Capital Comment

There is always a last straw that breaks the camel’s back. At least that is what Senator William H. King of Utah must have thought of when he read a newspaper report of the May 11 speech of Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minister of propaganda.

Goebbels’ speech aroused the ire of the Senator from Utah to such an extent that he threatened to force the Senate into action on the Tydings resolution calling for a protest by the Senate into action on the German Reich’s treatment of Jews and certain groups of Christians. At the same time Senator King had printed in the Congressional record, along with his remarks, a report on Goebbels’ speech as printed in the New York Times on May 12.

Senator King said indications are that “there will be no abatement of the persecution to which the Jews have been subjected, but on the contrary, that they are to be the victims of further discriminations, persecutions, and oppressions.”

The Senator from Utah has tossed his hat into the ring and is prepared to fight for passage of the Tydings resolution.

Ring one up for the City of Chicago and Representative Adolph J. Sabath, staunch defender of the Windy City in Congress. Representative Sabath told House members the other day that the people in Chicago “have demonstrated to the people of America that the City of Chicago is the safest place in the world to visit.”

Representative Wright Patman of Texas overheard Representative Sabath’s statement and remarked, “The gentleman said something about Chicago being the safest place in the world. Dillinger has found it to be the safest place in America?” Sabath replied, “No. He found it pretty hard there and did not remain long. He soon became uncomfortably conscious that Chicago’s peace officers were alert, able, fearless.”

It’s very seldom that a new member of Congress gets any legislation acted by the House. But Representative Herman P. Kopplemann of Connecticut, who is serving his first term as a House member, happened to have introduced a piece of legislation which developed nation-wide support and as a result was acted upon favorably by the House.

Koppleman’s piece of legislation was a resolution he introduced last February which called for an investigation of the milk distributing industry by the Federal Trade Commission. When the House passed the resolution Monday, it tacked on an amendment authorizing an appropriation of $60,000 to carry out the investigation. The resolution is now pending in the Senate, where it is being considered by the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Kopplemann is bent on seeing that the Senate acts favorably on his measure and is keeping in close touch with Senate leaders.

Former Senator Thomas W. Hardwick, head counsel for the McCormack Committee investigating subversive propaganda activities in the United States, is getting into the swing of the investigation and is beginning to understand some of the motives behind Nazi and similar propaganda activities.

Those associated with the committee say Hardwick was shocked by some of the facts uncovered during the first week or two after his appointment as head counsel. But now he is getting the feel of things and is eager to move forward and strike hard.

Yet, with all his eagerness, Hardwick is cautious. He is enforcing one rule rigidly. This rule is to get the facts and get them straight. Then comes action. Judging by the hours the committee as a whole has been spending in executive sessions during the past week, hearing testimony from witnesses whose names are kept secret, there will be action. Committee members say that when the lid blows off and the committee reveals facts it has uncovered, the country WILL have something to talk about.

Apparently there is a well organized movement afoot to combine what are now independent groups into one major organization for the purpose of spreading subversive propaganda and kindling the fires of political, racial and religious hatred and bitterness. The McCormack Committee is following several angles along this line. There is evidence that the Silver Shirts, headed by William Dudley Pelly, are negotiating an alliance with the Friends of New Germany. A number of other anti-Jewish and anti-Catholic organizations have been approached.

Hotbeds of activity are in the south, the mid-west and New York. One member of the McCormack Committee said the committee could well use the services of at least 20 investigators to follow up leads and obtain information available in New York alone. The committee’s limited funds, however, make such intensive investigating work impossible.