The 73rd U.S. Congress ends its session in Washington DC, United States. Billions of dollars are voted for the operation of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs to aid the country during the Great Depression. Exterior view of the U.S. Capitol framed by trees. Wheat harvesting combines at work on a field. Scenes of men getting back to work. Men cutting down trees in logging operations as part of Works Progress Administration (WPA) or Civilian Conservation Corps work (CCC). A crowd of men walking into work on grounds of a plant of factory. Woman fills white cloth bags with coins. Men gathered at a stock or commodity exchange. A biplane aircraft taking off from a snow covered runway. A new ship being launched from skids at a shipyard. The ship underway. Women workers seated at a liquor distillery assembly line put covers on liquor bottle tops. Bartender pours draft beer into glasses in a bar (soon after end of prohibition) and serves patrons. Men and women gathered at a bar drinking alcohol. U.S. Congress in session and view of Speaker of the House, Henry Thomas Rainey, standing and using gavel at podium or dais.
An anti-gambling campaign is launched by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in New York. Views of smashed slot machines. People smash slot machines and carry them away. Mayor La Guardia and then others on a boat throw the smashed machines into the Long Island Sound. Part of a "25 years ago today" UN newsreel story issued September 24, 1959.
Automotive progress notes feature a steam powered truck and a collision-proof car. A man fills coal into the hopper of a steam-powered truck and starts the truck. The truck is driven on the roads of a stone quarry in West Virginia. The truck was imported from the UK and has written on the door, "The Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd. Shrewsbury England". Smoke from the steam truck as it drives up a hill. Scene shifts to demonstration of a collision-proof car made with stainless steel mesh and plaster of paris. It was invented by a San Diego man. The car is driven on rugged terrain. After going over a large bump the drivers door flys open. Part of a "25 years ago today" UN newsreel story issued September 24, 1959.
A circular-wing airplane, also called the Saucer Plane, or the Umbrella Plane. The aircraft, invented by Steven P. Nemeth, of Chicago, is demonstrated in flight. Views from an accompanying airplane, as it maneuvers.
Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, of New York City, strikes a slot machine with a large ax. Anti-gambling Officials seen aboard the tugboat "Manhattan" in New York Harbor, as it pushes a barge loaded with slot machines destined for dumping in the Atlantic Ocean. Lettering on the barge reads: "The City Of New York Department of Docks." View of damaged slot machine showing internal wheels. A man's hand seen trying to manipulate the broken machine.
Two law enforcement officials pose at New York City waterfront. The tugboat, "Manhattan" underway in New York harbor, in calm waters, pushing a barge loaded with damaged slot machines. Officials stand on deck and an American flag flies high above the vessel. "City of New York Dept of Docks" is written on the barge. Interior of the tugboat wheelhouse, with the Captain at the wheel, steering. Group of men dumping slot machines from the barge into the sea. They work on a huge pile of machines from which some tumble to the deck. One burly fellow lifts a machine over his head and tosses it into the sea. An official, in a business suit, uses broom to push debris from the barge into the water.