Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-09-10

Nv gresham a legislator, or is he an err
W rand boy political agent, sightseeing
guide, employment bureau, and general ad-
wiser of the poor and needy?
If it be conceded that he is in a part a
maker of laws, then how many laws at one
time is he supposed to be able to consider and
understand, and from how many different
points of view is he supposed to be able to
consider and understand them?
These are questions that good many
Congressmen are asking themselves. The
number of things that Congressman is now
adays called upon to do, besides attending to
legislation, is enough to appall any strong
man. Besides that, consider the number OF
laws to which he is expected to devote his
attention. The popular theory of government
in this country is that If there is anything the
matter with anything or anybody, the remedy
is to pass law about it. We have piled up
mountain of laws, and each year the noun
tain grows more than it grew the year before
The faster it grows the less consideration
does each of the laws get. The legislators
who supposed to be carefully considering
these laws never heard of most of them.
Whittier does this process lead?
In devising the American Government, 1t
is highly probable that the fathers of the
country had no idea Of the way in which the
functions of some of the officers of the Gov
eminent would be expanded and degraded.
They had the idea in their innocent bewigged
heads that Congress would meet once every
year, each second session being short one,
and that each Congressman and Senator would
devote himself to making laws. Some cynl-
cal present-day Members of Congress sug-
gest that these wise old statesmen intended
that Congress should met to prevent laws
from being enacted-at least too many OF
them. If this was their purpose, their sue
cessors in the halls of the national legislature
have failed miserably.
As Once 1t Was
A Senator or a Representative was intend
ed in the original plan to be dtgnified gen.
tleman who would come to Washington to
deliberate over the state of the Union, and
after sage consultation with his colleagues,
enact few mastery statutes which would
lay the foundation for continuing the peace,
progress and prosperity Of the nation. Natu-
rally, the Halls of Congress would be the out
let for more or less oratory by gentlemen who
felt an irrepressible urge in this direction.
This was expected, tolerated, and, II 1t was
really good, applauded and widely quoted
throughout the then narrow confines of the
new nation.
From the very beginning the scope of the
duties falling upon the shoulders of those
making up the American Congress, particular
ly the lower branch, has increased steadily.
The constituents making up many districts
have fallen into the habit of using their
Representatives in Washington for every err
rand and favor they can think up to ask
him. The volume Of law enactment takes
so much time and has grown to such proper
tions, too, that rarely indeed can member
find time to devote to any private business or
enterprise. The long adjournment Of Con-
gress from March 4 until the first Monday
in December is an almost forgotten thing. In
the rush of present day affairs and for many
years past it has almost always been neces-
sary for the President to assemble the Con-
gress in extraordinary session to take up ur-
gent matters which would not wait. In the
midst of this rush, the Members of the House
have to keep in touch with affairs in their
home districts in order that they may keep
their jobs, as election day for them comes
| every two years.
| Particularly at this time with the inaugu-
ration of a Republican regime after eight
years of Democratic administration, there is
| a terrific amount of additional pressure on
every Member of Congress- Constituents, us
| ual1y always lifelong Republicans are
| seeking to dislodge the Democrats holding
| governmental offices and take the position
themselves. The jobs for the most part are
in the hands of the executive departments,
there are usually many applicants for each
one, and thus the Congressman is caught in
| the jam between the job and the applicant
with little patience exhibited by the earnest
seeker for place on the Federal payroll if
| there is any delay or failure on the part OF
his Congressman in landing him there.
| The ImpOrtunate Constituent
The country Congressman usually has a
| harder time than the man representing city