The daily morning oasis., 1919-10-09
" 0 E S OF
PARTY LEADERS
FAMILY QUARRELS IN THE
HOUSE AND CONGRESS.

WASHINGTON, u. C.-Republlcan
+, family quarrels in Congress appear
so far from being settled as ever.
There is not even much of a SEM
blance of surface harmony in either
House.
1t is whispered about that another
caucus of the Republican members of
the House of Representatives is to
be held shortly, the purpose of
which is the deposing Of Frank w.
Mondell of Wyoming from his position
as party floor leader. AS there are
many discordant elesments in the ma
| jority that have shown their enmity
4 to Mr.. Mondell on the floor of the
House and in caucus, it is not unlikely
that a gathering of the Republican
clans can be arranged under the
| guise of discussing party policies. The
4 deposing of Mr.. Mondell will be an
! other matter entirely.
| The general opinion is that there is
little chance of pulling down Mondell
because there is no one else to elevate
True there are plenty of aspirants,
\ but, in the opinion of the Republicans
1 national leaders, no one who could
\ particularly improve upon the present
\ methods is available.
James R. Mann, party floor leader
! during the eight years of G. o. P.
! minority, but who was d efeated for
! the speakership because of three
| pound steak and an emaciated horse,
gifts from a packing firm, is out of
1 the running. His health none too
good, and, moreover, his feelings ap-
pear to be still somewhat lacerated
as a result of the loss of the speaker
ship. Also, Mondell is Mann's lieu
tenant and was elected party leader
to show the country that although
Mann himself could not occupy the
throne, he still could successfully pull
the strings of party manipulation in
legislative affairs.
Congressman Fordney of Michigan,
high prest of the high tariff; Fess
of Ohio, perpetual party orator;
Longworth of Ohio, leader of the
silk-stocking element and now puri-
fier, and many others would cheer
fully assume Mr.. Mondell's duties,
but none is reckoned a commanding
enough figure by his associates to
be able to upset the present monarch
of the majority. In the minds of
many democrats of the House the re-
publicans are losing one of their
most forceful partisans in J. Hamp-
ton Moore of Pennsylvania, who has
just been nominated as the party can
didate for mayor Of Philadelphia by
Senator Boies ePnrose. Mr.. Moore's
election conceded, and that means
that he will resign about the first of
the new year.
So the republican caucus is forecast
rs another party wrangle, an attempt
to speed up the majority into pass
ing some constructive legislation such
as the president and the people have
demanded, and which has been ig-
nored almost wholly to date. It is
possible that the matter of deposing
a, Leader Mondell will not even be con-
sidered, but the malcontents are talk
ing ferociously at the present time.
Although derelict in passing i'm
, portant measures the republicans are
active in suppressing democratic ac-
, tivities that promise praise and pub
licity. Representative William L.
Igoe of Missouri, some eight weeks
ago introduced a resolution calling
for an investigation of the methods
of the excess profiteers with a'view-
to legislating some of their ill-gotten
gains out of them. The House COM
mittee on rules, republican controlled,
of course, declines to pass it to the
House, and there it remains. Pre-
sumably it is being held up because
it is democratic proposal.
Mr.. Igoe's belief is that the man
who is forced to pay heavy excess
profits simply raises his prices suf-
ficiently to cover his taxes and still
yield him a fixed abnormal income.
Take the housing situation in Wash
ington, for example. The prices of
coal, light, gas and the wages of jan
itors are substantially the same as be-
fore the war, yet rents have advanced
from 25 to so per cent, and accommo-
dations are almost impossible to OBJ
tain, at that.
Mr.. Igoe wants to know the meth
DDS by which the profiteers arrived
at their figures, and, what is equally
important, how much they have man
aged to withhold from the govern
ment in the way of lawful taxes.
The committee on rules seemingly
does not care.
Now that the Philadelphia primary
election has been held and Senator
panrosa has succeeded in Defeating