The New York herald., 1922-08-07
PRIMARIES REFLECT
PUBLIC DISAPPROVAL
OF CONGRESS RECORD
Republican Leaders Say No
Fault Is Found With
Harding's Acts.
LIBERALISM GROWING
Voters Declared to Have
Lost Patience With the
Majority Leaders.
DEMOCRATS ARE ACTIVE
They Hope to Win Next House
and Cut Senate Majority to
Six in November.
ny LOUIS sEIBoLD.

ny LOUIS SEIBOLD..
Special Dispatch to THE New Yozx HErALp.
Washington. ID. g.. Aug. 8.
Professional political leaders are
wide apart in trying to find funda-
mental cause for the confused results
OF recent primaries or those that fig
ure In contests yet to come.
The majority of these leaders agree
that the manifest popular dissatisfac-
ton Is due to failures OF Congress
rather than to any actual faults with
the executive branch OF the Harding
Administration. They also concur in
the opinion that the sterile Congress
sional soil has sprouted an unexpected
amount Of liberalism in both parties.
Lack Of efficient leadership and CO.
hesion In the national Legislature is
attributed by some Of these leaders to
the fact that the skilled Republican
mechanics OF government "got out OF
practice during the eight years OF the
Wilson Administration"
Whatever the actual causes it is quite
certain there exists among the voters
OF the country a more pronounced de-
gree OF evaporation over the failures
OF Congress rather than because OF
any faults with the executive wing OF
the Government.
Lack Faith ~ u~~N>r~
II the majority Of Republican lead
ers are ia bc believed. former partisan
adherents In their respective States
have lost patience with the admittedly
helpless majority leaders Of the two
houses in which. according to Secre-
tary or War Weeks parliamentary
and political standards were never al
so low an ebb In the history Of the
country.
The Democratic appraisement Of the
situation Is that Mr.. Harding Is equally
to blame for the fatuousness Of Con-
kressional leaders because he has re-
fused to assert his leadership. Whether
this charge Is justified is a matter OF
partisan opinion and the subject for
much acrimonious controversy. on
one thing there can be no question
Popular judgment as expressed In
primary results to date has not re-
iected any tendency on the part OF
the voters to SAY II with flowers
Most Of the comments on the Congress
sional situation are accompanied with
verbal missiles less hattering.
Tariff II n Weapon.
1t is this condition Of affairs that
inspires the aggressive optimism of
Democratic leaders regarding the out
come OF the November battle for con-
| troll OF the two houses of Congress.
These leaders assert that the record
OF failures which they credit to the
Republican Congress is certain to wipe
out the 169 majority In the House and
reduce the wide margin Of "a by which
Mr.. Harding's party controls the SEN
ate to not more than six. It Is only
fair to say that the Republican leaders
present unwieidy majority in the
House will be cut down more than SO
per cent. The leaders who do not hold
seats In Congress believe that such a
reduction would make for less stupid
ity and greater efficiency in the Con-
gressional branch.
Opposition TO the Fordney- -McCum-
Der tariff bill. which is by no means
confined to the Democratic party. has
provided the Democrats, with a poten-
TALLY powerful issue with which to
Ro before the country 1t Is the one
topic over which the rival candidates
Of the two parties already have started
in to fight and tho advantage appears
to be on the Democratic side.
The Republican leaders are handi-
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