The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-15
NEW MEMBERSTO
HAVE FINE CHANCE
! FOR COMMITTEES
Ways and Means Committee
Only One So Far Settled
On in House
GOSSIP OF PLANS
FOR ASSIGNMENTS
Places Will Probably Not Be Given
Out Until After the Extra ses-
sion Has Finished Work
on the Tariff
BY G. Il. STEWARD

| by c. Il. STEWART
| Washington, March 14.-(Special y.
Never before in the history of the coun-
| try has the new member of Congress- re-
ceived such recognition as he will receive
at the hands of the leaders beginning
with the Sixty-third Congress.
| Ordinarily 1t takes years of service for
a member to get committee appointments
Of any special Importance. To begin with,
he is usually given an appointment on
some committee which may or may not
meet once or twice during session, and
when 1t does meet there is no great
stir in political circles In consequence.
1t depends largely upon his own efforts
and the brand of goods he delivers as
| to the rapidity of his promotion. That Is.
this has been the case in the past, and as
| to promotion it will probably hold true
| In the future, but he will be given a
broader field of work to begin with.
Fifty-six Committees
| There are Sc committees, including the
committee on committees-the ways and
| means in the House of Representatives.
| In the caucus of the House democrats re-
Gently Il was decided that members of
| II of the big committees, including ways
and means, appropriations, rivers and
harbors, postoffices and post roads, ju-
dietary, banking and currency, foreign
| affairs, insuar affairs. interstate and
| foreign commerce, and one or two others
which contain 21 members, IA of whom are
democrats, should not be members of
any other committee. It happens that
| there are many members now of these
committees who are chairmen of the lesser
| important committees and this rule will
not only deprive them of membership
-. .&l. l..4 T.
| will take away charmanships--tha Is,
unless the Craftsmanship of an unimpor-
\ tant committee is counted of more pres
| tige than membership of an important
committee.
| AS these eleven committees have IL DEM
ocrats each, it will take 154 of the PSI
democrats In the House of the Sixty-thrd
Congress to complete these IL committees
alone. There are 45 committees left,
ranging in membership from to q.
Really, from to p, inasmpch as there
| is only one committee out of the 45 with
as few as three members-the committee
| on printing. The next lowest has seven
members. With 154 democrats pro-
vided for on II committees, the remaining
| 1877 democrats will each have to fill places
on several committees In order to have
| the full quota of democrats on each COM
mittee
| Some of these committees are very i'm
portant. among them are claims, educa-
| ton, pensions. Immigration, coinage,
weights and measures; Industrial arts
and expositions labor, : patents, and
others, so it will be seen that the new
members get opportunities to begin with
never before offered them.
Opportunity for Service
| There will be so new democratic MEM
bers in the Sxty-third Congress, and
t,a
prove their metal
| OF the Alabama delegation, Mr.. Under
wood will be on only one committee, the
ways and means, of which he is the chair
| man. and as such the most powerful
| figure in Congress The ways and means
| committee now controls the functions
and powers so far as other committees
| are concerned once controlled by the
| speaker, and it was always desirable to
get an assignment to the ways and
means, but 1t is now much more So
| Mr. Clayton, as chairman of the judiciary
can only be on the one committee and
Mr.. Hefin as a member of the committee
| on agriculture will have to give up his
chairmanship of industrial arts and ex
positions Mr.. Taylor will stick to rivers
| and harbors the most important cont
mittee of which he is a member. Mr.
Barnett will remain as chairman of the
| immigration committee, and also retain
his membership on public buildings and
| grounds Mr.. Richardson will remain as
| chairman of the pensions committee and
retain his other committee assignments
also. Mr.. Hobson will remain on the
naval affairs committee retaining only
| this one place, as 1t Is one OF the big
| committees Mr. Dent is also on the
military affairs committee, another one
| of the big committees which viii bar
him from other committee assignments
1 III, ie OOStOffiCpS
| roads. also one of the committees on
which membership is held at the expense
of other committee assignments.
Yet to Be Made Up
| or course, all these committees, except
| the ways and means, are vet to be made
| nm There are no committees for the
| Sixtv-trird Congress, except the ways
and means committee. elected by the re-
| cent democratic caucus. 1t is presumed,
| however that when the committees are
made up all the hold over members OF the
committees of the Sixty-second Congress
will he reelected, with the exception, of
course. of the places on some committees
| ,roda vacant by the resolution adopted
| nroviding that membership on certain
| committees would limit a MEMBER to that
| committee.
n is doubtful if these committees will
he made up until after rne extra session
;s oyar There will be no real need for
| them In some quarters the belief is ex-
pressed that the ways and means conf
m;ttee will not make these committee as
| sionments until after the extra session
IN order that they may be in position to
! hold something over members who are
inclined to 'insurge" on the tariff. and also
something to hand them in case they ARE
| good
rha wavs and means being the body
| n,biob controls committee assignments
and will also be in charge of the tariff
hin would. 1t can be seen, have a pow
erfnlly persuasive argument to present
| 10 any member who was disposed TO kick
over the traces. Such is not the real
reason. however, for not making up, the
,ersonneI of the committees now. The
nress for time and the immense amount
| ~ work to be done by the ways ard
means committee make it next to impos-
ellie TO go into committee assignments
mil the tariff bill is finally disposed of.
| esnecia]Iy as there is no pressing need TO
! do so.
! 1COLUMBUS GIRL