The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-12-03
HARDING
REbUKED
BY HOUSE
Of House
United With Demo-
Gratis to Defeat Sen
ate Surtax PROPOSE
ton
BY Wallace BasSford

BY Wallace Bassford
Especial News Correspondent
Washington. D. c., Nov. 29.-Af-
ter seven weary months flow OF
language, this special session Of
Congress is ended-and about the
last thing done was TO vote each
member mileage at the rate OF
twenty cents per mile each way,
home and back, though most OF
them will not go home between the
two sessions. The interval is only
eleven days, but the little resolution
took several hundreds Of thousands
out of the peoples treasury.
In all the seven months there
was, in The opinion Of some good
judges. only one really good piece
OF legislation benefiting large
number of persons-this refers to
the Agricultural Credits Bill. The
biggest piece of work was the
Taxation Bill, but the chief relief
it gave was to the big corporations
for it relieved them of fully $780,
00G, ,O0e taxes, and though the DEM
ocrats and Progressives defeated
the old line Republicans in the ef-
fort to greatly reduce the surtaXes
on big incomes, still the millionaires
will save some sixty TO seventy mil
lions by reason Of the reductions
secured.
Nothing more remarkable has
been seen in Washington in many
years ithan the repulse which the
president suffered at the hands o.
the House on this surtax PROPOSE
ton. The House had voted to make
the surtax en- income received in
! excess Of one million dollars so per
cent. The Senate wanted it lower
and voted for 80 per cent, hoping to
compromise with the House at 40
per cent. Doubling the Willingness
| of the House to recede without the
influence Of the White House, the
| big leaders Of the old guard asked
| the president to come to their aid,
so Mr.. Harding asked the House
20 accept forty per cent as a rea-
sonable compromise. Fe probably
now appreciates, more than ever III
his life, the saving grace Of re-
served raind, and it will doubtless
be come time before his scorched
fingers will rake any more old
guard chestnuts out Of the fire. In
the vote following his appeal,
ninety-four republican members OF
the House joined with the demo-
Gratis to give the president such a
rebuke as has not been suffered by
anv earlier chief executive during
his first year in office. Be it re-
mernbcred that Mr.. Harding has
vet the most of his patronage to
distribute The House stood pat on
fifty per cent.
If the president is showing as
tonishing weakness in the halls OF
congress, it is yet worse before the
people Wherever two or three are
gathered together in Washington
the chief topic of conversation is
the IaLaentable failure Of the ad-
ninistration to satisfy even its own
friends and supporters. Complaint
is universal Not only is the party
in intense disfavor before the end
ing of the first nine months in pow
er, but the president is utterly
without personal popularity. II
cot this from Washington people
only. would not consider it con-
elusive. for this town has hyper
critical public, rather blase as to
big politics and big. politicians,
with a strong penchant fer political
gossip and fault finding. Alto
gether, one does not have good
viewpoint here when it comes to
feeling the pulse Of the voters
there are no voters here except
those who have retained their cltl-
zenship in the states from when
they came. But he who desires to
learn how the country views condl-
tons and men in high office can
meet men here from every part of
the country-the hotels are full OF
them. They all tell the same story
of disaffection, Of critical, Of open
rebellion even among staunch re-
publicans of last November. One
can understand the sudden veerins
of the public favor only by reflect
ing on existing conditions coupled
with the administrations utter
failure to bring any relief; and
some even take the Presidents
many absences from his post OF
duty to indicate a lack OF interest
in the country's troubles-and re-
membering. too, that Mr.. Harding
never had personal following,
such as have yelled themselves
hoarse a thousand times for Roose-
welt. Bryan or Champ Clark. When
/ the republican convention met
many of the republicans Of the
country were for General Wood.
many others for Hiram Johnson.
many for Lowden or Borah. but
scarcely any were thinking OF
Harding. He was picked by a
small coterie as the compromise
candidate who would be acceptable
to the big interests who were eX-
pected to finance the campaign. SO
it comes about that. in order td be
personally unpopular. the president
did not have far to so: there We're