Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-12-29
u. S. CONGRESS
OLD MACHINE
IN BAD REPAIR
Great Lawmaking Body Needs
New Starter and Other
Equipment.
LONG WAIT FOR ACTION

WASHINGTON, d. C.--That Congress
is an Old-model machine in bad repair
and must be rebuilt and equipped with
a new starter. IS IN opinion which is
now being heard from authoritative
sources. And the case against the con-
gressional system seems TO be good
one
One of its minor flaws is exhibited
right now IN the fact that after electing
a new administration, We must wait four
months or so before it can 80 into action
against the many difficult problems that
confront it. The old administration is
naturally going to mark time. as out
going administrations always do. Lit
tie matters like taxation. Haiti. and
Mexico, 1t will leave to embarrass its
successors of the other party.
But that is only one Of a number OF
ways in which Congress. IS machine,
works poorly because of the way it is
designed. 1t seems to have been intend
ed to work much as the British parlia-
mentsry system does. but to have failed.
At least, that is the opinion of Wood
row Wilson, whose book on constitu-
tlonaI government in the United States
was a standard long before he was
President. ana still remains so.
THE President of the United States
was intended to be reformed
and standardized king" he says. "and
Congress was meant to be a reformed
ard properly regulated parliament"
But the trainers of the Constitution diU
their work none too well In the hrst
p.sce. and time has changed it a GOOD
zeal Today the Congress OF the United
states IS remarkable chiefly for its I'M
wieldiness and responsibility.
HOW THE BUCK
Is PASSED.
The chief fault of It, the critics seem
TO agree, lies in the fact that the men
who design the laws have little to do
with enforcing them, and those who hSTe
10 enforce them have little to say IL
framing them. In other words, the thing
works out as an elaborate system for the
passing Of the buck.
This can best be understood by COM
pairing our congressional system with the
british parliamentary system, OF which
it seems to be poor imitation In each
there is a chief executive and a legislative
body with two branches. There the siml,
lsrity ends. In England the chief cx-
ecutive is the prime minister. who Is
appointed by the crown, in theory OF
least He forms Cabinet from the mem
bers of his own party in Parliament
These men are the heads of the executive
branches of the Government. just as our
Cabinet members are, but they also re
tain their seats In Parliament and ara
made thereto defend their measures ana
motives.
Furthermore, the Cabinet In England
originates all important legislation. II
the house Of Commons refuses 10 sup
port its legislative program, then the
Cabinet resigns and a new prime min
lister forms a new Cabinet. II the Parlia-
ment, on the other hand, supports and
passes the legislative program offered by
the cabinet, then it is up to that same
Cabinet to prove that those laws will
work
CABINET OFFICERS HAVE
NO POWER IN LEGISLATION.
In our Congress the Cabinet members
not only have no seats IN Congress, but
they have no oTiginative power over leg
islation-or at least, practically none.
There are two chief results of this so far
as the Cabinet officers IRE concerned. In the
first place, the President and his Cab
met officers are called upon to execute
whatever laws Congress chooses to pass;
there is no certainty Of harmony be
tween them. In the second place the
Cabinet officers are not subjected to ef-
fective criticism. Almost any one can
think Of a few Cabinet officers who would
hav had q hard time holding their jobs
if they had been forced to defend the ad-
ministrations Of their departments on the
floor OF the House
The results of the system, so far as
:, Congre is concerned. are essentially the
same In that they also make for ire
spOnsibiIity. The real originative source
OF our laws isein the committees Of the
House There are a great many OF these
committees. Bills introduced are referred
to them. They report only what bills
they choose to report, and usually these
are bills drawn up by the committed
itself and bearing the name OF the chair
man These bills are debated and
fought over on the floor Of the House,
it is true, but the size of the House,
the number who wish to be heard, and
the Immense amount of business to be
transacted make this debate perfunctOly
and inadequate. In the Senate the bills
get a great deal more real deliberative
consideration But differences between
the House and the Senate must be com
promised in the conference committee
usually in great haste at the end OF u
session.
The result Of all this is that the typical
American Federal law is a child Of OBJ