Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-12-29
Does Congress
Need Rebuilding
ny Frederic . Haskin


| repair, and must be rebuilt and equipped
| with new starter, is an opinion which
| is now being heard from authoritative
| sources. And the case against the con
| gregsiona system seerns to be o good one.
Ore Of its minor flaws ie exhibited right
| now IN the fact that, after electing q new
| administration, We must wait four months
| or 50 before IL can 70 into action against
| the many difficult problems that confront
| IT, The old administration is naturally
| going 10 mark time, as outgoing admins
| trationa always do Little matters ike
taxation, Haiti, and Mexico, IL viii leave
| to enbarrass its Successors of the other
| party.
| But that is only one Of number Of ways
/ IN which Congress, as o machine, works
| poorly because Of the way II is designed.
| n seems to have been intended 10 work
much rs the British parliamentary syn
| tenn does, but to have failed At least,
| hat IL the opinion of Woodrow Wilson,
| whose book On constitutional govern
| fneHt IN the United States vas a standard
| long before he WIS President, and still re-
mains 80.
''Thc President Of the United States
/ W3s intended TO be o reformed
and standardized king" he says, and
| Congress was meant 10 be a reformed and
properly repilntad Parliament.
But the trainers of the Constitution did
their work none TOO we'll in the first place
and time has changed it 8 good deal. To-
/ day the Congress Of the United states -
remarkable chiefly for It's unwieldines9
and irresponsibility.
now THEY PAss THE nUcK
Tho chief fault Of #, the critics seem ~
egrec, lies in the fact that the men whO
design the laws ha vo little n do with en-
/ forcing them, end those who have t0 en-
/ force them have little to say in framing
/ them. n other words, the thing works o'lt
as an elaborate system for the passing n
| the buck
This can best be understood by com
/ parlng our congressional system with the
/ British parliamentary system, Of which Il
+ efms TO bo poor imitation. IN eacbr
I there 3 a chief executive and a leD Dslafive
+ BODY With two branches There the si,nl-
! arltY ends In England the chief execu-
i fiyeis the prime minister who IL appointed
i hv the crown. z theory II least. he forms
+ q cabinet from the members ~ his own
/ party IN parliament. These men arc the
heads of the executive branches n the
I government, Just as or cabinet member
ere, but thew also retain their seats IN
Parliament and are made there II defend
/ their measures end motives
Furthermore the cabinet in England
originates All important legislation II
/ the House 0f Commons refuses ~ support
IT. legislative program, then the cabinet re-
signs and a new prime minister forms 4
new cabinet If the Parliament, On the
other hand, supports and pssses the legI >
iative program offered bv he cabinet
I then II IA ~ n that same cabinet 70 prove
+ that those laws will work.
IN our Congress the cabinet members
4 not only have 10 seats in Congress, but
they have no origInative power over legIs-
/ lation-or az least practically none. There
arc two chief results Of this 50 far % the
cabinet officers are concerned. In the first
place. the President and his cabinet are
called upon 70 execute whatever laws
+ Congress chooses 70 pass; there IS no GER
I taInty af harmony between them. In the
! second place the cabinet officers are not
/ subjected 70 effective criticism. Almost
/ anyone can think Of few cabinet officers
I who would have had hsrd time holding
/ their Jobs Il thev had been forced % defend
/ the administrations OF their depart menrs
On the foor Of the House.
The results Of the systcm, 50 far as Con-
+ zress Is concerned, are essentially the
sane Il that they also make Tor ire
/ sponslbillty. TIE real 0rigInstive source
/ ~ our laws is il the committees OF me
I House. There are = great many Of
/ these committees Bills introduced are
+ referred 70 them They report only what
hills thew choose 20 report. ana usually
/ these are bills drawn up by the committee
+ Itself and bed-ing the name o. the char
/ man. These bills are debated and fought
/ over or the 7oor 0f the House, It Is true,
| but the size OF the House the number who
/ wish 70 Be heard. and the immense amount
/ OF business TO be transacted, make this
debate Darfunctory and Inadequate In
+ the Senate the bills get great dea. more
real deuberative consideration But dif-
+ fereuces between the House and the Senate
must De compromised 4 the conference
committee, usually II great neste ST the
end OF \ session.
The result Of I'll this Is that the typical
American Federal law IS 3 child Of obscure
/ origin. Many hands have SHARE in It's
upbrlnglng, ana It is finally turned over
for enforcement. 70 the cabinet oflcer " 40
stands often in the position Of sOmewhat
reluctant and critical stepfsther II the
child does well. everyone claims credit, and
i It seems unpopular and ugly, everyone
blanes somebody else.
a SYSTEM OF PETTY BARTER
Furthermore, consider the way in
which our legislative programs are drawn
up These programs ought 20 be unified,
and they ought to be the work Of the best
brains / n the party. As q matter Of fact
they are not unified at all, being the
work Of a great many separate committees
working under no united control except
the very loose one OF the party caucus.
And there are so many committees that
each Congressman Is member OF * least
two. And committee memberships are
awarded far more in accordance with
seniority than with any standard Of fitness.
Furthermore, these committeeman rep
resent primarily their own constituencies,
instead Of the nation at large, As do mem
bers of the cabinet in England. The chair-
man Of the Committee on Rivers and Har-
bors IS nearly always a man from a con
stituency v here river and harbor improve
ments are much needed, or at least the
money they viii bring into the country
Is much needed Naturally the chairman
of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors
n .-.>-y- liberal n,,,,r.,,,rfo~ f,v,.