The daily times., 1921-08-24
IMPENDING RECESS
WILL RELIEVE The
JAM IN CONGRESS
GIVE COMMITTEES TIME
Several Bills are Sidetracked;
the Anti-beer Bill Has Been
a Stumbling Block with a
Great Deal of Argument
Over the Question of Search
ing Of Homes for Liquor.
COMMITTEES TIM
(By David Lawrence).
Copyright, 1921, by The Daily

Copyright, 1921, by The Daily
Times9,
Washington, Aug. 23.-Congress
is in jam as usual on the eve of
an adjournment or recess. Again it is
demonstrated that the House with
it's large membership can dispose of
public business rapidly while the
Senate with it's practically unlimited
debate is at the mercy of small
groups.
Filibusters and threats of the
same can tie up legislation at the
last minute in the Senate and that's
why administration leaders abandon
ed all hope of passing certain ma
jor bills which thye had hoped to
put through before the recess which
begin this week land lasts until Oct
ober 1st. The measure which Presi-
dent Harding and Secretary Mellon
requested passed so that negotiations
might be begun with the allied pow
ers to arrange Tor payment of prin
cipal and interest on the ten billion
dollars they owe the United States
has been shelved until after the re-
cess. Men like Senator LaFollette
and Borah wanted to ask questions
about it and since protracted debate
was inevitable, it has been set aside.
The bill to enable the War Finance
Corporation to handle the emergency
cif hx,
large sums to the railroads which
have been due them as war claims
is also side-tracked. The money was
to have been spent by the roads in
given as a whole a general stimulus
this fall. Congress however influenc-
ed by the agricultural group which
wants a reduction in freight rates be-
fore helping the railroads was un-
able to get the legislation through.
or course the House passed the bill
and cleaned up its slate nicely but
il the Senate the chances of a fill
il seem wiser to postpone considera-
tion of it until after the recess.
The real STUN bling block however
has been the so-called anti-beer bill.
The House passed the conference re-
port substantially as the Anti-Saloon
league leaders wanted it. But in the
Senate great constitutional object
ions have been raised wherein the
fourth amendment is held to conflict
with the eighteenth amendment. The
beer bill faced temporary defeat. The
friends of beer have this advantage
in a postponement: if the bill isn't
considered until after the recess re-
gulations will have been issued mean
while by the Treasury Department
permitting the manufacture of beer
for medical purposes. Once that re-
gulation is made the chances of al
tering it by substantial legislation
are slim.
The only measure which has been
certain of passage is the bill enabl-
ing the War Finance Corporation to
lend large sums of money to agricul-
tural export organizations. The far
mers have had their way this sess-
ion though the manufacturing and
business interests still wait action on
the tariff and revenue bills.
OF course the purpose of the re-
cess is to enable the Senate Finance
Committee to hold hearings and
write a tax bill. The argument was
wisely made that unless the Senate
recessed and gave members of the
Senate Finance Committee chance
to work uninterruptedly on the tax
bill there wouldn't be any aew rev.
enue law and the old one would have
to be reenacted. The Senate has been
in session only few months but
the usual troubles Of a new admins
tration have been augmented this
time by the clash in interests be-
Continued On page 81