, 1921-07-02
CAUSING DISAPPOINTMENT.

Unless the lower branch of congress gets down to
something like business, catches the old time Repub-
lcan stride and delivers actual legislation, the peo-
pie of. the country are bound to regret their vote OF
confidence of last November.
1t is humiliating to Republicans to know, that a
house with everything at its command to make a roc
ord is steadily growing more Disappointing as time
goes on.
The national committee felt called upon to inform
the members of the hLuse of exactly what the folks
at home thought of proceedings, and some splendid
advice was offered at the same time. 1t was all un-
needed. The party press has felt impelled to step
aside from the path of faithfulness to orthodoxy and
speak very plainly upon n number of matters. The
one particular point upon which the greatest COM
plant centers is the matter of tax relief. 1t was
one of the Republican party's loudest promises that,
given power, reform would be speedy and effective.
There is not even a program in the house. The sub
ject has been sidetracked for othc= matters that are
less pressing. The people do not hope to escape taxa
ton. They know it must be borne but they demand
that it be made more scientific and equitable. That
it be distributed far and wide and more especially
that taxation be applied to persons and things that in
fairness should pay and furthermore that taxes be re-
moved from things that retard resumption of enter
prise and business and applied elsewhere. They are
not concerned so much as to details as they are that
relief be given where taxation now hurts.
Then there is peace with Germany and Austria. If
ever a party made a pledge to the people on any sub
.ject the Republican party promised to end technical
war as the first act it would perform and the presi-
dent repeated his Willingness to sign a resolution pro-
claiming such a state whenever it came to him. The
senate acted promptly, along the lines the people de-
sired; but some jaekass in the house who couldn't
bear to see so important a matter go smoothly and
reach a positive result, must inject himself into the
situation and also the record with another resolution
to complicate the affair and prolong the agony. There
were the army and navy appropriations bills upon
which the senate receded, not because the senate's
position was not the correct one, by any means, but
because of lac; of support of the recommendations
of the heads of these departments at the other end
Of the avenue.
The house shows signs of prolonging the construc-
ton of the permanent tariff measure until the De-
cenlber session to the exclusion of more pressing mat
tiers. The tariff is important, but it can well wait.
The emergency act cared for the more %pinching de-
mands.
1t is an admission no Republican likes to make but
the Republican congress is not functioning in man.
nr to satisfy public expectations. No criticism is Of
fered so far as the senate is concerned. The blame
is directed at the house with now and then an allu-
sion to the executive for failure to bring order out
OF the chaos into which things are drifting.
Gathered opiEion of the Republican metropolitan
S-css CT cet1os of the disappointing situation, and it
So lc= down about these three bases, a top heavy ma
jorRy, the very ordinary order of ability in the mem
bt-s>ap and the l1ch of leadership.
I've pred zion is freely made thss unless q change
occn- IN very brief time the Republican majority will
not be top heavy after the 1922 elections.