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Washington. — Overshadowing all
else in the national capital at this
writing is the contro-
Need Curb versy that is boiling
on Inquiries an( l surging around
the head of Ala
bama's Democratic Senator Black, who
is the chairman of the senate’s lobby
investigating committee. As an off
shoot of this controversy, the federal
communications commission is in wa
ter much too hot for bathing and it
begins to appear that when the steam
blows off the communications com
mission is likely to be a thoroughly
discredited federal agency because of
the part it played In Senator Black’s
unprecedented seizure of private tele
grams from the Western Union and
Postal Telegraph companies.
Speaking generally, it has been sel
dom that a United States senator has
ever attempted to assert the authority
that Senator Black has used and it is
equally unprecedented that a federal
agency has gone to the extremes that
characterized the action of the com
munications commission In connection
with the seizure of the messages.
But some good may come from the
police court prosecution tactics em
ployed by Senator Black and some
good may come from the accusations
leveled at the communications com
mission because that body helped Sen
ator Black carry out his plans.
The country-wide indignation that
has arisen from Senator Black’s usur
pation of power has brought to the
front a question that needs public at
tention and needs it badly.
I refer, in this connection, to the
steadily expanding efforts of congres
sional investigators, especially sena
torial investigators, to take over, as
their own, powers that always have
been regarded as reserved exclusively
to the courts. The consensus among
Washington observers certainly Is that
the legislative Inquiries have devel
oped to a point where the most hum
ble requirements of justice have been
and are being completely ignored.
Whether they are so intended, these
inquiries, and this includes investiga
tions conducted by committees not
only of congress but of state legisla
tors and even city councils, are ap
proaching the point where they are al
most tyrannical.
It goes without saying, then, that
the time has arrived for citizens to as
sert themselves. These inquiries will
not proceed when the elected legisla
tors, state or national, learn that the
people do not approve of such high
handed tactics.
* * *
In order to have an understanding
of the latest of these escapades, it is
necessary to review
Black s briefly what has hap-
Activities pened in the case of
the senate lobby In
vestigating committee. Almost a year
ago the committee sought the aid of
the federal communications commis
sion which had the color of authority
in law for investigating the business
of the telegraph companies. Senator
Black issued a broad subpoena, direct
ing the telegraph companies to make
available any and all messages his
committee desired. Communications
commission agents then went into the
telegraph company flies, read every
thing they could find and made copies
of all of the messages which those
agents, under guidance of Black in
vestigators, thought would be helpful
to the Black committee in exposing
operations of private individuals.
The purpose of this, as outlined by
Senator Black, was to locate clues to
the machinations of business interests
who were seeking passage or defeat
for legislation pending in congress.
The Alabama senator wanted to “show
up” lobbyists. He contended and has
maintained consistently that “these
malefactors of great wealth” could not
accomplish any influence in congress
unless it were done secretly and “in
the dark.”
In other words, Senator Black per
suaded members of the communications
commission to help him in his fishing
expedition. He persuaded that organ
ization that it should become a party
to an unreeedented effort designed as
a dragnet, a movement to smear any
body and everybody who had used tele
graphic service.
The Black plan was carried out In
secret. Senders and receivers of mes
sages which those agents^ copied knew
nothing about it. The operation was
just as much “in the dark” as any of
the lobbying about which Senator
Black complained, even more so. It
was only by accident that the facts
became known but when they did be
come known, the lid was promptly
blown off.
The end is not yet, nor is it even In
sight. One federal judge has issued a
restraining order against such tactics
and a half dozen other applicafoons
for similar orders are pending. Un
doubtedly, the questions, whatever the
rulings may be, will find their way
eventually to the Supreme court of
the United States.
The senate itself is looking Into the
situation, it has, by resolution, asked
the federal communications commis
sion to make a report stating the facts
ftJid by what authority it acted.
So there is much hubbub about the
whole thing and if one may judge from
the line of conversation generally
heard around Washington, Senator
Black Is on the hot spot, and the spot
thus far has shown no iudications of
entering a cooling stage.
* • •
Senate Investigations long have been
considered by many people as a modus
operandl that creak
Charge with unfairness. Un-
Unfairness biased observers fre
quently have criti
cized them because of the methods em
ployed. It seems absolutely necessary
that the senate should have power to
call witnesses, to ask legitimate and
proper questions and to force answers.
If it is going to enact legislation to
correct evils, it must be equipped with
such powers. But the point is that in
seeking such information, the senate
has consistently permitted its com
mittees to act in a fashion that can be
described by no other word than out
rageous. I have watched them over a
period of nearly twenty years and sel
dom, if ever, has there been an impor
tant investigation that did not degen
erate sooner or later into a condition
that savored of police court practices.
Itespectable citizens have been sub-
poened, have gone before the commit
tees willing to tell their complete
story, anxious to co-operate and have
found themselves treated as outlaws
and criminals. This situation has be
come so prevalent in senate investiga
tions that when any citizen is sub-
poened to appear before a senate In
vestigation these days, his neighbors
and friends begin to ask each other
what crookedness is involved. In other
words, the psychology of the senate in
vestigation, as it has developed
through the last fifteen or twenty
years, has become one that reverses
the constitutional right of an indi
vidual that he is innocent until he is
proved guilty.
For several years, there has been a
bill pending in congress designed to
prevent, or at least reduce, lynchings.
The theory back of It is that many
times innocent persons have been
lynched and that every one has a right
to a trial by jury in a properly consti
tuted court. Over across the Atlantic
ocean, dictators have operated and
have employed the “blood purge,” the
summary death sentence or the execu
tion without granting the accused the
right of defense. Undoubtedly some
persons guilty of murder or rape have
been lynched; undoubtedly the “blood
purge” by the Nazi rulers destroyed
some bad characters and undoubtedly
the summary executions by the Soviet
or the Fascists of Italy have provided
death for individuals who were fester
ing sores to humanity, but there can
be no doubt that in the case of the
lynchings or in the case of the “blood
purge” or the summary executions,
many innocent persons have had their
lives snuffed out.
So it is with senate investigations.
Undoubtedly they have uncovered some
dirty crooked dealings. Undoubtedly
they have brought to public attention
activities and conditions that ought to
have been exposed. Yet, the fact re
mains that nearly all of our people are
decent people, law abiding and self-
respecting. And when senate investi
gations go beyond proper limits they
approach, if they do not wholly be
come, tryanny.
* • •
In defense of Senator Black’s action
in the lobby investigation, I think it
can fairly be said
Not Wholly that he is not wholly
to Blame to blame if he has
gone further than
any other in the program of inquiry
and prosecution upon which he has
launched. Little by little, bit by bit,
the senate has arrogated to itself au
thority hitherto not used by it. Little
by little, it has encroached upon what
many believe to be the jurisdiction of
the courts and in a like manner it has
taken unto itself powers hitherto sup
posed to have been exclusively re
served to the executive department of
government.
It would seem, then, that if other
senate committees had established the
precedent, Senator Black could prop
erly use the same methods. The trou
ble in his case is that he did not stop
at limits previously set, discreditable
as those limits were, but went beyond
them.
To repeat, there is every indication
that some good will come out of this
circumstance. Important men and bril
liant lawyers and great organizations
like the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States, the National Association
of Manufacturers and the American
Liberty league have taken note of the
steadily expanding power claimed by
the senate. This means that the ques
tions involved will get into the courts.
It is to be hoped that they will he
presented to the courts in such a man
ner that the questions may he finally
and lastingly answered, that the pow
ers of the legislators may be delimited
and that a definite expression may
come from the judiciary that will de
termine whether members of the house
and the senate can serve at once us
legislators, judges and prosecutors.
© Western Newspaper Union.
improved
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
S UNDAY I
chool Lesson
By REV. P. B. FITZWATER. D. D„
Member of Faculty, Moody Bible
Institute of Chlcaso.
© Western Newspaper Union.
Lesson for March 29
JESUS EXPLAINS THE KINGDOM
LESSON TEXT—Luke 13:18-30.
GOLDEN TEXT—And they shall come
from the east, and from the west, and
from the north, and from the south,
and shall sit down In the kingdom of
God.—Luke 13:29.
PRIMARY TOPIC—Good News to Men.
JUNIOR TOPIC—Jesus Talks About
His Kingdom.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR
TOPIC.—My Part In Extending Christ's
Kingdom.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT
TOPIC—Requirements for Citizenship
In the Kingdom.
I. Jesus Teaching in the Synagogue
(vv. 10-21).
The presence of a sorely afflicted
woman called forth Jesus’ sympathy
and he, therefore, healed her. This
action on the Sabbath day provoked
severe criticism on the part of the
ruler of the synagogue. Jesus quickly
silenced his objections by showing that
this good deed was entirely in keeping
with the purpose of the Sabbath day.
1. The parable of the mustard seed
(vv. IS, 19).
a. Its unimportant beginnings (v.
19).
It begins as the least of all seeds
and grows to be the greatest among
herbs. The parentage and humble cir
cumstances of Jesus the King greatly
perplexed the people. That twelve un
lettered fishermen should he selected
as his advisers was still more amazing.
b. Its vigorous growth (v. 9).
Though small in its inception, the work
Inaugurated by Jesus Christ has be
come mighty in power.
c. Its lodging capacity. The birds
which find lodgment in a tree do not
represent the children of men who
find safety and salvation in the church,
but they are predatory beings waiting
to pkick the tender buds or to prey
upon the ripened fruit. The effects
of such lodging are evil, blighting even
to the spoiling of the tree.
2. The parable of the leavened
meal (v. 21). When the scriptural
significance of the meal, the woman,
and the leaven is known, the interpre
tation is easy,
a. The meal. Meal In Scripture
means something wholesome and nutri
tious. It was used in one of the sweet
savour offerings which typify Christ
(Lev. 2:1-3) and was the food for the
priests (Lev. 0:15-17).
b. The leaven (v. 21). In the
Scriptures leaven is invariably a type
of evil, as the following examples
show (Exod. 12:5, Lev. 2:11; Matt.
10:6, 12; I Cor. 5:G8).
c. The woman. In normal life the
woman is the administrator of the
home, not its head. Her responsi
bility is to take the bread provided
by the bead, prepare and distribute It
to the household. In Scripture we
find false doctrine being taught by a
woman. Dealing with doctrine is for
bidden to women (I Tim. 2:12). In I
Timothy 4:1-3 we find that apostasy
will be brought in through false teach
ing in the ranks of God’s people. The
meaning of the parable, therefore, Is
that the true doctrine of the meal
given for the nourishment of the soul
will be officially corrupted by false
doctrine. The children’s food is thus
corrupted by their mother.
II. Jesus Teaching in the Villages
and Cities (vv. 22-30).
Jesus knew that he was on the way
to Jerusalem to be crucified. He was.
therefore, making an effort to reach
every person possible with the gospel.
1. A question asked (v. 23). We do
not know just why this question was
asked. It may have been out of curi
osity or by some Jew who prided him
self on being of the elect.
2. The Lord’s answer (vv. 24-30).
He did not answer directly, but by
likening the blessing of the kingdom
to a banquet hall in a palace.
a. The gate of the kingdom is
strait and the way narrow. It is easy
to see from his teaching, as well aj
from observation, that the saved are
few. The fewness is not due to either
Christ’s unwillingness or inability to
save, but the unwillingness of the sin
ner to come to him.
b. The immediate duty to set forth
(v. 24). Regardless of what others
are doing, the personal obligation is
upon everyone to strive to enter.
c. The door to be shut (v. 25).
God’s patience will not last for
ever. His mercy is to end and his
judgment will follow. Love and grace
spurned will eventuate in the mani
festation of divine wrath.
d. Pleading for entrance on the
ground of knowing Christ (vv. 25, 20).
This plea is met by the awful com
mand to depart, and even calling them
“workers of iniquity.”
e. A day of weeping and gnashing
of teeth (v. 28). The very sight of
the faithful ones enjoying the blessing
of fhe kingdom, while they themselves
are shut out, will be extremely awful.
Laughter and Tears
God made both tears and laughter,
and both for kind purposes; for as
laughter enables mirth and surprise
to breathe freely, so tears enable sor
row to vent itself patiently. Tears
hinder sorrow from becoming despair
and madness.—Leigh Hunt.
Truth
Truth and reason are common to
everyone, and are no more his who
spake them first than his who speaks
them after.—Montaigne.
Smart Jacket Dress
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The hip length jacket with its cut
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Notice how the gathers peep cun
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circular yoke. A simple skirt, but
not too simple to be attractive. Indi
vidualism is attributed to the wide
tailored pleats In the front.
Barbara Bell Pattern No. 1834-B
Is available for sizes: 12, 14, 10, 18
and 20. Corresponding bust measure
ments 30, 32, 34, 30 and 38. Size 10
(34) requires 4% yards of 35-lneh
Small Can Be Great in
Bettering of Humanity
lVhon a small nation accomplishes
something with its limited means,
says ex President Masaryk of Czecho
slovakia in Karel Capek’s “President
Masaryk Tells His Story,” what It
nchieves has an immense and excep
tional value, like the widow’s mite.
Speaking of his country, Masaryk
writes, “Our smallness as a nation
does not matter; it even has its ad
vantages; we can know each other
better, we can live more intimately;
we can feel more at home. But It
is a groat thing when a small nation
among great ones does not get left
behind, hut takes its share In the
work of bettering humanity.”
fabric plus Vi yard or contrasting
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The Barbara Bell Pattern Book
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Send fifteen cents today for your
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Send your order to The Sewing
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© Bell Syndicate.—WNIT Service
To keep clean and healthy take Dr.
Pierre’s Plensnnt Pellets. They regulate
liver, bowels and stomach.—Adv.
It Is Interesting
Perhaps you are not expected to
find this n happy world, but an In
teresting one. Be content with that.
IT’S A SWIFT AGE -v
Sixty happy years together hav*
taught Mr. and Mrs. Joseph fl. De
gray of Chicopee Falls, Mass., there
Is no formula for a successful mar
riage. “And it wouldn’t help If there
was,” Degray said on his anniversary.
“You can’t get ahold of young people
long enough these days to give them
advice.
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fhi s story
" will interest
many Men and Women
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Insist on S.S.S. Tonic In the blood-red Cellophane-wrapped pack-*
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