New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-20
The Decadence of Congress

The Decadence of Congress
We publish in another column letter
from Representative Edmund Plat, of the
Duchess Orange Congress district. Mr..
! Platt thinks that in a recent editorial We
! did injustice to Mr.. James R. Mann, the
! Republican leader in the House. In Mr..
Platt's opinion, Mr. Mann was right, from
a parliamentary point Of view, in trying to
force a separate vote on the Senate's
amendment to the food control bill Great
, ing a Joint Congressional committee on
expenditures in connection with the con-
duct of the war.
! We did not undertake to discuss the par
liamentary propriety of Mr.. Mann's de-
mand for a separate vote on this particu-
! lar Senate amendment. Nor did we criti-
else him for delaying, directly or indirectly,
! the passage of the food control bill. What
we said was that he displayed character
istic lack Of judgment in trying to commit
the Republican minority to a single-handed
effort to force through piece of legisla-
ton which President Wilson had publicly
opposed on the ground that its passage
would be equivalent to a vote Of lack OF
confidence in him.
| Mr.. Mann's blunder was political, not
parliamentary. The Republicans are in a
minority in both the House and the Sen
ate They had nothing to gain by making
the creation of a new committee on the
conduct of the war party issue. The
Presidents objection to the contrary not
withstanding, Congress has perfect right
to create such committee, if it feels any
genuine desire to create it, But such
committee must represent conviction,
shared by the mass of Senators and Rep
resentatives without regard to party, that
some such check on the power of the
Executive is needed. If the legislative
| branch had really cared to stand on its pre-
negatives, long neglected and dwarfed, or
to restore its former prestige as an agency
! of government, it would have promptly
| instituted the sort of committee the Sen
ate's amendment provided for. But such
action, to get anywhere, would have had
to be general and outside party lines. 1t
would have had to represent genuine re-
awakening of Congressional militancy and
self-respect.
There are no signs to-day that Congress
wants to escape from its present condi-
ton of cuckooism and atrophy. The legis-
lative department of the government land
this is true of state governments also) is
sinking more and more into discredit. It's
system of organization and legislation is
cut of date. 1t has become mere shadow
of the Executive. Laws are now written
to the last detail by department subordi-
mates and then carried to Congress for
approval. Lack of political courage and
responsibility and the inertia of the COM
! pick committee system have made Con-
gress more and more an anomaly in an era
which looks for results and cares little
about ancient and clumsy forms and in
situations.
1t was foolish to expect this Congress to
defy the President on the issue of creating
committee on the conduct of the war. 1t
is far too decadent and subservient. in
spirit. The fact that the public took so
little interest in the Senate's proposal
shows that there is very little confidence
left in the capacity of Congress to do any
thing intelligently and ompetently-even
to protect its own prerogatives in a time
Ike this by insisting on knowing how the
vast sums which it is appropriating are
being expended.
Mr.. Manns programme was fortunately
not supported by his party colleagues. If
it had been it would have given the coun-
try the erroneous impression that the mi
norty in the House had simply tried
without success) to embarrass the Presi-
dent. What it was desirable to bring out,
under the circumstances, was that the
leaders in Congress were actually united in
wanting to assume real power and respon-
! sibility. What was demonstrated, however,
was that the leaders in Congress of both
parties lack confidence in themselves as
sadly as the country generally lacks con-
fdence in them. They have abdicated to
the Executive. They are bankrupt so far
as ability TO conduct government goes.
The Executive has had to step in and do
what Congress, under its present limita-
tons of lethargy and anarchy, cannot do.
And this situation will continue until Con-
gress recasts its outworn working system
and becomes once more body of real pub
lie servants, capable of collective leader
! shin and constructive effort.
1 All - A. nz-a