Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1913-08-24
CONGRESS- REMAINS
 0N THE JOB Tariff and Currency Meas ures Must Be Disposed of Before Adjournment.
IN SHIRT SLEEVES
Hot Weather Has "GOt Their Coat But There's No Chance to Re.
 create or Visit Home Folks.
BY JONATHAN WINFIELD

ciled to the fact that both the tariff and currency questions must be dis posed of before adjournment and have settled back to await the arrival of fall.
 It's pretty tough on the statesmen who had figured an adjournment about July 15 or August 1. Earlier in the season the average member drought he would get away to the seashore or mountains about this time and the Presidents insistence upon carrying out certain plans made at the White House and not on Capi- l tol Hill came as severe shock.
 Gee, we might as we'll stay on here now and carry the thing through to 1 the regular session in December y l complained one perspiring member of the House. who had just sent his wife to the country with little hope of fol- lowing her soon. He added:
 "It seems to me that Congress has been in almost continuous session. for the past five years. It's either long regular session or extra session following the short ones I've prac- tically given up all ties back home, have surrendered by law practice and might as we'll register as an all- year-round citizen of Washington so far as business is concerned"
 The truth is, the continuous per- formance in Congress is costing the members as we'll as the country lot of money. The majority of the na- tional legislators are lawyers; men who have built up pretty good prac- tices back home. Otherwise they might not be here. In the old days and not so very long ago at that, there 1 was less for Congress to do, some how. There wasn't half dozen inves- tigating committees grinding away; the tariff question was comparatively quiet; international muddles were few and far between and the country struggled along some way with it's old fashioned currency system.
 Sixteen years of Republican rule rather got everybody in the habit Of taking things easy and not hunting for trouble and there wasn't half so much for Congress to do. In those days member of Congress could count upon spending at least four to six months of the year at home and frequently he could put in eight to nine months on his private affairs. It made a difference financially and otherwise.
 Since early in the Taft administra- tion, however, Congress has been grinding away, getting good start with the Payne bill which passed on August 5, 1909. When President Will son called the current extra session last April it was hoped to get the Un- derwood bill through by August D 1913, or not later than August 15, but such hopes vanished when the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate caucus held up the measure almost two months after it passed the House delaying it's presentation to the sen- ate proper.
 Then the President came along with his currency message and the anxious-to-get-h fellows just groaned. At first there were hopes o1 calling off the president and hints were thrown out that currency might go over until the regular session. The Presidents message was plain enough but he supplemented it with certain observations made when inquirine statesmen dropped in at the White House to ascertain if he was really in earnest about this all summer busi' ness. In the language of the street the President said nothing doing" on the adjournment talk and here the I Legislators are.
 The grumbling increased as the weather got hotter and one day fe" Senators were seen with their heads close together in the senate cham. Der. The Republicans were feeling out the Democrats on a proposition something like this:
 "Now you Democrats want to gel 1 the Tariff bill through. We'll, the Re publicans will agree not to make long < speeches against the bill, in othe' words we'll let you go ahead and rush your blamed tariff bill through Il you'll agree to adjourn right away and come back here along in Novem' Der and take up currency. II you don't agree we'll take our own tlm'