Norwich bulletin., 1922-06-20
WASHINGTON AFFAIRS

Washington. June 19.-with the sol dier bonus bill before the senate the next thing Is to get it up for consider ation. Chairman McCumber, now in charge of the tariff can move at any moment to set 1t temporarily aside to give place to the bonus, and thus give the latter the right of way. Will he do 1t? That's big question and one that McCumber, himself, has thus far failed to shed any light on. That the rresident wants the tariff out of the way before the bonus comes up Is gen- erally recognized; that the president Is likely to veto the bonus in it's present form is likewise very generally under stood. Senator Underwood, democratic floor leader said this week: T realize that the American people are behind the soldiers The soldiers are the he- roes of this generation" but he then condemned the bonus bill in It's pres ent form. He said that If the tariff bill is displaced, to give the right of way to any other measure he will bring forward a number of democratic meas ures and force them on the attention of the senate before adjournment. This threat to prolong the session was but lightly yelled.
 It is fact that the democrats have
 
 and that the so-called debate on their part has been mostly assault on the | republican party, It's policies and it's leaders. The democrats deplore the use of the term filibuster and say they are merely giving the bill 'prorer considera7 tion." They blandly deny any intention to unduly delay its passage" and look injured at the suggestion that they are playing politics. There is no dis l guising the fact that the legislative pro- gramme Is pretty much up in the air at the present moment. Acting Floor Leader Curtis, however, is hopeful of bringing about a compromise between the factions with the aid of conserva- tive democratic leaders to stop the loose politics and extraneous matters.
 President Harding and epngression- al leaders are trying hard to frame a | get-together policy under which the pro-
 gramme for constructive legislation can
 be carried out in spite of democratic f1l- 1 fbuster and fractional splits in their
 own ranks. It is known that the
 president and the floor leaders in con l gress feel that the tariff bill must be l passed before any other legislation ex- cept appropriation bills are taken up l The fiscal year ends June 30th and it is necessary that all appropriation bills pass and are signed by the president not later than that date, otherwise ii | would be necessary to pass so-called continuing resolutions which make ef- fecttve the present appropriations until new ones become laws. That is ire
 quently done under stress, but always with reluctance. Senator McCun1ber has been persistent in the statement that he should ask to have the tariff set aside and immediate consideration given the l bonus, but under pressure of business
 men who believe the business world i.
 being unsettled by the uncertainty as tt
 tariff MT. McCunber has made it knowr
 that he will be guided by the outcome O. the conference or caucus of the repub licans, even though he is still of tht opinion that the bonus bill should b. now taken up.
 In the meantime talk continues regard
 ing new rules of debate a modified clo
 ture to govern the remainder of thi
 session and constant tcrrent of abus and recriminataion continues to fal from the lips of garalous democrats
 There Is a rumor current to the effec
 that certain senators and congressmel
 on the democratic side of the hous bodies have framed a programme whicl T includes personal attacks on the pres T ident and every member of the cabinet : taking them one at time and continu n ing such methods till the end of tn
 session. The recent onslaught on Sec retary Weeks, following that on Daugh erty. gives weight to the rumor.
 k Two things are evident. The repuh : licaps are anxious to complete a cor
 structive programme and adjourn at a
 early date; the democrats propose t
 prevent 1t if they can. The truth
 the democrats are quite as much at odd e and rent with internal dissensions a e are the republicans but as the latter ar
 responsible for constructive work an 7 the carrying out of their announced DO
 icy they are in the foreground, and al n being used as a smoke screen by tf : democrats to hide their own trouble e and fractional fights from the gaze ( sI the world They have dragged the r = publican skeletons out into the open, bl 3 their own are still half hidden in tt
 closet.
 s The week has been hot and hun1I 'f with violent thunder storms Gres Is electric fans wave slowly above tE j. heads of senators and representative l. who sit for hours daily listening to t , dious debate, political wrangling and a '' tempts 10 block the passage of bill s- Palm Beach suits and palm leaf fal
 are the order of the day. Little pal l. es in dark blue knickerbockers. whf ,e shirt waists and white shoes dart baC 1 and forth. Theirs is a regulation dre
 just as much as are the prescrib, SC clothes of the army and navy The ga D. leries have been packed with tourist ;h whose gay hats and brilliant spo 1T clothes have given a touch of color the otherwise dull scene. Everybody h. It been cross and out of temper becaue il 'n 'other fellow insists on doing all | d talking and holding the center of t " stage. One of the amusing incidents WI as In the senate when Willis. of Ohio w
 presiding and Caraway, of Arkanse to took that opportunity to attack Will 1e record on the prohibition enforceme Id act, speaking with keen saccasrn Al on ween wit Willis could not talk pa 70 from the chair, so Caraway made t
 most of his time to the great glee HIS his colleagues and the galleries who a on preciated the situation