Evening star., 1911-01-24
House District Committee to
Fight for Rights.
TIRED OF STEAM ROLLER
Sidetracking Of Teachers Retirement
Bill the Last Straw.
CHAIRMAN SMITH DETERMINED
He and Representative Olcott Angry
at Sights Put on Legislation
Affecting This City.

The worm has turned. The House COM
| mittee on the District of Columbia,
laughed at and ridiculed, stepped upon,
| trampled over and steam-rollered upon on
every possible occasion, has decided to
| flibuster for its rights.
The performance OF yesterday, when by
previous arrangement between Speaker
Cannon and Representative Weeks of
Massachusetts, chairman of the post
office committee. the District committee
was taken off it's feet and District day
stolen, that the post Office bill could
be considered instead of the school teach
| ers' retirement bill, was the last straw.
Representative Samuel w. Smith of Mich
| igan. chairman of the House District COM
| mittee. announced today that he was tired
of endeavoring to conserve the interests
OF the District of Columbia by fair and
courteous methods. and proposed to see
| what he could do by fiibustering and
making himself obnoxious by obstruction
methods.
And if Mr.. Smith does not carry out
that threat, 1 WILL, Representative J.
IVAN Vechten Olcott of New York de-
| clares.
| Mr.. Olcott is in charge Of the school
| teachers retirement bill, which, fgura-
lively speaking, was SO rudely thrown out
| OF the window at the beginning of yes
terday's session of the House. 1t is
the purpose Of these two members-and
they will have the assistance of other
republicans on the District committee
| to demand a first reading Of every bill
presented to the House for action, as
] they have right to do, no matter how
long that bill may be or what its char
acter. They also intend to object to
whether it be to "extend my remarks in
the Record" or to consider any of the
bills on the unanimous consent calendar
on the day set aside by the rules of the
House for that purpose. And besides
these there are a, number Of other ways
| of injustice done and desrous of max
| ing his colleagues Of the body both re-
publican and democratic. reach a more
reasonable frame Of mind, may delay the
business Of the House to very apprecia-
BILE extent.
Night Sessions Would Help.
While it is true that only about five
weeks Of this session Of Congress remain.
| for the transaction of legislative busi-
| ness. with the calendars crowded and a
| number of the important appropriations
bills behind schedule, it is also fact
that a week or SO of night sessions
| would do a great deal to relieve the pres
ent apparent congestion. Certainly
there is no earthly excuse. in the opinion
of members of the House who are friends
of the District, for treating the District
committee with such contempt, denying
that body which, in its collective sense,
Is the only representative of the citizenry
Of the National Capital on the floor OF
the lower branch Of the national legfsla-
ture, it's rights under the rules and per-
mitting business, much of which has gone
through the Senate and needs the &C
quiescence of the House to make it ef-
fective. to die upon the calendar
Yet this is just what will happen unless
committee. Messrs. Smith and Olcott
and the other republican members of the
committee are not looking Tor trouDie.
They have no desire to be unpleasant, to
make themselves unpopular with individ-
ual members of the House and with the
republican machine in their enort to
secure justice for the District. But they
propose to do just this unless the COM
mittee of which they are members, and
which they consider has been SO out
raeeously treated both last session and
this. receives its just proportion OF time
under the rules.
There is no question but that even
one man filibuster, If persisted in. would
delay the business of the House more
than half a dozen District days. Speaker
Cannon and his cohorts probably will
| appreciate this. too. before the flibuster
has been long in progress, and 1t is ex-
from members on both sides whose plans
for getting things through by unanimous
consent have been frustrated and the
complaints of committee chairmen whose
bills are held up by first reading and all
that sort of thing will result in some
time being set aside for the considera-
ton Of District business.
Two Important Bills.
There are two measures on the District
calendar of the total Of twenty-eight
which Messrs. Smith and Olcott are par
ticularly anxious to get through the
House at the earliest possible moment.
One of these is the school teachers re-
tirement bill. to the consideration of
which an entire day already has been
devoted. and the other is the bill to put
into effect the Judsen scheme for financ-
| ing the District so as to make possible
the immediate undertaking OF costly per-
manent improvements without the pros
pect of attempting to pay for them out
| of the municipalities current revenues.
There is no question but that the re-
tirement bill will pass with an over
whelming vote If ever the present OBJ
struction tactics are abandoned and final
action is permitted. At present prOpon-
ents of the proposition say very plainly
that the reason the District committee is
being SO unfairly treated just at this
time, when the retirement bill Is pend
ing, Is simply Indt Ine HOUSE ledueTS uo
not wish to see that bill passed and con-
sequently will not permit it to come to
| a vote, which, as they well realize, must
inevitably be favora able.
So far as the Judson bill is concerned,
its prospects for passage would be equally
bright if it could be got before the House.
Those members of the body who are bus
ness men, who in their private capacity
are identified with the management of
large concerns with extensive and diversi
| fled interests, and who have studied the
provisions of the Judson funding scheme,
are enthusiastic i'm its advocacy. They
think it should be enacted into law at the
earliest possible opportunity.
'I considered the Judson proposition.
not from the standpoint of a member of
Congress, but as a business man." said
Representative Madden of Illinois today.
"It should be enacted. I think every busi-
ness man in the House feels the same
way about it IL he has given the subject
any thought at ALL"
| Mr.. Madden is not even a member of
the District committee. But he is on the
appropriations committee, and an excel
| lent indication Of the sentiment in the
House with respect to the Judson funding
scheme is found In the fact that Repre-
| sentative Tawney Of Minnesota, chair
man of the appropriations committee,
and Representative Burleson of Texas,
| the senior minority memDer, are both
| for it.
KRAFT. PLEADS GUILTY.
| Admits Violation of District Gift