The Ward County independent., 1921-07-14

is so understood, conferred with the
President upon matters of finance.
including presumably. the soldiers
bonus bill. McCumber then opened
his fight and apparently he had with
him the strength Of the Republican
majority, with single exception,
the compensation bill a privileged
status, Senator Warren was the only
Republican to have his name record
ed against the move.
Then Secretary Melons letter op-
posing the whole proposition fell up
on the Senate like a bombshell for it
had been taken for granted that the
bill was to have the support of the
administration. Melons stand is,
Saee's sage to tkse 'e same IN effect from the
President since it is already rumored
that Mr.. Harding is preparing to
throw the whole strength Of his ad-
ministration against the bill.
Senator McCumber, however, con-
siders the bill party pledge not to
be lightly passed over and it will be
interesting to see just what the fu-
ture will develope. The compensa-
ton act is before the Senate now and
something will have to be done with
it. If it goes back to the Finance
Committee it may remain there in
definitely but if it stays before the
Senate vote will have to be taken
sooner or later and many senators
are already said to be pledged in its
support. 1t seems peculiar that the
matter should have gone as far as it
has if the Treasury Department has
been opposed to the bill from its in
ception. To the initiated, at least,
it would seem that the bill might
easier have been killed in the COM
mittee in the beginning if this were
the case. Now it has reawakened a
nationwide interest among the ex-
service men and to defeat it will
most surely put someone badly in the
hole.
Senator Penrose, who is a power
in the Senate if anyone is, has gone
on record in favor Of the bill. Now
the Secretary of the Treasury, from
Penrose's own state of Pennsylvania,
has repudiated the act. Which is
certainly not an outward indication
of party harmony.
In the House of Representatives
the fight of the session is now in full
cry, following the reporting to the
House of the Fordney Tariff bill by
the Ways and Means Committee. The
Democrats are said to be ready to
line up solidly against the proposed
measure but this was not true when
the Young emergency bill came to a
vote and second breaking away
from party tradition in this instance
would not occasion any great sur
prise although the present law will
scarcely draw the Democratic sup
port that the emergency act did. In
any case the Democrats are now so
in the minority that even We're they
to present a solid front the end would
doubtless be the same.
Certain groups among the majority |
membership are billed to stage sharp |
opposition to some of the rates in
the bill but these differences should
be ironed out with little time and
on the final vote the revision of the
tariff should 60 over with the bulk
of the party strength
People in North Dakota receiving
franked copies of Senator Ladd's
maiden speech and wonderin" why a
reply has not been made by some one
of the regular Republicans in the
state delegation are evidently inclin-
ed to take the supreme effort Of our
new junior senator AL too seriously.
The speech itself is an almost exact
replica of that very, very familiar
one that is copper-plated out from
the St. Paul cannery from time to
time for the use of imported SPELL
Diners who descend upon the state
when Townley calls in the pack for
their annual shakedown. TO dignity
it by refutation in these days of
print paper scarcity would most GER
tainly not be in harmony with the
present Congress program Of econo-
my.
No one pays much attention to
political speeches in the Senate and
when one is delivered or read it is
taken as an excellent excuse for
general exit to the cloakrooms. Peo-
and listened to the Doctor reading
his story to a sea of empty seats,
would probably not have been alarm
ed by the spectacle.
And, after all, it is we'll to remem-
ber that "Jones pays the freight"
That speech cost every taxpayer in
the country something. Had each of
the other four Of the states delega-
tion in Congress contributed his own
particular version Of the "New Day"
it would have cost the taxpayers just
four times as much and the possible
benefit Of it all would certainly seem
to be negligible.