The daily banner., 1919-08-30
REPUBLICANS HAVE
TROUBLES In CONGRESS
Split Becomes OminOus ut Party CaI
Gus in Washington This Week
MondeIFs Soldier Bill Displeases
Many.

Washington, D. c., Aug. 2&.-rPar-
ty dissension is the latest deSelop-
ment in the Republican Congress
which has been stagnated by ineffi-
cheney and lack of constructive lea
dership ever since the G. o, P -eame
into control of the legislative bTancn
Of the government.
The split occurred at a Republican
House caucus this week. Meeting
behind closed doors, the Republicans
berated each other for their failure
to stand together on what they were
pleased to term party questions, F."
and then turned their guns on! the
Mondell soldier land bill of which
the Republican floor leader is the
sponsor.
From the viewpoint of the c6un-
try's fighting forces in the recent
war, the opposition to the Mondell
bill is the most important. The de-
termination of a large majority of
the Republican House membership
not to accept this measure in the
form in which it has been framed
merely echoes the sentiment previ-
ously expressed by Democratic lead
erS.
Representative Ferris, of Oklaho-
ma, the former Democratic chair
man OF the Committee on Public
Lands, has repeatedly warned the
Republicans that the soldiers We're
not satisfied with the bill which
seeks to parcel among them only
undeveloped arid and swamp lands
of the west and south.
Evidently, Mr.. Ferris demand
that the provisions of the bill be
broadened has had it's effect on the
Republicans, because at their panty
caucus they literally made a foot
ball of their floor leaders, pet meas
ure. Only an ardent plea by Mr..
Mondell not to put the House majori
ty in the hole prevented a straight
out reputation of his proposal. +
From a party standpoint" he
said. ''it would be most unfortunate
to have the word go. forth to I'd
country that the Republicans in CO
Igress had decided to postpone; at
least for the present, any further acs
+io,, on tho on1v hill +hai L. =
introduced i
of the disch 's01d1s sz7-l5a g.
safmy." l,~.s
, With ust,e1- nepublican inaccuracy
M. 41ondell failed to state, the whole
truth. What he should have said
was that the land bill is the only sol
dier measure the Republicans are
permitted to see the light of day.
Many bills beneficial to the soldiers
have been offered by Democrats, but
: ecausC. Democrats proposed them
my -. '<ldi e.
mittee. y
Uncle Joe''~GGannon, whose pan
is mellowing with his age},
and Representative Charles Nich0T8
of Detroit, who is more OF an indeE-
pendent than he is a Republican,
were the moving spirits against the
Mondell bill in the Republican con-.
ference. Uncle Joe" ridiculed the
idea that a soldier bill should be
made party measure, while MI.
Nichols indicated rather plainly that
the Mondell bill is joke in it's pres
ent form and insisted that further
consideration of it should be deferr-
ed until the discharged soldiers
themselves had an opportunity to
give voice to their desires in the
forthcoming meeting of the Amer1-
can Legion at Minneapolis.
There was long wrangle in which
Mr.. Mondell participated, and finally
resolution was passed declaring
that the bill should not be taken up
again until after a subsequent Re-
publican conference could consider
it. This discussion was enlivened by
bitter passages. Later Mondell suc-
ceeded in having this action recon-
sidered, but only on his promise
that it would not be taken up unless
(Continued on Page Two)