The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1918-10-25

Committee denying an irrigation dis
trict in his State the privilege of is
suing $75O,OOO worth of bonds to aid
in irrigation work. The Congress-
man has taken the matter up with
the committee and asked them to point
out provision in the law giving them
the right to regulate the actions of a
municipal corporation, which the irri-
CATION district is. The reply was that
it was the spirit" of the act.
The law comforting powers upon the
Capital Committee reads in part as
follows: "The Committee may
pass upon and determine whether it is
compatible with the national interests
that there should be sold securi-
ties hereafter issued by any person,
firm, corporation, or association
+" Mr.. Sinnott declares that every
lawyer knows that the word corpora
ton" as used in the act does not in
clude municipal subdivisions. Mem
bers of the Ways and Means Commit
tee who considered the bill when it was
in the House assure him that the
matter came up for discussion in the
committee, and it was understood by
them and Mr.. Mr.. McAdoo that the
government would not have control
over securities of states of subdivi-
sions.
But with the clear language of the
law and the expressed intention of it's
trainers before them, the members of
the Capital Issues Committee under
take to supervise issues of municipal
bonds because they declare it to be the
spirit of the act"
While the usurpation of power in
this instance may not affect the well
fare of the Nation as a whole, never
theless it forms precedent that is
dangerous in the extreme. Nobody
will deny that it is the spirit" of
Congress to bring apont prompt and
decisive winning of the war, but that
spirit finds expression in legislation
the limitations of which are carefully
fixed before it is laid before the Pres
ident for signature. 1t is not within
the province of executive subordinates
to write words into the acts of Con-
gress any more than it is to enact
laws of their own, following their con-
ception of what Congress should do.
Congressman Sinnott has performed
a real service in calling attention to
this abuse of power, and impressing
upon his associates in the House the
necessity of the most careful wording
of legislation in order that loopholes
maytnot be left for further extension
of Executive authority.
Senator George w. Norris of Ne
braska has secured the adoption in the
Senate of a resolution calling upon
the Secretary of Agriculture for all
information in his possession showing
the cost of production of wheat, bar
ley, rye, buckwheat, corn, kafir, corn,
rice, apples, potatoes, cotton, beef cat
tie, hogs, hay, and sheep. These are
the products that enter more than
anything else into the high cost of liv-
ing, and the date called for by Mr..
Norris will be awaited with interest
by all students of the subject. With
such information at hand the con-
stantly recurring controversies over
price fixing by the Government can be
intelligently discussed.
One of the first official acts of Mr..
Ryan, the new Director Of Aeronautics,
was to take trip to France. 1t is
safe to say that the aircraft situation
at the front is being handled without
any hitch. What we need is good
man at this end of the line.
There cannot be any compromise
upon principle. Congress is the law
making body. To enact laws advised
ly, it must have facts. To have facts
complete and uncolored, Congress
must get those facts through COM
mittee composed of an equal number
of members of each party. The basis
for reconstruction legislation should,
therefore, be procured by joint COM
mittee such as proposed by Senator
Weeks-a committee selected by and
acting under the exclusive jurisdic-
ton and control of Congress. The
President is in no position to appoint
an unprecedented body for the study of
reconstruction. He has entered upon
certain schemes of government own
ership and control which, as a matter
of personal vanity and political inter-
est, he is bound to defend. Any COM
mission selected by him will feel the
obligation to. secure facts and make
reports showing in rs favorable light
as possible the results of government
control experiments. A committee of
Con gress, on the other hand, made up
of an equal number of Republicans
and Democrats, would have no precon-
ceived or established policies to defend
or denounce. From the standpoint of
both principle and expediency, there
fore, the committee should be selected
entirely by Congress, with no partici-
patton whatever, by the President.
Many months ago many Of the
newsnapers of the country fold the