The National tribune., 1907-12-12
CONGRESS DRIFTING.
No Business Can Be Done Until
the Committees Are Made Up.
When That Will Be-The Presi=
dents Relation With Congress.

| Congress is drifting, has been drift
| ing, will drift right up to the holida!
recess. Uncle joe Cannon is doing
all the work for the House of Repre-
sentatives. The members have been
visiting" him during the last 10 days
TO reiterate what they have already
written him about the committees they
want. The man has the earache, the
members have talked at him so much
and so hard.
But ne can't help it. The members
are within their rights. He can't re-
member one-tenth of all they say to
him. He knows while they talk tina,
in couple of books kept by his Secre-
tary, Mr.. Busbey, and his parliamentary
clerk, Mr.. Kinds, have been noted all
that these Republican members have
asked for. But he must smile and be
pleasant while the Republicans tell the
story over again and while Congress
waits for its committees, for without
its committees it cannot do business.
Over in the Senate Senator Hale, of
Maine, is doing most of the work. He
is virtually Speaker at that end of the
Capitol for awhile. His title however,
is not Speaker, but Chairman of the
Committee on Committees. However,
he is the man who puts the pegs in
their holes, which is Speaker tHannon's
way of describing the making of COM
mittees. The Senate always docs things
little differently than the House. 1t
committees; but, of course, the Chair
man is the big man on the committee,
and has his way about lot of things
when it comes to a show down. Some
time the present week the Senate COM
mittees will probably be named, and a
little legislation may be expected from
that body before its adjournment next
week. The Democrats have already
chosen their men for the minority va
cancies, and Senator Hale's committees
Will report to the Republican caucus
this week. The caucus will approve as
a matter of formality, and then the
Senate will approve what the caucus
has done.
When the Committees VIII BE Made Up.
About next Saturday night Speaker
Cannon is expected to cut the visiting
short and put a poultice on his ears.
That means he will be ready actually
to make up the 6O-odd committees un-
der his jurisdiction. The members have
been talking to him morning, noon and
night for two weeks, and he is tired
out. But by Saturday night At the lat
est he will call his clerks to meet him
at his residence on Vermont avenue.
They will take the two books along,
and for about 20 hours the Speakers
front door will be shut to all callers.
He is likely to work all during Sunday;
in fact, the bulk of the work of putting
the names down in the committee lists
will probably be done Sunday.
That has been the case heretofore,
when Mr.. Cannon has had to make up
committees for the House. He has had
the task on his hands twice before this,
and each time he made up the lists on
Sunday. Then he lets the work dry
OUT for few days, and just before
the holiday adjournment makes the
list public.
Prospective Legislation.
Congress is giving a little attention
to the financial question. A Banking
and Currency Committee has been
in the House, with Representa-
tive Fowler as Chairman, and it has
held a meeting or two to organize and
to get into shape for the consideration
of numerous plans which have been
offered for curing financial ills. 1t is
a foregone conclusion, however, that
the law, as finally passed, will be
framed in the Senate. Chairman Fow-
Ter is an asset currency man, and he
has named as a subcommittee, with
himself as Chairman, men who will
likely acquiesce in what he recon-
mends. The strong men of the commit
tee. at least the strong men in the es-
of the House, such as Repre-
sentatives Theodore Burton, of Ohio;
John w. Weeks, of Massachusetts, a
leading banker of Boston, and Llewel-
lyn Powers, of Maine, have been left
off the subcommittee entirely. Their
voices will be heard when the bill gets
into committee, but probably they will
I.ra f, Il
command the support of the conserva-
tive forces in the Senate and the House
Senator Aldrich has been working on
currency legislation ever since he ar
rived in Washington. He has con-
ferred extensively with the members
of his Committee on Finance and with
other Senators. He has also made two
visits to the White House, the last time
of an evening in company with SEN
ator Crane, of Massachusetts,. The
President asked both of them to come,
and thereby gave proof of his desire
for harmony within the Republican
Party during the session. Senator AL
drich had not been to the White House
for many months, and it did not seem
likely that he would go there right
away, as his sentiments toward the
President are far from cordial
The meeting between the two men,
however, was frank and cordial The
President gave no indication of a wish
to dominate Congress IN the matter of
legislation. He is Interested
OF course, that Congress shall pass some
currency law, but he sur
prised Senators Aldrich and Crane by
that he intended to keep
hands off and leave Senate and House
to work out the problem according to
their own best judgment. OF course,
the President may change his mind
after awhile, as he generally reserves
the right to do that when Congress is
not coming up to the expectations of
the country, but it looks at present as
tho the Congress would be allowed to
go it alone in framing a currency bill
VIII the President Get Into Cordial Re
IatiOns:
1t may be that the President will get
back to harmonious relations with Con-
gress during the present session. Pos
sibly Congress would not be averse to
such a condition of things. It's leaders
have been more or less at odds with
the President ever since he entered the
White House. Every Winter there has
been some legislation which the Presi-
dent wanted to get thru and which Con-
gress would enact only reluctantly and
under pressure from the White House
AS far as the signs go, no program
for legislation has been made up at
the White House this year. The Presi-
dents recommendations for more en-
actments against corporations, it is un-
derstood, will not be passed at this ses-
sion, and the legislation viii be passed
over for his successor in office to handle
A modification of the Sherma anti
trust law is being drafted at the De-
partment of Justic by the Assistant to