The daily times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1902-1936, 1921-09-30
is the Real Prob
lem, too Often the Senate is
Without Enough Members
on the Floor to Make a Quo
rum and Members Have to
be Called from Offices.
(By David Lawrence
Copyright, 1921, by The Daily

Washington, Sept 29.-The Uni
ted States Senate is getting wise
to public sentiment. The few weeks
portunity to confer with their CON
stitutents The widespread dissatis-
faction with the long time it has TAX
en- to get a new tax bill is one of a
Republican Senators met at the home
of Senator Frelinghuysen of New
Jersey the other night and talked
ways and means of speeding up legis-
lation.
eDtails of the meeting are just leak
ing out. One after-effect was a con-
ference with President Harding about
the necessity of drawing up a cloture
rule to limit debate in the Senate.
This has been up before. President
Wilson thought he had accomplished
something when at the beginning of
his second administration new
cloture rule was passed but it takes
sixteen Senators to sign the petition
and then majority vote to invoke
the rule. 1t has been of little effect.
Mr.. Harding is naturally anxious to
see the legislative machinery of the
government oiled up. He isn't trying
to dictate to Congress what it's rules
shall be but as former member of
! the Senate, his advice was sought
But the real trouble in the Senate
, is not durable by cloture alone I'm
| limited debate has it's advantage as
well as disadvantages. Filibustering
| has been indulged in very largely to
prevent vote being taken when
many Senators are absent from their
seats. Absenteeism is the real prob
| lem that has to be solved-how to
make Senators stay on the job Scarce
| ly a day goes by that the Senate
doesn't have to call for a quorum
whereupon members come scurrying
| from their offices, listlessly answer
roll call and go back to their offices
again in another building hoping no
body will call a second time for On
quorum.
A cloture rule will be bitterly
fought by the minority. Half the
strategy of political parties is speech
| making in the Senate. The Republi-
cans won their last campaign, it is
conceded by Democrats, largely
through the attacks made by Senators
To, nd
Lodge in the open Senate. 1t is the
minority which benefits by unlimited
debate while the majority, always
anxious to accomplish results, chafes
under the delays incident to prolong-
ed discussion.
There have been periodic move
ments to limit debate. They come
every time legislation is delayed and
an impatience arises from the coun-
ty. This time the failure of Congress
to pass either tariff or a tax bill
since it went into session last spring
is weighing heavily on the minds of
rules limiting debate functioned
smoothly and passed both tarlh and
a tax measure. Both have to be re-
vised and probably will be rewritten
in the upper house but the fact is
the House did it's job while the Sen
ate hasn't gotten very far. That's
why a group of Republican Senators
are so active in advocating cloture.
But aside from the suggestion of
limiting debate, there is a very in
teresting bit of controversy going on
under the surface with respect to Re
publican leadership in the Senate.
Mr.. Lodge, of course, will soon be abb
sorbed with his duties as member
of the Armament Commission which
acts under specific instructions Of
the President. Temporarily, at least,