SEENand HEARD around the y NATIONAL CAPITAL! By Carter Field FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT Washington.—A flood of mail pro tests, a considerable percentage of which criticized President Roose velt’s lack of action sharply, is what precipitated all the recent talk about a "White House conference" on the sit-down strike situation. Most of the senators and represent atives who began talking about this "conference” knew perfectly well that there was nothing the federal government could do, within the Constitution, unless movement of the mails or interstate commerce were directly affected. But they also knew that some thing should be done for reasons of political expediency. Some of them hoped to wring from Presi dent Roosevelt a scathing denuncia tion of this method of forcing deci sions in labor disputes. That seemed to be what most of the letter writ ers thought he should have done long since. Failing this, at least the idea that the President was taking an in terest—was holding a conference on the subject—would be a partial re ply tolhe criticism that was pour ing in from men and women known in many instances to the senators and representatives as hitherto ar dent Roosevelt supporters. It Just so happened, of course, that these complaints from Dem ocrats throughout the country co incided in many instances with the views of the congressmen getting the letters. There has been very lit tle sympathy on Capitol Hill with the sit-down strike, and many ar dently pro - Roosevelt legislators thought the President would lose nothing and gain a great deal by coming out strongly against this new labor weapon. The situation was aggravated by Secretary of Labor Frances Per kins. Miss Perkins Annoys Rightly or wrongly, Miss Per kins’ ‘‘backdown’’ in her letter to Representative John W. McCor mack of Massachusetts was hailed as a victory by congressional lead ers who had been transmitting pro tests from constituents to the Pres ident. They believe (irmly that this letter was ordered by the chief ex ecutive. Incidentally it gave considerable satisfaction to other cabinet mem bers, and quite a few high admin istration ofllcials, with whom the first lady cabinet member is none too popular. It seems that Miss Perkins has been annoying some of her fellow New Dealers not only by her ac tions, but by her lack of terminal facilities in conversation. Washing ton society has heard descriptions of cabinet meetings at which the secretary of labor rambled on and on, with not a soul present save the President himself who dared in terrupt her. Just recently a group of impor tant personages, about to visit Washington, wished a round table luncheon with a group of govern ment ofllcials. Presence of the gov ernment ofllcials at the meeting was approved and arranged for in ad vance by the White House. The agenda called loudly for representa tion of the Department of Labor as well as other departments. Simultaneoulsy came highly un official grapevine suggestions from five of the other agencies to be represented: “Couldn't this lunch eon be held at the Metropolitan club?" It was. The Metropolitan club does not admit women. Snarling Question The same question that snarls up the Wagner labor relations act does the federal government have power to regulate something wholly within a state because the effects of that regulation would be im portant in interstate commerce?— is of the essence in every proposal lor the federal government to deal with the sit-down strike situation. Some very learned constitutional authorities believe that the federal government does have the power— without changing the Constitution— to regulate a factory in Detroit or a coal mine in West Virginia or a steel works in Pennsylvania, on the theory that stoppage of any one of them affects immediately and di rectly the flow of interstate com merce. It is curious how often the sen ators discussing the situation refer to Grover Cleveland. When they apply the illustration of his forceful action, however, they are citing a case where there was never any real question of federal authority. For example, it was the operation of railroads that was involved. There has been no question for a long time that operation of a rail road was interstate commerce, and therefore directly within the power cf the federal government. But there was another point. All the evidence shows that Grover Cleveland acted for one reason, and one reason only. That was that the then railroad strike was holding up the movement of the mails. So that when critics of present l?ck of stamina by officials bring up the comparison with Cleveland, they are within the realms of logic if they apply the criticism to gov ernors of states, mayors of cities or other local officials, but up to date there has been no clear-cut case where application of this com parison to the federal government seems logical. Can Ask Federal Aid There has been some loose talk about local governments calling on the federal government for aid but thir is scarcely a question calling for new legislation. That power ex ists today. For instance, if a sit-down strike slpuld occur in a condensed milk plant in the state of New York, and if the New York state authorities sought by force to eject the strikers from the plant, precipitating riots with which the state forces were unable to cope, the governor of New York could appeal to the Pres ident for federal troops to aid him in restoring order. There has never been any ques tion about the power of the state governors to call for such help, or of the power of the President to extend it if he considered the re quest justified. It is purely a ques tion of policy with both local and federal executives. No legislation for such an act would be necessary. Indeed, senators studying the situ ation say that no legislation is like 1: which could add anything to ex isting powers. One development may be forced, however, by the conference on this situation and by subsequent at tempts to obtain legislation. Up until now labor leaders have rather avoid ed responsibility for sit - down strikes. They have affected an at titude of not having planned or or dered them, and of being slightly embarrassed by hot-heads among their lieutenants. But in any federal move to curb this new weapon it is certain that John L. Lewis and his lieutenants will be forced to take a different position. Supreme Court Most of the new arguments for and against President Roosevelt’s Supreme court enlargement plan continue to be Just as beside the point, and not actually applicable to the controversy, as those ad vanced originally. Take, for in stance, the latest attack on “star chamber” methods by the court in deciding on writs of certiorari, made by Senator Kenneth D. Mc Kellar of Tennessee. Senator McKellar apparently would have the Justices hold ia pub lic their discussion of whether or not they would issue a writ of cer tirari. In short, all the reasons why the individual justices might think a case should be ordered up from the lower court, to be heard by the Supreme court, should, if the McKellar proposal means anything, be spoken in open court, with news paper reporters and lawyers and the public present. Actually, of curse, there is never any such public discussion of cases by the court even in cases which are heard. The nearest approach to it is when, in hearing arguments in a case, individual justices ask questions of the counsel. Sometimes these questions are of profound interest to lawyers try ing to figure out how the court will decide the case then being heard. Once in a while the questions make a good newspaper story. Secret Discussions It is the secret—"star chamber.” Senator McKellar would call it— discussions of the justices later, with no reporters, no interested at torneys, and no public present— where the real views of the justices on the case involved come out— where the real deciding arguments are made. The present point is that if Sen ator McKellar's attack on the meth od of handling writs of certiorari is sound, it would seem to be equal ly sound that the discussions by the justices on cases which have been formally heard by the court should also be public—not “star chamber.” This would be mighty interesting to lawyers—and reporters. Beyond question, the thing most Washing ton attorneys would rather do than almost anything in the world would be to hide under a sofa while one of these discussions was going on. But then there are reporters who would like to hide under sofas at cabinet meetings. However, most lawyers, com menting on the McKellar proposal, take the view that certainly such open discussions would not accom plish the situation desired by the President—or by Senator McKellar. For obviously, if such discussions were in public, there would be con siderably more talking than at pres ent, and considerably more oratory addressed out the window—as the diplomats say. Which means that in the nature of things the justices could not resist talking more to the country than to their colleagues. Which, as the senate sessions dem onstrate, is scarcely conducive to speed or efficiency—and perhaps not even to sound decisions. C-WNU Service. Spring Scene in a Paris Zoo. Prepared by National Geographic Society, :Washington, D. C.—WNU Service. PRING flows across Paris in waves of Joy. Tender leaves bring shade to the boulevards. Horse - chestnut candelabra lighten the masses of new green. In the Jardin des Plantes, the Lux embourg Gardens, and the Bois, hoops, skipping ropes, and all sizes and colors of balls give outlet for a new surge of energy and delight. At Pre Catelan and Armenonville tables and chairs, reappearing after their annual hibernation, invite con viviality. Along the boulevards un scientific but heart-warming bra ziers, around which cafe patrons clustered all winter, give way to green tubs of pink hydrangeas. Overcoats are laid aside. Windows open wide in unconditional surren der to spring. Alonj the Seine the workmen’s clubs shine up their houseboats, and ragged laborers, stripping for a sun bath, become as well dressed as any man. Poor devils along the quays lie for hour: on the warm stone stair ways, savoring the blessed novelty of being neither cold nor wet. In the industrial suburbs, mild weather lessens the misery. In the Tuileries Gardens, human beings suddenly outnumber the stat ues, and at the Palais Royal, where John Howard Payne wrote “Home, Sweet Home,” little boys welcome staunch sailboats after adventurous voyages amid the waterspouts of the fountain. The Gingerbread Fair, with its roaring lions, skin-deep beauty shows, merry-go-rounds, wheels of fortune, and photograph shops, starts its annual round under many aliases. As the “Fair of the Throne” on the Place de la Nation, this street carnival has its biggest success, for there it is among its own, the com mon folk who get a thrill out of hav ing gingerbread pigs “baptized” with the names of their proud youngsters. Under other titles, the Ginger bread Fair later spreads its tents before the Invalides and paves the Avenue de Neuilly with pleasure from the Porte Maillot to the Seine. Along the outer boulevards it com petes for custom with cinema and cabaret. How long it can last, none of the sellers of nougat or spinners of for tune wheels can say. “People don’t seem to buy live turtles any more,” one veteran sighs. Plenty of Zoos There. There are zoos from one end of Paris to the other. Giraffes brush at the clouds with inadequate ears; a fat sea elephant tips its head back like a man gargling, in order to eat fish from the hands of a keeper standing on its back; mon keys chase fleas, lions obey a train er, and elephants, doing elephantine tricks, collect tips in their trunks. As for donkeys, ponies, ant’ goats, there are squads of them, each ready to go into action any time a pair of chubby legs straddles its back or a dainty miss of four takes the reins. Paris offers its children countless simple delights. A youngster can ride a camel, drive a llama or an ostrich, lance rings from a merry go-round, whirl to music inside a miniature plane, dig in the sand, sail a yacht, or forget the world at a puppet show. Then there is the Zoo of the Little Ones. Any city might have one. A | dozen lambs, two dozen pigs, six i donkeys, twenty kids, rabbits, duck lings, guinea pigs, and monkeys to suit the taste—this is the recipe. | Paris adds a baby camel and its mother. But that is mere swank. The magic lies in those mutually timorous contacts through which confidence and companionship are } established between a child and a | pet. Tiny children feed woolly lambs from bottles and squeal with delight when the little beggars suck the nipple off and spill milk down mother’s black dress. There is something enormously appealing about being allowed to feed another person's livestock when you are young in Paris in the spring. Every afternoon, governesses and their well-dressed charges invade the generous expanses of forest, park, and square. On Thursdays, when the schools are out, and Sun days, when everyone is, Paris goes sylvan to an unbelievable degree. Lying on the grass is a major sport. Within smart race tracks at Long champ or Auteuil, nature lovers stretch out under the sun, some scarcely raising their heads as prize-seeking hoofs pound by. The Buttes Chaumont. Homes of the rich overlook the Parc Monceau, but "Liberty, Equal ity, and Fraternity” obtain in the park itself. Working people come in from across the Boulevard de Courcelles as well as children from the aristocratic Avenues Velasquez, Ruysdael, and Van Dyke. Strangest of the Parisian parks is the Buttes Chaumont, laid out by Haussmann, the boulevard builder, on the site of the old plaster-of-Paris quarries. Rising in the middle of its artificial lake is a seeming moun tain, and surrounding verdure glori fies what was once a hideous hole. It is pleasant to think that Hauss mann, ruthless wrecker of medieval buildings, could create as well as destroy. Baron Haussmann did to teeming Paris what L’Enfant had done on paper for a nascent Washington, destined to be the beautiful capital city of a new republic. Haussmann thought in terms of boulevards, with the result that whole regions fell before the hammer of the auction eer and the onslaught of the house wrecker. But, thanks to him, mo torcars move. He was one of the few road builders of his day whose mind was broad enough for any thing but pedestrians. His boule vards have brought new notes to a city whose very cobbles have been cemented with human blood. Spring brings life to the parks and visitors to the Place de l’Opera. People think of the Opera as hav ing always stood there. Yet when the Germans entered Paris in 1871 Garnier’s masterpiece was not fin ished and the Communards, who wreaked their vengeance on hun dreds of buildings, spared this splen did structure, down whose grand staircase not an aristocratic evening gown or shirt front had yet passed. The three-acre opera and ballet school, library and museum is younger than many of the specta tors. In this Parisian show place, where evening dress is again compulsory in the best seats three nights a week, you are quite likely to hear Tannhauser singing German to Eliz abeth's French, a use of harmony which shows how far art outruns politics. As ballets, "Coppelia” and "Gisela” are much beloved. On Two Famous Streets. From the Opera, two famous streets lead south. The Rue de la Paix passes Cartier’s jewels, Coty’s perfumes, the Ritz, and the Hotel du Rhin, now empty, once leased by a Boston club for its members to use whenever they came to Paris. The Avenue de l’Opera passes Bren tano’s and the Comedie Francaise on its way to the Louvre. From the Louvre a broad band of beauty—like the Mall in Washing ton—stretches westward to the Seine, hurdles a few smokestacks, and continues to St. Germain, St. Cloud, and Versailles, 12 miles away. Standing in the Place du Car rousel and looking up that incom parable vista past the obelisk in the taxi-infested Place de la Concorde, one can almost forgive the destruc tive mania of the Communards, for it was they who, by burning the» Tuileries palace, opened this view toward the sunsets. The Tuileries gardens seem to have been laid out with square and compass. As if fresh from a beauty shop, Paris here challenges “Am I not fair?” Yes. more than fair, lor this com bination of promenade and garden, forest and art gallery, playground and yacht pond, woos with friend liness as well as artifice. Children adore that honest artisan Pere Guignol, who carves and paints his puppets, including Punch and Judy, and then gives them voice and action in his little theater among the trees. Conspicuous in Paris in the spring are the students. Paris is the Mecca for students from all over the world. Near the Sorbonne or Polytechnique one can eat soup in many languages and curdled milk in many more. University education, born in the cloisters of Notre Dame, soon spread to the Left Bank. Poor but proud, this republic of scholars made Paris the intellectual capital of the Middle Ages, the leavening pan of the Renaissance. The per son of a student was sacred, as the Count of favoisy learned to his cost when his residence was destroyed and he was banished because his lackeys started a brawl with the devotees of Latin and learning. A Crocheted Party Dress Pattern 1388 She’ll be proud of this dainty, crocheted frock, in a clover leaf pattern. In one piece, gathered to i contrasting yoke, it’s effective in string or mercerized cotton. Pattern 1388 contains directions for making the dress in sizes 4 to My *Tavotite | By Irene Castle McLaughlin ■ Marshmallow Sweets Boil some sweet potatoes. Mash and mix in a little cream and a good-sized lump of butter. Place in a baking dish and bake until brown. Remove and cover the top with marshmallows; put into the oven again and just let them get a rich brown on top. Copyrlifbt.—WNl) Service. Dyeing Pickpockets In certain provinces of Rumania a person convicted of pick ing pockets has his hands and ears painted with a special blue dye which lasts for four weeks. At the end of that time he has to return to the police station for a fresh coat of paint, and so on for a whole year. When a year has passed, if he has committed no further offense, he gets a clean sheet. It is said that thieves so treated nearly always reform.— London Answers. 8 (all given in one pattern); an illustration of it and of all stitches used; material requirements. Send 15 cents in stamps or coins (coins preferred) for this pattern to The Sewing Circle Needlecraft Dept., 82 Eighth Ave., New York, N Y. Write plainly pattern number, your name and address. Present Helpers Give the help you are able to . give now rather than wait for the ' greater gift you hope to bestow by ana by. If the poor widow had waited to cast more into the treasury when her fortunes im proved, she never would have won that commendation of the Master. There may be far greater need for that help you can give now than there will be for your great er assistance at some later time. "I was a sucker