The Washington herald., 1915-12-10
6. 0. P. MAY rule
D. c. Committee
Personal Fights Divide Demo
cratic Majority Aiken
Has Feud. ,
SINGLE TAKERS MEMBERS
Hamill Believes Capital Should Not Be
Made Proving Ground for I'm
practicable Theories.
SINGLE TAKERS MEMBERS
BY JOSEPH p. AMIN.

Democratic members OF the House Dis.
trict Committee are entering the Sixty.
fourth Congress with lively expectations
Of battles in the committee. The Demo.
cratic membership will be split several
ways. and the Republican members could
hold the balance of power. However. as
District legislation Is discussed in a non-
partisan spirit, the factional alignment
will be a matter Of measures rather than
politics.
Generally speaking, the alignment will
be for and against the chairman. but
this division will be unstable because OF
varying views on important questions
For instance Wyatt Aiken, of South Car
olina, ranking Democratic member, plans
for the first time in four years to at
tend District committee meetings and to
carry out there to the bitter end his feud
with the chairman, whom he claims
euchered him out Of the Craftsmanship.
He is ripe for participation in any align
ment that opposes Mr. Johnson. Mr..
Cary the ranking Republican. who un-
questionably will return to the commit
tee. will stand with the chairman on vir-
tually all important questions. Like Mr..
johnson. he favors increased taxation
here sufficient to meet all the needs OF
the budget, with assistance from the
Federal Treasury.
Representative STossti, VI oHhos ehS
second Democrat on the committee, has
no love for the chairman. who opposes
his municipal ownership views and who
accepts single-tax theories only with
amendments which strike at the funda-
mental principles Of the single-tax plan.
Bailey Stands with Chairman.
Representative Warren Worth
Bailey, a new member of the commit
tee. is a single-taxer like Mr.. Crosser.
only more so. Nevertheless. Mr..
Bailey has announced that he holds
himself to be one of Mr.. Johnson's
personal selections, and expects to
stand with the chairman. Representa-
tive Hamill. of New Jersey. who re-
turns to the District committee after
two years absence. probably Will stand
against the chairman on all important
questions. Mr.. Hamill announces
platform of liberality and strong op-
position to making the Capital legfs-
lative proving ground for untried and
generally impracticable theories of
economics and government
Representative Lloyd. of Missouri.
another District committee comeback.
is the legislative veteran Of the COM
mittee He is liberal and. with Mr..
Ragsdale, another new Democratic
member. voted against the abolition OF
the half-and-half plan last session.
Mr. Hamill announced a safe-and-
sane policy on the District in discuss
ing his ideas with a representative of
The Washington Herald. He said:
This Is the National Capital. not the
national proving ground for untried ex-
periments. Washington should embody
the ideals of a big, generous country.
II don't expect to agree with the COM
mittee on all things. though of course
am not taking up my duties in antici-
patton OF disagreements with any man
or group of men. 1 have certain ideas
which may be of benefit to the National
Capital as a national capital and / ex-
pect to be given an opportunity to work
them out. When / applied for member
ship on the committee it was with the
expectation of doing some real work.