Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-03-13
TEST new MEMBERS
PARTY LEADERS SOUNDING THE
SENTIMENTS or INCOMING
coRcREssMEN.
MAJORITY ARE PROGRESSIVE
Thouaands Of Bills VIII Be Dropped
In the Extra Session Hopper-But
Few Of Them Ever Will SEE
LIGHT.
81 eEoReE cLINTaN,

BY GEOEGE CLINTON.
Observation-Disclosures of the new
lower house of congress are coming
into Washington in numbers day by
day. The Democratic and Republican
leaders are sounding out the senti-
ments of the incoming members of
their parties, primarily In a most del
icate way, to find out definitely just
what their fractional affiliations are.
The Democratic leaders want to know
whether the incomers are extremely
conservative, just plain conservative,
progressive, or radically progressive,
and the Republican leaders are trying
to find out just about the same things.
The leaders of the house Democ-
racy Is. man of marked conservative
tendencies. He says SO and his acts
prove him 30. 1t must not be under
stood, however, that he Is not progress
sively inclined along lines which he
considers safely progressive. His op
ponents In his own party say that he
considers few things safely progress
sive and that therefore he Is definitely
conservative. The great majority of
the Democrats I'm the next house viii
be men who call themselves ogre
sives and who are known at home as
such. This majority will have q
marked influence on legislation and on
the unfolding Of President wilson's
policies. which everybody here be-
lieves will be advanced. It IL not
thought in Washington that, even the
conservative leaders of Democracy In
the house will attempt to prevent the
passage Of legislation that Mr.. Wilson
may recommend, even If it appears TO
them to be "over radical"
Flood Of Bills Certainty.
Aside from the tariff, which viii
take up q large part of the time Of
the extra session, and aside also from
currency legislation, which may or
may not be given consideration, there
will be thousands Of bills dropped into
the hopper" of house and senate be-
fore ten days Of the extra session
have gone by. These bills will make
provision for q multitude Of things
which attempts have been made to
provide for before, but which have
failed for one reason or another.
Few new members of congress reach
the capital without full belief in their
breasts that they are ordained to be
the makers of legislation which the
statesmen call Constructive" About
one member in q thousand perhaps
leaves a lasting name In legislation.
and so it will be seen readily enough
how many of the newcomers will be
disilIusioned, and doomed II know
their disappointment before many
weeks OF the new session have
passed. Bill preparing is q regular
industry among congressman. The
measures are drawn put into the
house basket read by titles. printed
and referred to committees, but the
overwhelming majority of them never
comes out Of the committee room with
any kind Of q report
% There Is only one instance In years
OF Washington newspaper experience
which can be recalled in which a new
member succeeded in getting into pub
lie legislative prominence almost Inn
msdiately after his arrival. In . way
this man never saw the fuIfillment of
his desires, for the bill which he In
troduced and which bore his name
was refused sanction by the senate,
later to be reintroduced into the
house and passed by the senate. but
bearing the name Of another member
OF congress who had been long years
In the service.
Townsend's Exceptional Case.
This case which ome to mind
sharply is that Of Charles e. Town.
send, now a United States senator
from the state OF Michigan. Town
send came to Washington as a new
member of congress and having some
ideas on railroad rate legislation
based on a study of the question, he
submitted them to Theodore Roose-
velt, who was then president Of the
United States. Mr.. Roosevelt ap,
proved them and q bill bearing the
name of the new member, in connec-
ton with that Of an older member,
Esch Of Wisconsin, was introduced In.
to congress and was passed by the
house.
This measure was known at the
time as the Townsend railroad rate
bill and the country learned about the
man OF whom It had heard little or
nothing before. When the senate had
decided that 1t needed more time to
consider railroad rate legislation and
had refused to pass the bill which the
Michigan man had drawn. another bill
vas prepared, this time by Represent.
attYa Hepburn OF Iowa, who is NO
longer q member Of the house. Hep
burn, It was believed. was opposed ia
railroad rate legislation, as provided
for by the hrst bill. but his measur
followed its lines very closely, and SO
! In a way what had been the Town.
send bill became the Hepburn bill ant
It is so known today.
The bills which new members of
| congress already are preparing to In.
troduce cover al kinds of subjects
from increasing the supply Of free
seeds TO the building of q three times
greater navy. Among them viii be