The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-11-10
NO NEW CONGRESS
Until Dec, 1923
Country Then VIII Be On
Eve of Another National
Campaign
SPECIAL SESSION
MIGHT BE CALLED
Would Give President Opportunity to
Show Leadership Lodge May Re
sign Republican Leadership Wild
West BlOes Getting too Difficult.


BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Despatch to The Reformer)
Copyright 1922.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10.-The
American people voted into power on
Tuesday a new congress, but it may be
December of next year before the senate
and house will be organized in accord
ance with the wishes of the electorate
Unless President Harding calls a spe-
cial session when the present congress
goes out of office on March 4th next
the country will have to wait until De
cember, 1928, to see in action the con-
gress elected this week and the chances
are that the presidential primary cam
paigns of 1924 win be in full swing be-
fore the new senate and house gets
down to work In fact the two
national conventions in June, 1924 will
be held after only one session of the
new congress in which the majority and
minority parties can make their respec
tive records.
Mr.. Harding has called a special SEES
sion for Nov 20 of this year but that Is
merely to speed up the present congress
and give ii an opportunity TO dispose of
ship subsidy and other important legis
lation before the regular session begins
in December which runs by law only
until March f. This short session will
not afford much opportunity for any
thing else but routine appropriation bills
and the big Republican majorities which
were swept into Office in 1920 will con-
troll both houses until March 4. The
President may find himself compelled
by the pressure of public opinion to sum
mon the new congress within a month or
so after March t, 1923. Woodrow VIII
son lost both the senate and house in the
autumn of 1918 and need not have
brought congress here until December
1919. but he called II special session
shortly after the Democrats relinquished
their control on March i, 1919.
President Must Drive
The big question for the politicians to
decide is whether it would be better for
President Herding and the Republican
party to postpone the beginning of the
new congress until the regular session
in December, 1923, or to enter the fray
sooner. With the narrow ma jority in
senate and house Mr. Harding win be
face to face with the task of driving
congress his way or being driven in every
direction by the legislative branch of
the government. He viii not be able to
count on as much help as heretofore be-
cause the bloc" system of government
viii be in full swing. The Republican
losses in congress have been vital. Con-
servafives have been defeated and If
lttHtocIdlS nave not taken llttiI l]tslttE.
radical Republicans. which is TO some
extent. even more disturbing. have tri-
umphed and will be thorn in the side
of any leader who attempts reconcilia-
ton in harmonious party organization.
The possibility that Senator Henry
Cabot Lodge viii resign the Republican
leadership is being widely discussed here.
Mr.. Lodges health recently has not
been good and the truth is it viii take
younger and more vigorous person
atty to deal with the rebelliOns in the
Republican party which are bound to
come out of the western membership.
Even Senator Underwood. the Demo
cratic leader. wishes to resign the mir
nority leadership because he is unequal
to the strain physically.
With the elimination of Representa-
tive Mondell. Republican leader of the
house il looks as if Representative
Nicholas Longworth of Ohio would be
chosen leader though il would not be
surprising to see seniority and rank 90
by the boards in congress made up Of
50 many radical groups. The western
Republicans may demand the leadership
In the senate. James Watson of Indiana
has shown qualities of leadership which
the administration likes. and he is per-
sonally popular with members of both
! parties in the senate.
| Preliminary of 1924
Whatever the mandate of the election
| this week may be-and the political
sages win try for the next two years to
discover 1.-THE relationship of the new
| congress to the next presidential cleo