
launched upon his speciality, the imper-
turbable bureau chief. obviously an old
hand at this sort of thing, and the in
experienced executive who feels hope
lessly on the defensive.
Because of the political antipathies
underlying the relationship between the
legislative and executive branches, the
proceedings this year make particularly
live reading. Unfortunately, since this
Congress was slow to organize, the
transcripts of few of these hearings
have as yet been published. One vol
ume released last week, however, is well
up to the usual standard This is the
printed record of the hearings on
the appropriation for the Federal Sc
curity Agency, product of reorgani-
zation plan which brought together such
ill-assorted units as the Social Security
Board, the Public Health Service, the
Employees Compensation Commission,
Howard University and the remnants of
the Childrens Bureau.
" "
It's 1853 pages throw a revealing spot
light upon many aspects of the state
Of the Nation. One learns from Dr.
Dunn of the Office of Vital Statistics
that births are running approximately
so per cent greater than last year, from
Miss Petry that there are legal diff
culties In the way of deterring student
nurses to refrain from matrimony for
four years, and from DR.. Dunnahoo
that 1t Is unusual but possible for human
beings to carry the hoof and mouth dis
ease. One also discovers that Admin
istrator Miller, who presides over this
vast establishment, is not content to
sit behind his desk in isolated grandeur
but occasionally goes into the laboratory
of one of his bureaus, the Pure Food
and Drug Administration, to help make
some Of the tests himself. One instance
Of this proclivity which was read into
the House hearings was occasioned by
the condemnation of large shipment
of interstate butter consigned to the
Army. In his own words:
II wanted to be sure that the ly's
wings and the antennae and the legs
and bits of feathers were actually in
this butter, so had made an exan1ina-
ton Of the butter in New York, as we'll
as of a little sample that we had on ice
In. Washington, to be sure of my own
ground. And then this very fine men,
Der Of the Upper House. who was inter-
ested in butter, naturally, coming from
his State. said, Darn it, Watson. you
have got to use microscope to see those
things And I said, Yes, SIR and when
one gets sick we have to Use micro
scope TO isolate the organism that keeps
one in bed so that the patient can get
out of bed 1t was an entirely friendly
conversation; he is a very old friend"
In turn Chairman Keefe reveals that
he Is also not man content to accept his
information second hand. Inquiring