The Penn's Grove record., 1917-12-21
THIS WILL BE ANOTHER WAR
SESSION, AND THERE is NO
Opposition PARTY"
ESTIMATES ARE MADE PUBLIC
Appropriations Must Be Made to Carry
on the Conflict Beyond Time 1t May
End, but Extravaganza Will Be
Checked.
BY EDWARD B.. CLARK.

sion just as the last one was, but one
perhaps not to be filled with so much
of the vebemence of action, and, in
certain instances, so much of the ven
ON of offense.
There is no Opposition party" in
congress today. The Democratic
party is in the majority, and under or
binary circumstances the Republican
party would be denOminated the party
in opposition. War, however, has
changed this, and where the Republic
ans are opposed as much as ever they
were to the Democratic general poll
cies, they have shown in congress that
they do not wish to be put in the po-
sition of a party of opposition to the
war policies of the Democracy, at least
as at present outlined.
Therefore, the members expect
there will be comparatively little of
purely partisan debate during the SEES
Sion now beginning. The apparent
expectation also is that there will be
fewer outbreaks against what may be
called American policies than there
were at the last session. The feeling
seems to be that, the country having
gone into the war, fewer men than for
merly will be found willing to make
public speeches in opposition to the
cause of their country.
Must Provide for Long War.
The estimates for the support of
government, which means in this case
of course the support of the war, al
ready are in the possession of the
proper committees of congress-, and
are being spread before the public
generally in order that the people may
know what the sums are which the
heads of departments consider it nee
essary shall be appropriated to carry
on the war during the fiscal year
which begins July /, 1913.
1t is legislatively necessary, of
course, to make appropriations to con
tinue the war beyond the period when
some men think it may be brought to
an end. Military men in Washington
are frank enough to say that from the
outlook they do not think that the war
will end until much more than a year
has gone by. They qualify this by
saying that Of eOhrse it may be some
thing unexpected will happen some
where to change utterly the face Of
affairs, but that barring revolutions
here or there where a revolution wound
do Tost good, the military and naval
0uriogS are far g Waf that will ex-
tend certainly into the year 1919.
There are evidences now that the
appropriation bills viii be Scanned
with double lens glasses by both Dem
ocrats and Republicans for the pur-
pose of determining whether seemingly
any money is going to waste. The
Democrats will be moved to this course
by a proper regard for the Population
of the Democratic administration, and
for economy, and the Republicans will
be moved to it by a regard for econ
omy as well as naturally by a desire to
gain credit for the party members as
watch dogs of the treasury"
1t is held In Washington to be pos
sible that there may be an attempt by
congress to investigate the activities
of some of the war endeavor boards,
the organizations intended to promote
rapid progress in various industries in
which rapidity of action are essential
for the welfare of the people and the
safeguarding of the supplies of army
and navy.
Americanism Election Issue.
There is a congressional election to
be held next fall. 1t seems to be the
belief in Washington that the con-
tests will be carried on in many places
on what may be called patriotic lines
rather than on party lines. OF course
Democrats will run against Republic
ans, and the reverse, but in a few of
the districts. of the country the men
who are likely to be candidates of one
party or the other have been suspect
ed of not being entirely pro-American
in the present war. In cases like this
it is fully expected by the politicians
in Washington that there will be sharp
lines drawn between real Americanism
and what may seem to some people al
best a sham A~mericanism.
1t is possible hat Representative
Fitzgerald, chairman of the house
committee on Appropriations, intends
to ask his colleagues to pass the reso
luton which he introduced last Sep
TENDER placing the control of all ap
preparations in a single committee dur
ing the present emergency. There i:
some antagonism to this resolution
naturally enough from the committee.
which now handle many of the large
appropriation bills. Members of con
gress who hold positions on impor
tant subsidiary bodies of the hous,
object naturally to giving up thu
places of committee prominence whicl
they have acquired after years of serv