The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1919-12-04
AN EMPTY RECORD.

The Republican Congress has ad-
| journed the special session called by
| the President SIX months ago for
specific after the-War constructive
purposes.
When the Republicans came into
power in Congress last spring they
flambouyantly announced they were
going to give a striking demonstra-
ton Of that wonderful q. o. T. Ell
ficiency, that marvellous gilt OF con-
structiVe craftsmanship, that firm
grasp OF national problems, etc, OF
OF which we hear 50 much and see
SO little. All the knotty questions
Of reconstruction were to DE taken
up and solved, and Democratic in
competency was to be shown up in its
true light in contrast with all-rOund
Republican superiority.
Six months have now passed since
the extra session convened IN May,
and the record has been made up. 1t
is absolutely barren Of results. We
would be modest in making such
an assertion as matter Of our. own
partisan bias, but happily we have
Republican authority for the state
ment. We refer to a Washington
dispatch in the Philadelphia Press
whose G. O. P. orthodoxy cannot be
QUESTIONED.
From its long catalogue of the
failures of the Republicans to make
items to show how complete this
fiascO Of the much Wanted Republl-
can constructive craftsmanship has
been:
THE special session Of the Sixty
sixth Congress, called chiefly to pass
department appropriation bills de-
feated by filibuster in the closing
4 - Oh
close with nothing Of a constructive
nature accomplished, with none Of
the atter-Wdr problems definitely
considered.
Nothing in the way OF legislation
to deal with the great problems OF
labor and Bolshevism has been en-
acted
The most important matters OF
public concern have not been tina..y
diaposed Of ia this sessiHh., WAlle
the House will have passed a rail
roa,i hill that is regarded by many
as ill-digested, recurring actual-
framing in conference, the Senate
has not yet considered this 2!a:e Of
Legislation. Nothing has been done
country faces the return of the
railroads at the end OF ths year
with no legislation for their reg
ulation or financing after TIE Presi-
dent releases them.
"AnotheT after-the~War problem,
the upbulding Of the merchant
marine. is LETT for consideration III
the coming session, which nocesSar-
lily will be short because OF the
national corrections and tho subsc-
quent elections. The military and
naval policies have not been decid-
ed upon, and the army and navy
are losing some OF their best officers
by reason Of the failure to provide
for the higher pay and reorganiz-
alton of the services.
with increasing disorders due to
undesirable aliens only recently
manifested in the West and present
in all industrial sections of the
country, nothing definite has been
done to stamp out anarchy or
boleshevism.
Nothing definite has been done
to prevent the high cost of living.
aud the promised land settlement
bill for soldiers has not been report
ed from the committee which long
considered it,
There is much more Of the same
sort. It is long and CHASTITY record
of promises made only to be broken
of time frittered away and of OPP
nortunities neglected. While the
Senate has devoted its efforts to
multiating the peace treaty the
House has simply marked time in
doing nothing. It is doubtful if in
the whole history of Congress there
is a raralleled example of Legislative
futlity. And this is the wonderful
Republican constructive statesman
ship which was going to solve all
the problems of the nation!