The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-15


TELEPHONE. BEEKMAN aooo.
Congress Must Meet Earlier.
The members Of the Slxty-sixth
Congress, elected on November 3,
1918, are now in Washington prepar-
ing to meet In its first session, which
viii begin on May 10. six and a half
months after they received at the
polls their mandate from the people
of the United States.
The Congress will assemble In the
Capitol on Monday Of next week by
virtue Of a proclamation issued by
President WILSON to deal with prob
lens of legislation consideration Of
which could not be postponed with
out imperilling the operation Of the
Government and producing chaos in
the executive department
President WILSON was compelled by
imperative necessities Of the nation to
call the Sixty-sixth Congress. Had
he not been under this compulsion
the Sixty-sixth Congress would not
have met until Monday, December 1,
1919, the date fixed by the Constitu-
ton for the annual assembling Of the
Congress.
After the rejection of the Demo
cratic party on November 5. 1918,
until March 4. 1919. that party still
retained power in the Congress. In
the face of the overwhelming defeat
inflicted on its candidates by the Amer
lean people at the ballot box, after
the crushing reputation the Ameri-
can people administered in that cleo
ton to WOODROW WILSON and his par
tisans, he and they continued for four
months to formulate the statutes for
the nation. The representatives Of the
people chosen on November s, 1918,
had no opportunity to install them
selves in their Offices until noon Of
March 4; and even after that date
had been reached they could begin the
performance of their duties previous
10 December 1, 1919. only when and
II It pleased WOODROW WILSON to
summon them to their task.
While on November the American
people voted to Gust the Democratic
party from the national legislature
the men they selected to represent
them could not make their policies
effective for practically thirteen
months. unless they were called to
the Capitol by WOODROW WILSON, to
whom their election had been a pros
trating personal and political defeat.
Instead of an immediate transfer of
the legislative power from the dis
credited Democratic party to the Re
publican party the country was COM
PEELED to face the continuance in &C
tive operation until March Of the
Incompetence 1t had voted to exclude
from Congress, and even when that
period had elapsed 1t was obliged to
wait on the judgment of the man 1t
had rejected as empha tically as lay
within its power to reject for the
convoking of Its new lawmakers. Had
Mr.. WILSON not been forced to call
the Slxty-slxth Congress by national
needs he could not ignore to meet in
extra session. the expressed will Of
the people would have been inopera-
tive for thirteen months.
Never before have the inconven-
fence and actual perils Of the system
that defers the meeting of the Con-
gress for a year and a month after
the date of its election been more
completely exposed than they have
been in the period which opened with
the tremendous victory Of sound
Amerlcanism and political sanity over
WOODROW WILSON and his subservl-
ent partisans on November 8. In a
country having a parliamentary form
of government the Premier and all
his executive subordlnates would
have been elected from Office in
stanter by such an adverse verdict.
Had LLOYD GEORGE been beaten In the
British general election as WOODROW
WILSON was beaten In the American
election he would have lost his office
and Great Britain would have been
ruled by man in sympathy with the
popular will. Here not only does
Mr.. WILSON remain In Office but the
very men who were chosen TO repre-
sent the people in Sena tie and House
have been unable to exercise theiI
functions except with his consent and
active assistance.
THE SUN does not hold that ouI
system of fixed tenure of Office is in
ferlor to the parliamentary system OF
Great Britain. Each system has GER
tain advantages; ours has generally
worked to the satisfaction OF tho
American people. But the manifes