Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1952-10-19
Congress as Vital
As AdIui or Ike
League of Women Voters Urges Women
To Select Their Congressman With Care
By IsobelIe Shelton

10 SeleCr Ihelf \
BY Isabel
With all the hue and cry about
who is going to occupy the White
House next January it's easy to
lose sight of the fact that there
also will be a lot of new faces at
the other end of Pennsylvania
avenue.
All 435 seats in the House and
IS of the So Senate seats are up
before the voters November 4. And
the fate of a great many issues
OF particular interest to women
rests largely on what kind of men
are elected to fill those seats.
Women, of course, also are in
terested in the overriding cam
paign issues which are monopo-
LIKING the headlines-peace or war,
prosperity or depression, to change
or not to change.
But in addition to these matters
which interest all citizens, there
Is another list, which might be
called particularly women's issues.
They seldom hit the headlines,
but often they are closer to the
daily life of a woman than the
monumental questions.
Price of Cheese
They affect the price she pays
for a pound of cheese, the caliber
of schooling available for her
children, the cost of a new tweed
suit. the kind of house or apart
ment her family can Finland
afford-to live in, the amount Of
social security she can look for
ward to in her old age.
These questions, and many more
like them. are Influenced at least
as much by what Congress does as
by what kind of man is in the
White House.
Mrs. John G.. Lee of Farming
ton, Conn.,, national president of
the League of Women Voters, puts
It this way:
Since everything Government
does depends on congressional au-
thorization for the program and
the money to carry it out. the
kind of Congress we elect is of vast
importance"
Mrs. Lee, who has recently taken
over the network televiSion pro-
gram, Power of Women" started
by Mrs. Vivien Kellems, has been
plugging strongly for an enlight-
ened women's vote, based on an
intelligent consideration of the
candidates past record on issues.
The league has put out pamph-
let. ION the Record" which
shows how all members of Con-
gresS voted on key roll calls, with
an accompanying explanation of
the significance of each vote. The
record of House members is given
for the last two years. Senate
votes are shown for the last six
years.
A more complete tabulation,
showing every roll call vote for the
last eight years, is maintained by
Congressional Quarterly. a nom
partisan news service which spe-
cialiZes in intensive coverage of
Congress. Congressional Quarterly
or similar roll call records are
available in many public libraries.
Neither organization attempts
to suggest which are right" and
which are wrong" votes.
81 believe" says Mrs. Lee, "that
every American is capable Of
making up his own mind if he
has the facts before him"
Cost Of q Tweed Suit
The way Congress can affect
the price of a tweed suit is illus
trated by the League of Women
Voters pamphlet. which gives the
Senate roll call on a measure toI
increase the tariff on imported
wool. -.
The league also records a roll
call on an amendment to restrict
imports of dairy products (espe-
cially cheese, fats. oils, peanuts
and rice. The measure, which
was adopted, protected the mar
ket of domestic sellers Of these
products-and incidentally raised
the price to the American house,
wife.
Overcrowded Schools
Also Of particular interest to
women are bills to provide siz-
able amounts of Federal aid to-
State and local school systems.
Several such measures have come
before Congress in various forms
in the last several years. There
was a Senate roll coll on one in
1949, a House roll call on an
other in 1851. None have become
law, but similar bills will almost
certainly be introduced again next
year.
The matter is complicated by
such side issues as whether re-
ligious schools should share in
any benefits that may be voted.
The Democratic Party platform
adopted in Chicago last July ad-
vocates Federal contributions to-
ward new school construction,
teachers salaries and school main
tenance and repair ;. :"
The Republican platform OPP
poses the use of Federal funds, de-
claring that responsibility for
sustaining =. popular education
always rested upon the local COM
munities and the States" and
should continue to rest there
Whichever side of this contro-