Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1923-12-14
A Weekly Panorama of Events in the
National Capital.
BY Peter Keegan

The trouble that the "old guard"
Republicans had in organizing the
House of Representatives for the 68th
Congress is only a forerunner of the
trouble they are going to have for the
rest of the winter according to the
"progressives" who are stirring
things up in both Senate and House.
The insurgents, led by the LaFollette
lieutenants from the Northwest,
demonstrated in the fight over the
Speakership that the mythical "bal-
ance of Power" is a real and powerful
thing, and they declare that they will
never hesitate to use their strength
when it appears that something tang
ible, like the promised revision of the
House rules, can be accomplished.
The Senate has not yet been treated
to a dose of insurgency, largely be-
cause of the illness of Senator M. La
Toilette, of Wisconsin, who is i'll at
his home here with what is described
by his physicians as a 'severe cold in
the head" The illness, regardless of
it's exact nature, has been so bad,
however, that it kept LaFollette from
attending the opening sessions of
Congress, and may keep him from
taking the lead now in some of the
battles he has been planning for near
ly quarter of a century.
1t is habit for the State of Del
aware to send a member Of the Bay
ard family to Congress. The present
representative is Thomas Francis
Bayard, one of the new Senators. His
father, Thomas Francis Bayard; his
grandfather, James Asheton Bayard;
his great uncle, Richard Henry Bay
ard; his great-grandfather, James
Asheton Bayard and his great great
grandfather Richard Bassett, were
all United States Senators from Del
aware. 1t is record unequalled in
the country's history. The present
Senator Bayard is a lawyer by pro-
fession, but his continual wearing of
flowing Windsor necktie gives him
the popularity accepted appearance of
an artist of some kind or another.
Among the new Congressman is
William Jennings Bryan's former
Secretary, Edgar Howard of Nebras-
ka. Howard is such a devotee of
Bryan that he even looks and dresses
like the Comomner. In his autobio-
graphy written for the Official
Congressional Directory, he makes
the statement that he was Lieu
tenant Governor of Nebraska,
holding contemporaneously the higher
office of editor of country newspa-
per, and still in that estate"
Despite the announced opposition of
both President Coolidge and Secre-
tary of the Treasury Mellon to the
soldiers bonus, there is every reason
to believe that some sort Of a COM
pensation law will be enacted within
the next few months. Some Congress
sional observers point out, however,
that although many legislators who
are against the bill personally will
vote for it at first for the sake fo the
soldier votes in their home districts,
not all of them will be so outspoken
in favor of the legislation after 1T
comes back from the White House
bearing the black cross of presiden-
tial disapproval. That, they say, is a
horse of a different color.
All the rumpus that was raised
throughout the country over the case
of Comptroller Craig of New York,
who President Coolidge pardoned to
keep him from serving Jail sentence
for contempt of court, is going to be
heard again soon when a new effort
is made to get pardons for the war
time political prisoners whom Wilson
and Harding refused to free. The
friends of this class of prisoners in
sist that there is no sound reason for
keeping them locked up if a reason
could be foundd for pardoning the
New York official.
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