Washington, D.C. July 28, 1939
Dear Bess:
We had another night session and spent hour after hour in talk but got close to a vote. I presided from 3:30 to seven and then had dinner with Swellenbach as host and Guffey, Minton, Barkley & Burke as guests. Five of us run next year. Every one of us faces a terrific fight. Cochran the Neb. Gov. has filed against Burke already. Minton said the Republicans would probably chase him out in Indiana. Swellenbach's collegue [sic] has induced a man to file against him and Guffey has plenty of trouble in Pa. Barkley said he'd bet a hat we all came back. Hope he's right.
I succeeded in getting a real rail bill agreed to and on the Senate calendar yesterday. It regulates subsidiaries and holding companies of railroads. It is the real reform bill that Wheeler and I have been working for in the investigation. Have held copious hearings on it as chairman of the subcommittee. Wheeler said I couldn't get it out. The railroads said they couldn't stand it, and no one thought it could be done. I got Lowenthal and Taylor, two of our young attorneys, to get the chief counsels of the Santa Fe, Pennsylvania, New York Central, and Union Pacific into a conference and the bill is on for passage. That's a real job. The Christian Science Monitor of July 26 had a grand editorial on the Wheeler-Truman Bill, and by the way that bill, amended out of all semblance to itself, passed the House day before yesterday and they passed it as the Wheeler-Truman Bill. So if we ever can agree on it, it will be our bill. We've got until the next Congress adjourns to do it. So you see I've been working. No letter yet today at 11:00 A.M.
Kiss Margey, love to you, Harry