New-York tribune., 1922-01-29
Partisan Lines
Broken to Aid
Special Bills
Republicans and Democrats
From West. With Eastern
Suprnri, Join 10 Force
Agricultural Legislation
By John Snure
WASHINGTON, Jan. Is.

-
~RE agricultural membership OF
Congress. which for years past
has 5cen more or less aimless.
- has suddenly become organized.
Hitherto i. has been running around
N circles. Now, all 81 once. It has
hoe, assembled under vigorous and
AGGRESSIVE leadership and has begun to
march along certain specific lines.
The much discussed, much assailcd
and much praised agricultural bloc of
the Senate and of the House is simply
the organization in each body OF large
share of the membership from srr;
y,ltural states or districts. In one
,sase, there are two agricultural blocs.
one in the Senate and one in the House
They arc, as matter of fact, two dis
.incs organizations. They frequently
cooperate IN obtaining legislation or
s:xmpting to obtain legislation which
they believe to be of benefit to the
agricultural industry, but they do not
always cooperate and sometimes do
not entirely agree. Broadly speaking.
however. when the agricultural bloc Of
Congress is referred to. one undcr-
stands that it includes the Senate group
and the House group of members from
the farming areas.
Kenyon Is Organizer
OF Agricultural Bloc
o. course. the agricultural bloc
didn't set out to call itself by th~t
name. Some time last Nav Senator
Kenyon, Of Iowa. under strenuous
pressure from the farmers of his state.
who were complaining bitterly of CON
ditons and asserting nothing was being
done in Washington to remedy them,
called together small group of his
Senate brethren. The purpose was to
discuss the complaints of AGRICULTURAL
CONDITIONS and to determine whether
something could no. be done to GET
legislation which the farmers were de-
mandine. The meeting was called with
out reference to partisan lines. 1t in
cluded such Republicans as Senator
Norris, of Nebraska, chairman of the
Senate Committee on Agriculture:
Senator Cappor. OF kansas: Senator
Ladd. of North Dakota; Senator Smith
Of South Carolina Senator Kcndrick.
Of Wyoming; Senator Harris, Of
Georgia; Senator Ashurst. of Arizona.
and several others.
series of meetings was held and
t vss not long before the decision was
made TO unite nearly all the agricul-
tural Senators, Republican and Demo
crat. on definite program for enact
nent Of laws demanded by the farm
ers. A newspaper man dubbed the or
rsnization the agricultural bloc" and
the name stuck. Senator Kenyon was
chosen chairman of the Senate group
and an organization was formed which.
on paper, numbers thirty Senators,
equally divided as to political parties.
Actually the highest number in at
tendance at any meeting of the Senate
bloc has been twenty-two
Dickinson Is Pioneer
OF Movement in House
While the Senate bloc was being
formed, similar movement was begun
IN the House, with Representative l.. J.
ltcklnH0n OP NO;
DICKINSON called meeting and the
house bloc was soon under way.
Smce last spring the bloc has been
0asy IN both houses and has succeeded
forcing through much important
''sis' aeion and in defeating the passage
u other measures. II has sawed much
Sooo' but 1t hasn't kept silent about it.
Every few weeks, the word has zone
aoout the Caplto! that the arricul,nrsi
bloc was to be "smashcd' by the load
eFs. Not only has this not cventuatcd.
oct the bloc is to-day probably more
vigorous than ever. and there is ro
real indication that it is soon going to
be crushed or wiped out.
The Republican Senators who arc
fated as being part of the bloc arc
Aenyon, Capper, Norris, Norbcrk. Ladd.
harreld, Gooding, La Toilette. Borah
Jones Of Washington, McNary. Len
root, Bursum, Johnson and kellogg.
Senator's Lenroot and Kellogg, how
ever, though invited into the organiza~
aon, have virtually held aloof from
and have preferred to work within
aarty lines.
On the Democratic side there are
senators Smith of Soutl, Carolina. SIM
mons, Fletcher, Hcflin. Jones of New
Aex'co, kendrick, Watson of Georgia.
harris, Dial. Harrison. Ransdell. Shcp-
pSro' Caraway, Trammell and Ash
urN' This is total Of thirty. fiftecn
VI 'nem Republicans and fifteen Demo
N''s' although tho active working
''fength Of the Senate organization is
0nly about twenty-five.
Inc House bloc was formed on dlf-
.eaent plan from that of the Senate
.'@s the first meeting, by direction of
a'' colleagues. Chairman Dickinson
rsparsd a committee Of thirty-eight
oil