The daily times., 1921-09-15
HARDING is NEEDED
Secretary Mellon Was Turned
Down by the House and His
Proposals Have Been Re-
jected by the Senate Finance
Committee on Excess Profits
Tax Question.
(By David Lawrence.)
Copyright, 1921, by The Daily
Times.


Times.)
Washington, Sept. IA crisis
has arisen in the leadership of the
Republican party in Congress. The
defeat of Senator Penrose, chairman
of the Senate Finance Committee,
who tried to put through the proposal
of the Harding Administration that
excess profits taxes be repealed as of
last January, has left the executive
branch of the government in an en-
barassing position. Secretary Mellon
was not only turned down by the
House but his proposals have been re-
jected by the Senate Finance Com
mittee where it was confidently be-
Ilieved that the wishes of the Presi-
dent and Secretary of the Treasury
would be granted.
This situation which naturally dis
appoints all the business men who
had been promised by Republican
leaders that the excess profits taxes
would be repealed Immediately is fur
ther complicated by the knowledge
that shortly Sen. Lodge, majority
leader, will become absorbed in his
duties as a member of the American
Commission to the Armament Confer
ence; that leadership of the party on
foreign affairs as we'll as other mat
ters will have to be undertaken by
somebody else. 1t is true that the
Democrats will also lose Senator Os-
car Underwood, their leader, but for
tunately Senator Hitchcock of Ne
braska who was the original choice of
a great many Democrats for leader
and who bore the brunt of the treaty
fight for the Democrats is available
and is the logical man to lead the
minority through the fall and winter.
Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi,
a close friend and lieutenant of Sen
ator Underwood, and a growing force
in the Democratic party, can also be-
Hitchcock in handling the Demo-
cratic end of the fights that are sure
to develop in the approaching session
of Congress-
The Republican problem is not SO
ieasily solved. Mr.. Lodge has had his
troubles from the very day he was
chosen leader. He has tried hard to
harmonic the ''irreconcilables'' and
the "reservationists' on the treaty
fight and he was able to bring about
harmony only by persuading his own
group to surrender outright to the
irreconcilables. The passing of the
treaty controversy, however, has
given other controversies a chance to
develop. The fight over a tax pro-
gram and the efforts of an agricul-
tural bloc to pass legislation of spec
ial interest to the agricultural sec
tions of the country have produced
kinks which are still far from being
Strengthened out Then there is anoth-
er alignment-the progressives of old
are growing clannish. They are be-
ginning to use the phrase stand
pat" to describe their conservative
brethren. The tax question will afford
the progressives their first chance to
revive the old line of controversy. AL
ready the progressives say it matters
not to them who is chosen leader of
the Republican Senate to act in place
of Senator Lodge. They insist that
they will follow anyone who agrees
with their views. They point to the
coming election in New Mexico and
characterize Senator Bursun as a
stand pat" Republican. If he is
j defeated, the progressives say their
colleagues will take note of the warn
ing. On the other hand, the conser-
vatives will feel their position
: strengthened if Mr.. Bursum is re-
i elected.
, Meanwhile President Harding is
disturbed by the rise of groups inside