The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-05-17
IS
 DELAYING ACTION
 i ON LEGISLATION

Washington, D. C., May 17.-Ab- senteeism in the Senate has become such a habit that it has been neces- sary to transfer from one committee to another the resolution introduced some days ago by Senator Borah, of Idaho, for an investigation of cam paign contributions to presidential 1 candidates. In asking for the trans- fer, Senator Borah explained that be- cause of the absence of Senators it had been impossible to get a quorum of the committee to which the reso- lution originally had been referred. Still another evidence of absentee ism which prevails under the pres ent Senate management was furnish ed recently by Senator Lodge, the Republican floor leader. He gave notice to the Senate that he would again call up the Knox peace reso- lution for consideration on May 11th. That he did not call up the resolu- ton a day or so earlier, the Repub- lican floor leader explained, was due to the absence of a number of Sen ators from the city. He thought the absentee should have notice.
 Meanwhile. as pointed out by Sen ator Thomas, of Colorado, the Sen ate is transacting business with only a handful of Senators present, and y of millions have been passed with out a roll call and without the pres ence of aS many as twenty Senators out of a membership of ninety-six- It has been necessary frequently of late ito direct the sergeant-at-arms to re- quest the presence of senator's" such directions following the point of ''no quorum"
 In taking his campaign contribu-
 
 to ar other, Senator Borah, one of the outslcken Republicans of the Sen ate, admitted that it is difficult to get enough members of any com mittee to do business nowadays.
 MT. President, a few days ago I offered a resolution calling for an investigation of campaign exF,endi- lures, concerning which I wish to say a word in no sense reflecting upon the commi1ee, for I do not intend to reflect upon it." explained sena- tor Borah.
 "It is pretty difficult to get a mai ority of any committee in session now owing to the absence of so many senators. Therefore, without in tending to reflect upon the commit tee on Privileges and Elections, and for the reason that it is difficult to get a majority of the committee as- sembled, I ask unanimous consent that this committee be discharged from the further consideration of Senate resolution. No. 357 and that it be brought to the floor of the Senate in order that I may have it referred to where it has to go in any event, namely, to the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate"
 The Senate agreed to the transfer of the Borah resolution thus adm it. ting that absenteeisn1 is delaying the consideration of legislation. The Borah resolutio-i was introduced fol- lowing his charges on the floor of the Senate that both General Wood and Governor Lowden, Republican candidates for the presidency, were spending vast sums of money in their primary campaigns, and that a group of millionaires were under stood to have underwritten a million dollar pre-conventlon fund for Gen. eral Wood. However, at the present rate of progress on the Borah reso- lution in t..e Senate, the primaries and nominating conventions will have passed into history before there is any action taken toward an invest:- gation of these alleged slush funds. There has already been several weeks delay, and even should the new committee act promptly the nomination of some candidate will have been made before the country learns how much money was spent in the primaries.