The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-09-24
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Continued from Page One.)


nature being what it is, nothing very
revolutionary is likely to happen.
Farmers bloc" really leading.
Meanwhile, such real leadership as
is being supplied to congress lies more
in the farmers bloc" than anywhere
else Most of the things that make
a strong appeal for votes in the mid
die west and far west are being done
by this group. And for what this
group already has done, or may yet
accomplish, the Republican party is
not going to get the credit.
1t is true that it is Republican,
Senator Kenyon, of Iowa, who in a
loose way, is the head of the farm
ers' bloc" But tie bloc" as a whole
is bipartisan and non-partisan. 1t
may not contain as many Democrats
as Republicans, but it contains enough
to make it impossible for the Repub-
licans, as such, to get any credit for
what it does, merely because they
happen to control the house and the
senate. The truth is the Republican
leaders don't like the farmers bloc"
They would destroy it if they could.
Tariff Work Slow
Most of the indictment against the
house and senate lies in the atmos-
phere they have created of dilatori-
ness and indecision-the atmosphere
of not knowing their own minds,
| which is about as fatal to public con-
| fidence as anything can be.
The principal specific indictment is
| their failure to coordinate with Pres
,rI a
| taxation bill and tariff bill. Those
! two measures constitute the legisla
| tive program that the president asked
! from congress. They are the most i'm
portant things he asked. He pointed
| ly refrained from asking anything else
The manner in which congress has
! acted towards these two proposals, The
repeated changes of mind as to which
should be put first, the doing one
thing and then doing another, have
created a public impression such thai
when the measures are finally passed
the public isn't likely to have much
confidence in them. The public i:
likely to think of them as rather feeble
compromises, as the undigested prod
uct of many points of view.
Urge Harding Take Lead
All this is realized by many Repub
| lican leaders. They say something
must be done about congress. Abou
the only specific thing they recon
mend is that Mr. Harding, in his ROLE
of titular head of the Republican part.
should supply to congress the leader
ship it has failed to develop within
itself. Whether this will happen Il
something that remains to be seen
! Meantime, the Democrats see thei
opportunity with relation to mex
years elections, and are getting read.
TO go after it vigorously.
: party opinion which favors doing moth
ing next year Those who hold thi
view say it is better to lie low an
let the elections next year go by de
| fault. The idea is to let the Reput
: licans have the completest kind @
control and responsibility until III
, president election of 1924.
The theory is that the coming tire
years are likely to be so unsatisfa(
tory to the public that complete Re
2 publican responsibility for ther
would be Democratic asset in 1872.
l But this view is not likely to preva
with the Democratic leadership as
whole. The greater proba bility is tina
, the Democrats will go into the col
gressional and senatorial election
next year with great vigor-(Cop.
right 1921 by the New York Even;n
Post, Inc.)