Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1913-05-29
FAIR PLAY FOR
ALL DEMOCRATS
WHILE SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS
DOMINATE IN HOUSES, NORTH
ERN DEMOCRATS WILL BE REC
OGNIZED ON COMMITTEES.
IN COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS ALL
STATES IN THE UNION WILL BE
FAIRLY REPRESENTED AS POS
SIBLE.
Especial STAFF Correspondent

ional House is following the lead of the
National senate. 1t is giving Northern
Democrats a better show Tho South is
to rule generously at both ends of the
Capitol for the next two years. With
that section dominating both branches
of congress-, it is to give the Northern
Democrat a better chance. He is to be
encouraged to the utmost as the future
ally, who Southern Democrats hope, will
help materially to keep the Democratic
party in power throughout the nation.
In other words while the South. be-
cause of the longer service of its Scna-
tors and Representatives will possess a
lions share Of Congressional chairman
ships, it is proposed to give Northern
Democrats more voting strength in com
mittees. Northern Democrats now have
as many votes in the house rs Southern
Democrats. They have but 20 votes III
the senate. which is little less than
half the Democratic strength. But on
committees Southern Democrats haze
been enjoying greater voting strength
i'm the house than Northern Democrats.
This was particularly true on big com
mittees of the house because Southern
ers, older in service had earned places
on those committees, according to The
practise of making assignments, to the
exclusion Of newcomers.
Now this is to be changed in the com
mittees which will be announced June
., by Chairman Underwood and his col
leagues of Ways and Means, who are
now making up the G mmittec assign
ments for the house which will hold the
next two years. 1t is decided to divide
the Democratic assignments on commit
tees, big and little. evenly between North
ern Democrats and Southern Democrats.
1t will be a division man FIR man and
Northern Democrats will have Just AZ
much voting strength on appropriations
Naval avairs, Military affairs, Rules, and
so on down through a long list
This will be in c%OnScnanco with the
make up Of the Ways and Means Commit
tee, which the House elected some months
ago. That Committee has fourteen Dem
Ocratic members of whom seven are
from Southern states and seven from
Northern states. While on the basis OF
present representation in the house, there
is justice in this, it is none the less
generous for the South so to act. because
Northern states are really getting a pre-
pOnderance of votes. The Republican. or
minority members, are all northern men.
On the other hand it is borne in mind
that the country has grown enormously
and the strictly Southern states are not
half of the union in area or population
or resources in the Committee Organiza-
ton of the house, an argument that was
much heard in the organization of the
senate at the beginning of the extra
session of congress-.
The senate two years ago embraced
the idea of encouraging Northern states
TO go permanently Democratic. When
Charles +. johnson. of Maine. came here
as a senator the first Democrat to come
to the senate in 80 years, Senator Bill
Stone, of Missouri, a wise old politician.
champion generous treatment. They
gave johnson committee assignments
that made many Oldsters gasp. For cX-
ample the put him on the powerful fin
ancc committee, so that today Johnson.
although entering upon his third year
in the senate is olie Cf the bic men in
framing the Importance tariff bill They
did likewise for Senator Kern, Of Indi-
ana, who came in as a new senator that
year and who, incidentally, is now the
caucus chairman and nominal leader of
the senate When the two Colorado Dem
Ocrats came to the senate last March.
they were likewise taken right in and
not required to 90 TO minor committees.
The lest example of Democratic gen
crosby in that regard was with Senator
Henry +. Hollis, of New Hampshire. He
came here late, a green hand at nation
al legislation. but the senate Democrats
put him Immediately upon the very de-
sirable Currency Committee and other
wise honored him conspicuously, thus
giving him opportunity to have his seat
forthwith at influential committee
tables.
The senate has as good as taken from
the committee chairmen their old time
power. A senate chairman will hereafter
he little more than a presiding officer
of his committee, where in former times
he was a dictator and through his pow
er of calling meetings and in numerous
other things seemingly little, could WELD
undue influence in consideration of
bills. Then tendency in the house is Ike
wise. SO it is that the South. although
having mnnv imnnrtont hn;,,-I: