The Washington herald., 1912-09-01
BY JOSEPH r. AMIN.

by their fruits We shall know them.
BY the fruits of the first and second
sessions of the Sixty-second Congress, as
represented by the Democratic majority
in the House. the party Of Jefferson
jackson, ct al, wishes to be known by
the country On the strength OF the
record of its representation in Congress
more than on any other plea the Demo-
cratic party asks the voters OF the United
States to turn over to it the administra-
ton OF national AFFAIRS
REGARDLESS of its merits from a strictly
nonpartisan point of view, the work OF
the House of Representatives in the last
two sessions leaves little to be desired
in the way Of campaign material for
use by Democratic spellbinders this fall.
Thanks largely to the efforts of Majority
Leader Oscar w. Underwood Of Ala
bama, Speaker Champ Clark. and the
chairmen OF large committees, the frst
outburst OF harmony which greeted the
sweeping Democratic victories in the
Congressional elections Of 1910 has been
turned to more than temporary account
In the organization Of a decidedly I'M
Democratic-for the first time in years
the Democratic majority has had an et-
fective, well oiled. deadly accurate legis-
lative machine-House organization. This
organization may not have done JUST
what the Progressives believed should
have been accomplished. and certainly
the stalwarts of the Republican minority
flnd little to praise in its records, but
as a bid for Democratic votes the pro-
gramme which was pushed to culmina-
ton by the House organization Is al
most too good to be true.
Little Constructive Legislation.
This does not mean that Congress,
either through or in spite of the efforts
of the House majority. has accomplished
much by way of securing immediate re-
forms of an administrative or economic
character. With the exception OF the
Panama bill, very little constructive legis-
lation has resulted.
The Democratic majority did - and
therein il redeemed, in part at least, one
of its platform pledges-reorganize the
machinery of the House. 1t took all Of
the arbitrary power heretofore invested
in the Speakership and turned 1t over
virtually TO the Ways and Means Com
mittee. In the case of this Congress,
however. the change had to do with the
form rather than with the substance. for
with this power invested in two or three
leaders who, in the nature of things, had
to hang together or all hang separately"
the individual member found his condi- |
ton little changed He found that when |
the programme mapped out by the lead |
ers to redeem as many Is possible OF the |
platform pledges seemed jeopardized by |
too much individual inclination, the ma |
chineTy was just as deadly under the |
Cannon regime. In such cases, individual /!
hopes and plans were ruthlessly ironed |
out, whether they sprang from Demo- |
cratic, Progressive, or 'standpat' Repub- |
hcan sources.
The first move looking to this end was |
made when the joy of victory was upper |
most in the minds of the majority. The |
III tv-sn,,,
Democratic members were invited into 4
the caucus and presented with a care
fully restricted programme prepared by
the leaders with a view to redeem 1908
party pledges. They were impressed with
a necessity of redeeming these pledges in
so far as one branch of Congress could
redeem a platform pledge, in order to
brighten into realization the prospects
for Democratic victory in the national
campaign of this year. They were fur
ther impressed with the necessity for
concerted action, and to this end they
were taught that the party caucus is
sacred thing; that he who would stay
within the pale must abide by the eau
Gus dicta in all things.
Lessons Well Learned.
With the thirst for a 1872 victory ever
present, the lesson, as the last two ses-
sions have proven, was we'll learned and
bursts of revolt. and only one which
really seriously threatened the House
organization. Representative Rodden-
berry of Georgia loosed good deal of
haphazard oratory against the leadership
because he could not obtain immigration
legislation, and a few others kicked
against the pricks over various questions,
but until the fight over the navy bill came L
up, at a time when personal lines were
more or less strained among the leaders
because of the Democratic convention
fight. the House organization proceeded
with unwonted smoothness. From the
fight over the naval appropriation bill the
leaders learned the unwisdom of caucus
ing on questions Of national defense and
next session probably will find the navy
questions eliminated from the majority's
programme.
The pledge which the party found hard
est to redeem involved the reduction of
expenditures. This was the case for two
reasons. In the first place, the House
could reduce expenditures on the big sup
ply bill only as far as the Republican
Senate would permit. Secondly as much
OF the Federal money goes into individual
Congressional districts any restriction on
Its flow was expected to meet with oppo-
sitlon However. at the last session Fed
eral expenditures were reduced by some
thing more than 5000 900 under the ap-
made at the third session of {
the SiNty-nrst Congress. This would not