If You Don't Like Congress, Look In
The Mirror, Soys Olive Ewing Clapper
, ---
If you wish Congress would do j
something about the problems
which beset us, take another look
at the mirror instead of putting
all the blame on Congress. Learn
to know your Congressman and
follow the principal that what is
good for your country is good for
you,( is the advice of Olive Ewing
Clapper, Washington author and
observer, in McCall’s for Septem
ber.
“We do not have a government
by supermen. The voters of the
country send a fair cross section
of the nation to the Capitol. We
are apt to pick men who are a lot
like ourselves. That does not nec
essarily mean glamorous or bril
liant personalities — it means
mostly just folks. They are men
and women who went to the same
schools we attended, they grew up
in identical environments,, they
share our prejudices andsuper
stitions. They do not consider
themselves great; their job re
quires them to be as alert as the
grocer or the streetcar conductor
to please customers and employ
ers.
“How much do you know about
the Senator from your state and
can you name the Representative
from your Congressman District
One of the ablest Congressmen
on Capitol Hill recenly complained
that although he had been working
hard in Congress for the past 10
years, he doubted if 10 percent of
the voters in his district could call
his name
“The November election tms year
are of the utmost importancee
because of the national issues in
volved - the labor - management
dispute, inflation or deflation, fair
employment practice, universal
military training, extension of soc
ial security, national health service
full employment, housing, aid to
thestarving of the world, the peace
treaties and myriad problems of
cooperation with other nations.
One oberving newspaperman says
that candidates find it almost imp
ossible to hold any political mee
ting because people simpley will
not attend. He belives that we are
undergoing a postwar escapism,
that our refusal to take part in
political activities is a part of our
desire to retreat from the realities
of today
“Congress itself has become in
creasingly conscious of its own
shortcomings in the past few years.
Men like Sentor Robert LaFollette
Republican of Wisconsin, and Con
gressman Mike Monroney of Okla
homa have searheaded the move
ment to streamline the machinery
Congress. They realize that if
Congress, is impotent, democracy
cannot work that the business at
hand can no longer be done with
the antiquated tools of a hundred
years ago.
“Today 80 percent of every Con
gressmans time is taken up in a
glorified lobbyist or a Chamber of
Commerce representative for his
home community. He is constantly
dashing to the myriad executive
office to take up inquiries and
complaints about OPA, Army and
Navy appointments,, jobs of every
kind and description, arrangement
for passports, from,abstracts, the
price of butter or oranges or
popcon, old age pensions, the con
struction of a bridge or dam -
and many thousand of details
drectly affectingthe voters within
his district.
"One radical suggestion foi
handling this new volume of wort
was made by Congressman Roberl
Mamspeck in his testimony before
ACTS ON THE KIDNEYS
T« increase flow of urine and
relieve irritation of the bladder
from excess acidity in the nrine
An you suffering unnecessary distress,
backache, run-down feeling and discom
fort from excess acidity in the urine? Are
you disturbed nights by a frequent uesire
tn pass water? Then you should know
■bout that famous doctor’s discovery --
DR. KILMER’S SWAMP ROOT — tbal
thousands say gives blessed relief. Swamp
Root ia a carefully blended combination o<
16 herbs, roots, vegetables, balsams. Dr
Kilmer's b not harsh or habit-forming i«
any way. Many people aay its uiarvdoai
— Scad*faMreeTprepaid sample TODAY!
Ukithousands of others youll hs glat
that you did. Sand name and address t«
Dan art men t D, Kilmer A Co., Inc., Bui
ISffS, Stamford, Conn. Oflor limited. Sene
^ msec, AU druggists sell Swamp Root,
S£-'SdilvViijJi-iL 1 '■ ■ .. V . .
the joint Committeee on the Re
organization of Congress. He
believes that the elected repre
sentatives of the people should go
back to the job the Constitution
gave them. He urges the adoption
of a Constitutional amendment
which would prohibit a member
of Congress from contacting the
executive branch of the govern
ment except in regard to legisla
tion'. He suggested that the House
ol Representatives be reduced by
half and that provision be made
for the election by the people of
a Representative who could take
on this lobbying work before the
executive branch of the govern
ment.
mere remains in me congress
an overwhelming majority of medi
ocre men. Any competent news
paper reporter covering Capitol
Hill in Washington cannot name
for you more than 50 men out
of the 531 men who compose the
Congress who could be called bril
liant leaders. In the past 50 years
we had many individual giants to
whom everyone rushed to listen
when their significant voices were
raised in speech. Such were Wil
liam E. Borah of Idaho, George
Norris of Nebraska, James A.
Reed of Missouri, the elder Rob
ert LaFollette of Wisconsin, Tom
Walsh, Henry Cabot Lodge of
Massachusetts, Carter Glass of
Virginia and others. There were
also many colorful figures with
individualistic, trade-mark per
sonalities like Fiorello LaGuardia,
Nicholas Longworth, Maury Ma
verick, J. Ham Lewis. These prima
donnas also had to do their share
Kit errands for the folks back
home.
“The changes in the world out
mode the exciting individualists of
the past. Today Congress boasts
none such and doubtless it is
healthier for the nation that this
is true. We do not need prima
7.. 1 . 1 —
CHOCKOYOTTE
DAIRY
★
REGISTERED GUERNSEYS
"GOLDEN GUERNSEY"
Premium Milk
★
BANG’S FREE CERTIFICATE No. 138
(
TB CERTIFICATE No. 538721
W. L. MANNING, Owner
GEO. I. KERR, Manager
P. O. BOX 82
For QUICK SERVICE on CABS,
donnas. We need students of gov
ernment, men who will study and
work to make democratic govern
ment function, men who can work
in unison, who know how to use
the techniques of conference, the
advantage of research.
“Locking down from the gal
leries today upon the Senate, you
might remark how much the Sen
ators look like businessmen. A
new type of man is beginning to
IF YOU DON’T — GAL TWO —
predominate there. The old are
dying out; the young are as yet
unproved. This makes for conflict
in a new .world aborning. You can
leel encouragement that it is pos
sible to find men who can work
for tile people’s best interests.
“The time has passed when we
can afford to vote for a Congress
man simply because he sends us
a brightly colored post card on
our birthday, or because he be
longs to the Loyal Order of the
Moose, or anything else. Today a
Congressman occasionally hits up
on the idea of talking to the
ATHLETES FOOT GERM
HOW TO KILL IT,
IN ONE HOUR.
IF NOT PLEASED, your 35c
oack. Ask any druggist for this
STRONG fungicide, TE-OL. Made
with 90 percent alcohol, it PENE
TRATES. Reaches and kills MORE
germs faster. MATTHEWS DRUG
CO.
!
|
r *WTI9N; V5S A? PIA6SJ£&
I people about the real Issues. In the
past this was not considered a
very bright thing to do. We should
hope that it will become the only
real way of getting elected.
“If you don’t like what you read
in the morning papers, if you wish
Congress would do something
about the problems of today, go
take another look in the mirror
instead of putting all the blame
on Congress. If you don’t like
what you see, blame yourself. You
can send abler men by the simple
expedient of getting out and voting
them in to improve the image of
democracy. After they are in, en
courage their best programs. Know
them and let them know you.
Stop thinking about what you
personally get out of Congress.
What is good for your country aqd
your Congress will, in the lol~j
run, be good for you and your
district. It is that simple.”
T. O. Wilson was a Dusiness
J visitor in Norfolk one day last
week.
| THE FINEST
S'
WILL BE FOUND AT
I
I
SERVICE STATION
—
GAS & OILS
TIES AND
TUBES
f
_<
WASHING—GREASING AND POLISHING
AT POPULAR PRICES
EXCHANGE PARTS—CARBURETORS—
GENERATORS—FUEL PUMPS
AND DISTRIBUTORS
TED’S ESSO STATION
PHONE R-534 1 100 ROANOKE AYE.