The Sentinel=record. (Hot Springs, Ark.) 1900-current, 1911-03-04
CONGRESS
SUMMARY
SESSION JUST CLOSED SHOWS
BUT LITTLE GENERAL LEels-
LATloN PASSED.
Complete Change of the Complexion
of the House Will be the Feature
OF the Next congress-Outline
of Work.

Washington, March 3.--In the re.
Prospect the Sixty first congress.
which viii expire by constitutional
limitation at noon tomorrow appears
to have been distinguished by three
things:
The revision of the tariff in the So
called Payne-Aldrich bill, which was
passed at an extra session in the
summer OF 1909; the large amount OF
important legislation, much of it upon
the recommendation of President
Taft. enacted at the regular session
OF 1909 10, and tine exceedingly small
product of the short session." So
called, now coming to close.
The interval between the last two
sessions was marked by the political
upheaval registered at the general
election of last November, wnich
changed a large republican majority
into a stin larger democratic major
ity in the house of representatives;
cut the republican majority in the
senate almost to the vanishing point
and incidentally effected striking
changes in the senate personnel
The failure of this session to
enact much important legislation has
resulted in the practical certainty that
the new Sixty-second congress will
be called almost Immediately in ex-
traortiinary session, especially by rea-
son of the strong desire of Presirent
Taft to secure action upon the pend
ing reciprocity with Canada to the
consumrnation OF which the contract
ing parties pledged the utmost efforts
of the two governments.
In strong contrast with the sup
port which the Taft administration
received frcm the republican major
ity in the matter of legislation in the
regular session of 1909-10 is the facl
that at the present session the ma
jority has been anything but united;
the reciprocity agreement was passed
in the house by the aid of a large
proportion OF the democratic votes,
while the senate the rift in the ma
jority between the regulars" and the
insurgents" has been an important
factor in it's sidetracking and in the
consequent summoning of the extra
session.
To this division in the majority was
largely due the most dramatic fea-
ture of the previous long session-the
protracted and sensational conflict
last spring which ended in the mate
rial changes in the rules Of the house
generally interpreted as "the over
throw of the speaker" and which, aft
err bitter fight. lasting many hours
and including ene all-night struggle,
stopped only just short of the actual
unseating of Speaker Cannon
While the acrimony between the
regulars and insurgents neither be
gan nor ended with the battle over
the rules, that was its most conspicu-
GUS episode and there has been little
peace between the factions since in
either house.
In the senate the most sensational
feature of this session was the un-
availing effort in which the insurgents
were most active to unseat William
Lorimer as junior senator from Illi
mons, ON the ground of alleged bribcl y
in connection with his election by the
legislature of that state in the sprins
of 1909. The echoes of that battle are
still reverberating and its bitterness
adds fricticn to the closing hours ot
the senate session.
Another important recent action oi
the senate was the defeat Of the reso
luton embodying "a proposed amend
ment to the constitution of thu
United States to provide for direct
election of senator's by the people.
I'his resolution received more thar
a majority of the senate, but it need
ed two-thirds vote and fell short b,
only -four votes. Had tae senate pass
ed 1t, the house almost certainl,
would have done so. The friends o
this proposition entertain littlt
doubt that 1t will pass the next con
gress and go to the states for rati
fioation or defeat
The output of this session in thu
way of general measures consists
chiefly Of the appropriation bills am
several OF those have seemed in dan
ger more than once in the tense sit
uation OF the last few days when loni