The Washington herald., 1920-12-28
President-elect Confers
With Chairman of House
Appropriations Body.
WILLDISCUSS SAME
TOPIC WITH SENATOR
McCumber, in Lieu of
Penrose, Next Visitor
At Marion.
BY SAMUEL w. BELL.

MARION, Ohio, Dec. 27!-The
work Of the present Congress, II
became apparent today, will not go
forward without the direction OF
President-elect Harding, at least In
sofar as the legislation to be con-
sidered by the Congress relates to
policies to be inaugurated by the
new administration.
The President-elect with perfect
propriety and with the consent of
Congressional leaders. expects to
scrutinize not only appropriation
bills for the next fiscal year, which
will actually apply to his admins
tration. but proposed budget Leg
islation as well, and the emergency
agricultural tariff bill. already
passed in the House and now agi-
tating the Senate.
Confers with Good.
As the first step to getting his
bearings on the present situation
in Congress, Senator Harding today
conferred with Representative Good
of Iowa, chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee, and
heard the plans of the Republicans
in the House to reduce the s4,700,-
900, 900 estimate of the executive de-
POI eAAOh1 " SOsOVVsVVVsVVV VI SNCh
less.
Tomorrow the President-eIectw will
discuss the same situation with
Senator McCumber, of North Dakota
acting chairman in the absence of
Senator Penrose of the Senate Fin
ance Committee. Harding, 1t is un-
derstood. will go further in his con-
ference with Senator McCumber and
require information on the real sit
uation in the Senate with respect to
the emergency tariff bill, and the
advisa bility of passage at this ses-
slon of the measure for which the
farming interests, particularly those
OF the West, are clamoring. Sem
ator McCumber, who is in charge
Of the bin, in the upper house, has
given assurance that his committee
will not attempt to jam the bill
through the Senate without "ade-
quate consideration but at the
same time is ready to balk any hli-
buster to delay its consideration.
Watches BIlrs Progress.
The gathering storm in the Sem
ate over the bill. is being watched
with keen interest by the President
elect, and the danger of party split
over the advisability of rushing
tariff revision at this time is caus-
ing no mean amount of concern.
As a general policy the President
elect, of course, is committed to a
revision of the tariff so as to pro-
tect the products of the American
farm but whether he sympathizes
with the rather hysterical tactics
now in evidence of Congress as the
result of the fall of food prices is
conjectural. In his address in
Minneapolis on September s, Sena-
tor Harding in enunciating his agri-
cultural policy. said:
I'VE are pledged to the. revision
of the tariff as soon as conditions
make it necessary for the preserva-
tion of home markets for American
labor, American agriculture and
American industry. If we are to
build up a self-sustaining agricul-
ture here at home, the farmer must
be protected against unfair COM
petition where agriculture is being
exploited. The American farmer
has a right to insist that in our
trade relations with other countries
he shall have the same considera-
tries We mean to protect them ALL
League Way lie DfscusSed.
1t is not unlikely that the con-
ference with Senator McCumber also
will include a discussion of the
league of nations issue. Senator
McCumber, throughout the Senate
treaty fight, was known as a mild
reservationist" and a strong sup
porter of the idea of taking the
league with revision. Another Wis
itor to Marion tomorrow. Oscar s.
Straus, also believes in the ad-
visibility of utilizing the practical
features of the covenant of Ver-
sailles in working out Americas
future relationship to the rest of
the world.
There has been a lull in the dis
eussion of cabinet appointments, de-
spite the fact that speculation con-
tinues unabated. 1t can be said.
however. that the President-elect is
no more ready to announce the
names of the men who will assist
him in directing affairs than he was
a week ago.
other visitors in Marion today
were Max Rabinoff, director of the
Chicago Grand Opera Company, who
bsoached the delicate subject of re-
lations with Russia, and urged Sena-
tor Harding to consider the possibil-
ity of beginning trade relations
through the big Russian co-opera-
tive societies. Rabinoff explained
the relationship of these organiza-
tions to the Soviet government, and
said that he believed that it was pos
sible to establish trade relations
without recognition of the Soviet
regime.
Senator Harding will present his
resignation from the Senate to
Harry l. Davis, when the latter
takes ONCE as Governor of Ohio on
January 10. Governor Davis will
then appoint Frank Willis, Senator
elect. for the unexpired term rum
ming until March 4. That arrange
ment was virtually decided upon and
confirmed by Governor-elect Davis
here today as the result of a talk
he had with the President-elect.
Copyright, 1890, Public Ledger Col