The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-25
The Short Session.

Is the SnOrC session OF long
enough2 The Hon. CHAMP CLARK Of
Missouri answers with a stentortan No.
Like JOHN WESLEY GAINES, who wants
to dock absentees thirteen dollars and
some odd cents a day, the gentleman
from Bowling Green is a glutton for
work. He would like to do more of it
for his salary-more talking, more pri-
vate bill passing, more appropriating
for expositions, which the Hon. SERENo
PAYNE, with a coarse sense Of humor,
alludes to as town fairs. The short ses-
sion, Mr.. CLARK insists, must be length
ened, but the process is not so easy.
Each Congress has to die ON March 4
Of its second year. and unless called in
extra session it meets the first Monday
in December; but Congress may by
law appoint a different meeting day.
Being an iconoclast as well as a glutton
for work, Mr.. CLARK has found a way
to crowd more working days into the
short session without making it longer.
The session could be heightened, he
told the House on Wednesday. by cut
ting out this Christmas holiday perform
ance"; by which he meant the adoption
of the annual resolution to adjourn for
two weeks. Mr.. CLARK was probably
talking to a corporal's guard of members,
for the Christmas holidays of most
Congressman are not limited to the
time appropriation they vote themselves,
when he said:
understand that people have 10 go home some
times to look after their private affairs. but to grant
two weeks every year regularly for . Christmas
holiday is a sort OF childish performance"
This has a fine heroic, faithful-public-
servant ring. But:
Mr.. PAYNx-May ask the gentleman q ques-
tIonr-
NJ CLARK OF Missouri-Yes.
Mr.. PAYNE-Dld you ever vote against the reso-
luton 10 adjourn over the Christmas holidays,-
NJ CLARK OF Missouri-T always do. never
20 home during the Christmas holidays.
No Christmas joys and foolish senti-
mental cheer for the Hon. CHAMP CLARK.
Only unremitting toll and fierce endeavor
in the committee room, with reading Of
the Congressional Record as his one re-
Taxation. But others are weak vessels
and crave the good things of the table,
wassail, song and all kinds Of season.
able indulgences. They have no con-
scientious scruples about joining in what
the busy CLARK calls a childish per-
formance."
At first blush this public spirited man
seems to be right. Two weeks is a long
time to take out Of the short session for
Christmas, but if it be granted that a
member OF Congress ought to be allowed
to go home to play Santa Claus to his
children the Pacific Coast men must have
two weeks to go and come, and the time
they take out others must accept, all but
the infexibly secular CLARK. The real
trouble is not that Congressman vote
themselves a two weeks holiday, but that
many of them crib time at both ends
80 many in fact that the public bust
ness is neglected for almost two weeks
more. AS to whether the short session
should be longer there may be two opin-
ions and both sound. If no new laws
are needed the session is long enough
already; when there is really useful work
to do it may be much too short. We
are inclined to think that when the party
leaders in Congress complain that the
session is long enough only to pass appro-
priation bills they have no desire, for
reasons purely political, to do anything
else. The short session would be longer
if Congress were to take off its coat and
go to work resolutely.