Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-11-29
MILEAGE GRAB
is FINAL ACT
OF CONGRESS
Few Members Will Spend
Allowance on Railroad
Fares.
BY WALLACE BASSFORD.
Especial News Correspondent

WASHINGTON. Nov. 29.-After 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 70
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 resolu-
ton 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 bene-
fitting a large number of persOns-this
refers to the agricultural credits bill
The biggest piece of work was the taxa
ton bill, but the chief relief it gave was
TO the big corporations, for it relieved
them Of fully S26O, 600 taxes, and
though the Democrats and Progressives
defeated the old line Republicans in the
effort to greatly reduce the surtaxes on
big incomes, still the milliOnaires will
save some sixty to seventy millions by
reason of the reductions secured.
HOUSE GIVES
PRESIDENT JOLT.
Nothing more remarkable has been
the repulse which the President suffered
at the hands Of the House on this sur
tax proposition. The House had voted
TO make the surtax on income received
in excess of one million dollars 80 per
cent. The Senate wanted it lower and
voted for 80 per gent, hoping to com
promise 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 to ac-
cept 40 per cent as a reasonable cOmpro-
mise He probably now appreciates.
more than ever in his life. the saving
grace Of a reserved mind, and it will
doubtless be sometime before his
scorched fingers VIII rake any more old
guard chesnuts out Of the fire. In the
vote following his appeal, ninty-four Re
publican members Of the House Joined
with the Democrats to give the President
such rebuke as has not been suffered
Dy any earlier Chief Executive during
MS nrst year in office. Be 1t remembered
that Mr.. Harding has yet the most of his
patronage TO distribute. The House
stood pat on so per cent.
II the President is showing aston,sb
Ing weakness in the halls of Congress- n
Is yet worse before the people. Where
ever two or three are gathered together
IN Washington the chief topic of con-
Eersation is the lamentable failure Of the
administration to satisfy even its own
friends and supporters. Complaint Is
universal Not only Is the party in IN
tense dlsfaTor the end Of the first nine
months in power. but the President Is
utterly without personal popularity. If
got this from Washington people only
would not consider it conclusive. for
this town has a hyPercritical public
rather blase as to big politics and big
politicians, with a strong penchant for
political gossip and fault-fndlng. Alto
gether one does not have a good view
point here when it comes to feeling the
pulse Of the voters-there are no voters
here except those who have retained Their
citizenship in the States from which they
came.