The Springdale news., 1917-01-26
CHANGES ARE AGAINST NEW CON- ERESS BEING CALLED
 AFTER MARCH 4.
ONLY RAIL LAWS IN THE WAY
General Belief Is That President Will Get Measures Through at Present Session, in Spite of Opposition Within His Party
By GEORGE CLINTON.

added joeosely and ungrammatlcally, and there ain't goin' to be no war"
 Extra session talk always comes to the surface and often above it in Washington just at this season of the year. The people of the city profit by extra sessions, and perhaps natu- rally enough they like to have congress called together in extraordinary ses- sion Washington correspondents have learned by experience that it is not always safe to take the opinion of residents of the city of Washington on the matter of the probability of the president calling senators and repre- esntatives together for q @eye of it after March f.
 It is true, however. that recently there has been some talk of an extra session among the members of con gress This is not due to the fact that the members want an extra ses- sion, for they do not, but it is trace able directly to the feelings of some of the dominant party men that the president may not be able to secure at this session some of the legislation which he is insstent upon and that therefore he may feel compelled to bring the lawmakers back to start the new congress at the uneompleted work.
 Now the legislation which is in mind when the possibility of an extra ses sion is discussed is the railroad legis lation growing out of the so-called eight-hour act of the last session. In his address to Congress on December ; President Wilson urged first and foremost. and in fact to the exclusion of almost everything else, the pass age of bill which should increase the membership of the interstate com merce commission and it's facilities for performing its manifold duties, and urged also that the authority of law should be given 10 provide means for full investigation and assessment of industrial disputes before lockouts or strikes ean be declared.
 Opposition in Both Parties.
 There ts opposition in congress in both parties to the passage of the bill
 
 or lockouts until an investigation can be made. There have been free pre- dietions that the legislation will not pass but it is perfectly evident that the close friends of the administration do not worry at all about the prospect confronting these two chief measures which the president has urged.
 Ie
 through the newspaper files of the last four years and to read little con corning the chief pieces of legislation which congress has enacted, he will find that in at least two-thirds of The cases trouble was predicted in ad- vance between the administration and the Democratic majority in congress-
 It almost invariably has been the case through the years of the country's history that any party holding a ma iority in congress, and while a preSi- dent of the same party was in the White House, finally has yielded to the presidential demands for legisla- tien, even if at first 1t was pretty defi- nitely determined that at heart con greSSional majority was opposed to Jle things to which 1t gave it's sane
 The railroad legislation may be good or it may be bad. Opinions differ, but 1t takes only a knowledge of past hap penings to make the lawmakers in Washington understand why the friends of the administration are so certain that the legislation which the president wants enacted will be enact ed It is pretty safe prediction that the two chief things which Mir Will son urges in bis message will pass con gress prior to March i and that if an extra session depends upon the fact of these measures there will be no ex- tra session necessary.
 Porto Ricans to Be Citizens.
 It seems to be entirely probable that within n few months time Uncle sam will welcome some hundreds of thousands of persons who in sense have been his Subjects" into the household of full citizenship.
 President Wilson has indorsed and
 
 troduced by Senator Shafroth of Colo rado to give the people of Porto Rico the status of American citizenship.
 Recently there came to Washington three commissioners from Porto Rico to urge that the United States do what the islanders from their point of view consider to be right by these West Indian people once ruled by Spain. Ap- parently the influence of these commis- sioners has been felt It is known that President Wilson for some time has been thinking on Porto Rican matters.
 In his address to congress delivered December last the president urged nothing in the way of legislation, out side of the railroad measures which he IS espousng, except the passage Of a bill which would give the Porto RicanS