Evening star., 1921-07-10
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.


to "a, not to take a summer
holiday, but to remain on the
job in Washington. Aside
from the question as to whether the
Senate should or should not take a
holiday at this time is the obvious
fact that only fifty-one senators voted
on the resolution and forty-f were
absent. Senators desiring a holiday
argued, not unjustly. that they were
just as much entitled to a rest in the
heat Of the summer as were the forty
five senators who had fitted away
from Washington without asking the
leave of any one.
There is a law on the statute books,
| enacted back in 1856, which says
1.-THE secretary of the Senate and the
sergeant-at-arms of the House, re-
spectively, shall deduct from the
| monthly payments of each member
or delegate the amount of his salary
for each day he has been absent from
the Senate or House, respectively, un-
less such member or delegate assigns
as the reason for such absence the
| sickness of himself or of some mem
Der Of his family"
This law has been honored in the
breach. 1t has never been enforced
| except once few years after it was
enacted. Inquiry at the Capitol de-
| veioped the fact that never has there
| been an instance where a member
has had his pay 'docked" because
of his failure to attend sessions of the
Senate or House during the last half
century. But the law is there, and
| can be enforced if members of the
Senate or House insist upon it.
House Orders Enforcement.
1t is a fact that several years ago,
in 1914, to be exact, when there was
| a strenuous campaign on and A.
| Mitchell Palmer of Pennsylvania was
| a candidate for the Senate against
Senator Penrose. and there was much
| absenteeism while the members cam
paigned. a resolution was brought
| into the House and adopted. directing
the sergeant-at-arms to enforce the
old law docking members who were
absent.
The resolution ordering the deduc-
tions was adopted, with only cor
| poraTs guard voting against it. But
! later, when the sergeant-at-a arms
| came around to the members with a
little paper to sign stating that they
had been on the Job during the month
| and were entitled to their pay, the
House members were "up in the air.
| in about a minute. The result was
that the law and the resolution ask
| ing its enforcement were ignored.
Extent of Absenteefsm.
Absenteeism in the Senate and
| House is not confined to any particu-
| lar period of the year, though the
to leave Washington and their duties
| here during the summer than at 9TH
| er times. There is rarely a day when
| a roll call of the Senate shows more
/ than seventy out of the ninety-six
/ senator's answering to their names.
Generally, the number is consider
ably less than seventy. The House
| has a membership of 435, and the
| House members, too. come and go as
| they desire Day in and day out there
are probably 100 absent.
! If the law were lived up to. it is
| likely that absenteeism would ma
terailly decrease. OF course. some of
| the members would come and go just
! as they pleased. as they do now. But
| many would stick closer to the job
| If they knew that at the end of the
| month they were to be docked so
| much for each days absence.
Sentiment OF the Leaders.
Leaders in the Senate and House
and members who have struck close
to their work here feel strongly
that all members Of Congress should
| give like attention to their duties.
Occasionally in debate the charge Of
I absenteeism has been made against
| this or that member.
The advocates IN Congress of some
| rule to keep the members on the job
and there are not few such advo-
cates-declare that it would result in
| expediting the public business and
| lessen the time the Congress would
have to spend in Washington.
! So far, however, no group OF men,
bers has come forward with any
plan for the enforcement of the old
! law of 1856, or for some modified rule.
Many new members probably have
never heard Of the old law. and
G. NJ