Las Vegas optic., 1911-03-06
EXTRASESSION TO
BE A Long ONE
IS BELIEF
CONGRESS MAY SIT IN WASHING
TON UNTIL NEXT DECEMBER
SAY LEADERS

President Taft is predicted by lead
of both parties in the house and SEN
ate. The belief at the capitol is that
the session which will begin April 4
will continue through the summer
and possibly until the first Monday OF
next December, when the Sixty-second
congress will have assembled in reg
ular session under the constitution.
Members left yesterday for their
homes for the purpose of arranging
their personal affairs for an indefin-
ite period in Washington.
Republican senators and representa-
tives declined to comment upon the
action of the president. Until Satur-
day many of them did not abandon
hope that Mr.. Taft would not issue the
call. 1t was broadly intimated that
he would find an excuse for delay and
that ultimately something would hap
pen to justify him in abandoning his
program for an extra session. The
presidents reply to such suggestions
was his proclamation.
Attention was called to the fact that
President Taft is the only president
who has called an extra session in
defiance of the protests of every lead
er of his party in and out of con-
gress. Until the gavels of the presid-
ing officers of house and senate fell
at noon Saturday he was urged not
to issue the call. But when he went
to the capitol to sign bills passed in
the closing hours of the session the
proclamation had been prepared and
only awaited his signature. When it
appeared there were hurried confer
ences of republican and democratic
leaders at the capitol.
1--WE will Immediately begin revi-
sion of the tariff schedules down
ward" declared Representative I'm.
d-rwood, chairman of the ways and
means committee. 'T believe that
President Taft's reciprocity scheme
will prevail, but it will not be the
first thing on the calendar"
| Senator Bristow briefly outlined the
position of the progressive republi-
cans. He said:
"The president has called an extra
session to accomplish the ratification
of the Canadian reciprocity agree
ment. 1t is highly probable that in
the deliberations of congress that
agreement will be lost sight of be-
cause of the determination of the dem
ocrats to open the general revision of
the tariff. Two years ago congress
passed upon tariff revision and the
result was the enactment of the
Payne Tariff law, pronounced by the
president the best tariff law ever en-
acted by the republican party. Now
we are expected to revise the duties
of this law. There is not the slight
est doubt regarding the position of
the progressive republicans. They
will insist upon legislation that will
conform to the tariff plank of the
platform upon which Mr. Taft was
elected president. We shall resist any
free trade or other proposition that
will injure the industrial system oi
this country, but at the same time
advocate the repeal of every provi
sion of the Payne act which imposes
an excessive duty. This is the sort
of legislation which should have beer
enacted at the extra session called
by Mr.. Taft in 1909"
Democratic Leaders of the house
and senate today began to prepare
for the extra session. The ways and
means committee is expected to hold
daily sessions and agree upon the
lSSloldIIOA WnlNn Will UO plOpOoSu
The slate of committee assignments
and other matters involved in the or
ganization of the house will be dis
posed of speedily.
The records show that there have
been ten special sessions of congress
in the last fifty years. Abraham Lin
coin called the first of the series to
meet July 4, 1861, to take measures
to suppress the rebellion. President
Andrew Johnson called the Fortieth
congress in special session, much to
his subsequent regret, doubtless, as
it afterward met no less than seven
times, recessing from periods of from
three months to three weeks. This
was caused by the bitter fight between
the president and congress over re.
construction, contest which culmin.
ated in his impeachment.
That congress passed law calling
the Forty-first to meet in special ses.
sion on March 4, 1869, the day of
President Grants Inauguration, and
the latter called the Forty-second to.
1 Pefher on that daV two wears later