State of the Union

A sojourn in Washington during the Christmas recess revealed to the writer that things have changed since the days of Coolidge prosperity. For one thing, newspapermen now hang out around the White House rather than Capitol Hill. There's no news on the Hill. In the halls of the Capitol, it is said that Congressmen plead with newspapermen to tell them what the dope is over at the White House. "What bill are we going to advocate." the Chairman of a prominent House Committee is reputed to have asked a reporter. "I know you've just spoken to the President, so please tell me." Although probably apocryphal, the story has its significance.

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The writer was told that the reason for the new Supreme Court Building was the fact that the old court room would not permit the placing of more than nine judicial chairs in a straight line. Be this as it may, the Court has shown that it still is willing to declare what it believes the law to be, regardless of veiled threats; and pleas from Filene to play ball. F. D. said at Gettysburg that the New Deal could all be accomplished within "the broad and resilient phrases of the Constitution." Maybe he's not so sure now. At any rate, Congress may have abdicated, but the Court goes on forever, despite criticisms from labor, brain (?) trusters, and a certain tart constitutional lawyer.

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Another thing that's changed in Washington since the depression is that the nation's capital is now a booming, growing city. Its population having increased by approximately 20 per cent or 100,000, Congressmen are having difficulty in getting located. Rents are sky-high, and there aren't enough rooms to go 'round. Some prominent Washingtonians, as it is, are commuting daily between Alexandria and the District.

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The increase in population, largely due to the attempts on the part of businessmen to write into the NRA codes measures favorable to their respective businesses, has also brought into the town its quota of shady characters--chiefly gamblers, and touts of all descriptions. The writer positively knows of one instance where a prominent scientist was accosted by a woman of shady occupation in front of the White House. Be this as it may, the District is still very clean, compared to its sister cities.