The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-06
MAY CHANGE DAY
 FOR INAUGURATION
Representative Henry to Urge
 His Joint Resolution
AT THE NEXT SESSION
Clerks i'm House Document Room Are Busy Preparing Hold-Over Bills for Action at Coming ses-
 sion of Congress
BY RoDERrcK CLIFFORD

BY RoDERICK CLIFFORD
 Washington. November 5.-(speciai. )-- A letter was received here recently from Representative Robert l.. Henry of Tex as to the effect that he will make an- other effort, in the early part of the next session of Congress, to secure the pas sage of his joint resolution to change inauguration day from March to the last Thursday in April. The Henry joint resolution came within A few votes of passing the House last session, and since then public opinion in favor of the pro- posed change in the date of inaugura- tion has steadily grown. until now the advocates of the change are more than hopeful of success.
 In connection with the change in the date of inauguration 1t is also proposed to change the time for the meeting and adjournment of Congress. For a num- sessions of Congress has been much dis cussed. The veterans of the House unite in saying that the time between the election of the members, in November and the taking of their seats in the House on the first Monday in December of the year following. is too long. The issues which play a prominent part in the cam paign and upon which the political com plexion of the House Is often changed, lose much of their vital force in year and hence 1t often follows that the new Congress disappoints the country. Members who have given much thought to this subject say that if the new Con gress could assemble within, say. two months after the election there would seldom, If ever, be occasion for an extra session. and the legislation promised the | people could be placed upon the statute books within reasonable time after the | people had declared themselves at the polls. sssp F r 1 1 This is one of the reforms in legisla- tion said to have the indorsement of President Taft, but 1t is doubtful if he
 will refer to it in his messa~e, as to do so might be regarded as being outside of his province. He may, however, avail himself of the opportunity to discuss the subject with his supporters in the House and Senate when they visit him in the | White House.
 Clerks in the House document room ahe busy these days putting into shape for the members copies of bills and resolu- tions that went to sleep In committee during the last session. Many of these measures will be freshened up, amplifed | and reintroduced when the House meets | in December. It is not likely that the House will duplicate its record of the last session In the matter of the introduc- | tion of bills and resolutions at the short | session.
  l last, 27,279 bills were introduced in the House and 79O resolutions. And nearly every conceivable subject of legislation tswas- covered by the bills aand, resolJtions,- there promises to be no lack of new bills and resolutions poured Into the hopper during the first few days fthe coming session.
 As the tariff has figured in many con- gressional districts 1t is safe to assume that not a few members will have the perfect tariff commission bill'' to embar- rass the ways and means committee of the House. Several measures authorizing the appointment of tariff commission such as President Taft has suggested, were introduced in the House last ses- sion, but Representative Payne, chairman of the ways and means committee, was strong enough to prevent any of these bills reported out of committee. If the democrats win at the November elections the republicans who favor the tariff com mission idea will make renewed effort to have such commission authorized at the short session, because a failure to enact such legislation while the repub- llcans are in control would be fatal, as the democrats are known to be opposed to it.
 A veteran of the House, in comment ing on the tariff commission proposition, said that he was surprised that the news papers of the country should give so much space at this time to the subject. The talk of having commission to frame tariff bill might sound good to some of the new members, and to those unfa- miliar with tariff history, he said, But a glance through the record brings to mind the work of the tariff commission in the early sos. At that time there was lots of tariff talk, and there were many who advocated the appointment of com mission to deal with the subject, express
 Ing the opinion that to frame a tariff this way would eliminate 1t from poll ties and therefore not disturb the busi- ness interests of the country.
 Well, the commission was authorized" he continued, ''and 1t prepared a bill for Congress. It was introduced In the House and referred to the ways and means committee, where 1t was dropped into the waste basket so to speak. That was the last heard of the commission tariff bill.'
 The knowing ones of the House whis- per that if President Taft was given a commission to prepare a tariff bill 1t would meet with a similar fate, adding that the tariff had always been a politi- cal question in this country and always will be.
 Friends of ship subsidy legislation are hopeful of the passage of the ship sub sidv bill in the early days of the coming session The bill was reported to the House by the majority vote last April, and it was the purpose of the friends of the measure to have 1t considered under special rule, but this was prevented by the insurgents, who oppose 1t for the req son that they could not secure Legislation advocated by them
 Another thing that retarded ship sub sidy legislation at the last session was the Steenerson charges, that a lobby was at work to stife the legislation. A spe- cinl committee was appointed by the speaker to investigate these charges. Moy,x rxrrff. iy1o6