The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-09
CONGRESS HIT
BY POLITICS OF
PEANUT BRAND
Harding Embarrassed
By Attitude of Leg
isIators.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Copyright, 1920

the hope Of leading his party from
the aimless paths it has been trav-
cling into roads that will mean
party achievement instead of per-
sonal aggrandizement.
Mr.. Harding's visit to the senate
is the big topic of conversation in
the national capital today. He did
not offend his former colleagues. He
did not kindle the fires of sensitive
ness about executive encroachment
as sometimes was the case with his
predecessor. He made it more of
a fractional visit-an appeal to the
senate to help the executive keep his
pledge of economy and retrench-
ment.
Harding Visit Effective.
Mr.. Harding's words, spoken in
| the informality of the capitol at
mosphere, can do much more good
than formal conferences at the
White house. The president went
to the senate principally to urge
that action on the bonus bill be de-
ferred. He has for some days been
uneasy about it, believing that such
a measure would at one fell stroke
J undo all that General Dawes and
! the budget bureau can do in five
years.
But the significant and outstand-
ing fact about Mr.. Harding's trip to
the capitol is that it was necessary
at all. Why was the bonus bill ever
reported out of committee? Much
| embarrassment would have been
saved Mr.. Harding if the measure
had been ordered to repose in COM
! mittee. Certain members of the
senate up for reelection next time
| couldn't see it that way. They
felt they had to make a gesture
even though some other force actu-
ally defeated the proposal later on.
It's another case of one or two
men who are so eager to be reflect
ed that they would not hesitate to
saddle the. country with an. extra
billion dollars of debt at the wrong
time.
Senate Leadership Poor.
Senate leadership is not what
Mr. Harding had a right to expect
Senator Penrose used to WELD con-
siderable influence in handling leg
islation. He wasn't on the job
when the bonus bill was in COM
mittee. Conference between Mr.
Penrose and the treasury depart
ment would have ended discussion
of the bonus at this time. Mr.. Pen
rose as chairman of the senate
finance committee, has been looked
upon as the spokesman of the ad-
ministration on all matters relat-
ing to finance. Time was when he
would have asserted himself and
assumed the leadership but his
health is not what it used to be.
Senator Lodge, Republican lead
er, has endeavored conscientiously
, to bring the various elements il
the party into line. But it is sig
nificant to note that his request fol
, a three week recess concurred il
by Senator Underwood, the Demo
: cratic leader, was turned down BY
! an insurgent element which pushed
both the bonus proposition and th'
+ farm finance bill to the fore. Mr
Lodge had to get help from th'
White house. President Harding
announced himself as favoring th'
!, recess.
e Would Make House the ~Goat."
The point is that the senate
while waiting for the house to ge
through with the tariff bill ma,
, pass too many bills upon the insist
ence of individual members whicl
;. would only embarrass the admins
! tration and put the responsibilit,
: for failure of these same measure
:, on members Of the house. The pur
pose of the recess is to keep tn
senate from legislating on extran
eous issues and getting all tangle'
/ up so that when the big tariff an
tax proposals come before the up
per house there shall not be tn
opportunity for trading that ther
might otherwise be.
Mr.. Harding has at last apple
executive influence to the situa
tion. He has begun with informa
talks in the senate cloakroom
where the personal equation is a.
| powerful. There is still anothe
step in prospect. namely, the part
caucus. It's been talked OF as tn
only thing that will bring part
harmony and iron out the varlou
kinks in the senate situation. tn
tendency of senators to lori
groups and to act in a bloc ha
made the problem of leadership a
abnormal one. 1t isn't simply 10
of finding q dominant personalit
to sway the senate. 1t means hnc
ing a dominant influence I
souelch the tendency toward clas
legislation, a tendency that ma
grown stronger since the war tina
ever before in the last 25 years
congressional history. The pres
dent has practically decided to us
the party caucus to combat ind
yidualism. Measures will be vote
on at the caucus and the insure
ents will find themselves at pair
to satisfy the Republican organizs
tions everywhere that they did SUI
port the Republican party program
1t will cause many senator
| member of the house to heslta'
| whether he will be an insurgent
| Join the caucus and assure himse
] of presidential support In the col