Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-10
RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP
Is NEEDED IN WASHINGTON
II Begins to Look as II President Hard.
Ing Were Preparing to Assert Him.
self as the Head Of His Party


w against the cloture resolution in the
Senate. It would be unjust to charge that
they did 1t for purely political reasons.
The resolution was presented by the Re-
publicans for political reasons and also in
order to expedite business. But sound
arguments can be made against jamming the
Tariff Bill through without adequate dis
cussion of its provisions.
The Democrats are opposed to the bill.
1t Is their duty ms the opposition party to
criticize Il and to force such amendments
in 1t as they can compel the majority to
accept. But even II they can force no
amendments it is their duty to propose them
and to fight for their adoption.
This is legitimate so long as there is no
resort to dilatory tactics to prevent the
majority from carrying out It's will. If
the debate continues for an unreasonable
| length of time there will certainly be enough
Senators to apply the cloture rule and bring
about q final vote.
| To charge the Senate with failure to func-
| ton because 1t has not passed the bill
already is to misrepresent the facts. The
Senate is functioning. That is why SO
much time is consumed in consideration Of
| the measure. 1t was drafted originally by
| the Ways and Means Committee Of the
House and was passed by the House with
| almost no debate, because the House has
| surrendered to the Senate its constitutional
function of framing revenue legislation.
Every member Of the House knew that the
| Tariff Bill sent to the Senate would be re-
| h., ho sc tbot
body and revised by the Senate Itself sitting
| as n Committee of the Whole.
| 1t is impossible to frame n bill so full
of complicated and conflicting details as n
| tariff measure and to do it in short time
| by the present processes.
The Senate has not broken down. If
| there has been any breaking down in Wash
ington it has been the breaking down Of
party discipline. President Harding has re-
ferrcd to 1t several times during the last
six months. He has been loath to assert his
leadership for the reason that his party had
been dcnouncing the exercise of such lead
| ership by President Wilson. The Democrats
| in Congress were taunted time after time
with receiving and obeying orders from the
| White House. Much was said about execu-
| tive usurpation Of legislative functions.
But Mr.. Wilson insisted that there was
| no executive usurpation. He acted on the
| assumption that when he was elected to the
| presidency his party also elected him to the
responsible leadership of that party, and he
insisted that when he told his party in
Congress what to do he was acting as the
| leader Of the party and not as President of
| the United States.
His plan worked. for under 1t the Demo-
cratic Congress passed the laws which the
| party platform said should be passed, and
| the Democratic Party became for the first
| time in years an effective instrument of
government. 1t could not have functioned
| thus in the absence of a dominating leader
ship such as Mr.. Wilson exercised.
| President Harding has asserted himself
on two or three occasions In the way in
which Mr.. Wilson habitualy asserted him
self. And all the available evidence points
to n growing disposition to take n frmer
! hold on the reins and to use the lash upon
Congress in order to compel it to carry out
the party program. He referred two or
three times last week during his trip to
|
ership and party discipline. His mind is
running on this subject, and 1t could not
very well escape it in view of what is hap
| pening in Congress.
| Too many Senators are using the tactics
of Senator McCumber, who sought to win
support in his campaign for denomination by
forcing his Bonus Bill to the front, bill
which the President had criticized as fatally
defective. McCumber cared nothing about
party policy. He was absorbed in the effort
to save his own political hide.
Other Senators nre snarling up the tariff
bill in their efforts to protect special in
terests in their States regardless of the
interests of the people of other States They
are not seeking to draft a consistent tariff
| measure in which the protective theory shall
be applied for the general good although
their party is committed to the application
of the protective theory in this way. 1t Is
opposed to special privileges and to legis-
lative favoritism.
How far the change in the method of
electing Senators has affected the situation
Is debatable. But there is no doubt that the
necessity of appealing to the voters for sup
port has broken down the intellectual and
moral independence of some of the Scna-
tors. When they were chosen by the Leg.
islatures of their States they looked for
their denomination and election to their
State political organizations of which they
were part, and they were almost as free
from the pressure of evanescent and ILL
considered popular clamor as are the ap-
pointive judges.
But the change in the method of election
has been made, and it is not likely that we
shall ever 20 back to the original plan set
up in the Constitution, n plan intended to
provide n judicially minded Senate to act
as check upon popularity elected House.
To return to the failure of the cloture
resolution, it is worth while noting that 1t is
apparently understood in Wa5 ington that
| u,ill hn