, 1922-06-08

s~essions OF Congress to the very
great detriment of his personal in
lterests, and has established . record
for attendance which has never been
eQuAled.-that Of approximately a
weeks absence In all Of his twenty
-four Year, service.
C110Attee AsatRnRe1fa
In the early period of his service
Nj. Mondell vas . Member OF the
ON Military Affairs. on
Public Lands. and on Irrigation OF
Arid LAAdsL Quite early in his
jssRvtee he became Chairman Of the
lCoDmittee On Irrigation of Arid
I-aads. He retained his place On the
iCoAnittes q Public Lands for
Many years, notvithstanding tempt
ing offess n larger Committees. b.
eaass 10 felt the importance to the
state Of the land problems before
that Committee. The last four yean
OF that service va As Chairman Of
the Committee.
LeaAenhip
In 1913 Mr.. Mondell became q
Member Of the Committee on Appro-
~prtations. During the eight years of
President Wilson's Administration he
was = member Of the Minority St1S
ing Committee. With the organf1a.a
tion of the Ssth Congress in 1919,
came an organization of the Repub-
lean majority on lines in complete
harmony with the notifications
which the rules Of the House had
been undergoing for some time. A
Committee IN Committees was con-
stftuted: a Steering Committee of
five was provided, and the office Of
Floor Leader, separate and distinc.
from = Committee place and respons-
Utility, established.
I His Rale Of Service
Mr.. Aondell. though he cast but
lone vote of the 236 cast by the 81
Members Of the Committee on Com
mittees. was nominated as Floor
Leader and became Chairman OF the
Committee on Committees and
Chairman of the Steering Committee.
which selections were approved by
party conference. At the BEGINNING
of the 67th Congress Mr.. Mondell
was unanimously reelected to these
positions. He has expressed his view
OF his duties and responsibilities in
the positions he holds as follows:
1T 10 not my province or my
purpose 70 insist on having the
House follow my view in all
cases as to what ought to be
done, but rather to advise and
suggest As to what seems to be
the wisest and best course, and
to aid the majority in crystal
lized its best judgment and
opinion into law"
Land Legislation
Owing to Wyoming's great inter-
est in public land questions and Mr..
Mondell's wide and practical knowl-
edge Of public land problems, it was
natural that he should early and
continuously take an active part in
! the consideration OF public land
questions.
He has been repeatedly compli-
mented by his colleagues on both
sides OF the Chamber by being re-
ferred to as the highest authority
and the best posted man in the
House of Representatives on land
laws. 1t is equally true that he has
W hAS SiNAAS HlobS SSASkA NStAvS lC6-
iislation on the subject Of public lands
than any mar nov living. including
mineral. irrigation, homestead and
general land legislation. A few OF
the more important and better known
pieces of legislation fathered and
promoted by the Wyoming Congress
man are the following:
The Oil Placer Act.
Several Second Homestead Acts.
Amendments to the Desert Land
Laws.
Repeal OF the Lieu Land Law:
Act liberalizing the Isolated
Tract Law.
Resurvey Acts. including the
General Resurvey Act.
! Act for Amendment Of Entries.
including those Patented and
Transferred.
Acts for Extension Of period for
Perfecting Desert Entries.
Act Transferring Forest Reserves
to Interior Department.
Act for Agricultural Entry OF
Coal and Oil Lands.
The Enlarged Homestead Law.
While it was not Mr.. Mondell's
bill which became the Stocknaising
Homestead Law, he introduced the
original Grazing Homestead Act, and
in better form. all WHO arc familiar
with the subject admit, than the bill
which eventually became = law I'm
der the Democratic Administration a
bill introduced by a Republican, fol-
lowing the usual practice In such
matters, was not adopted. but had
Mr.. Mondell's bill been enacted the
long delays in designations would
have been avoided and the general
mineral reservation would not have
been a feature Of the legislation.
Among the more important land leg
islation in the promotion of which
Mr.. Mondell took an active and lead