The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-12-26
CRUCIAL and TIMELY TASK FACES NATION
Continued from page y

A real rules reform program must
be predicated upon an understand.
ing of the basic causes of the vicious
system that now exists, as follows:
1. Partyism is the parent evil ir
Congress. Party responsibility, q
strict party attitude, may assert it.
self in the higher sense in one case
out of a hundred, but the othe,
ninety-nine manifestations of parti.
sanship find expression in such abor.
tions as spoils, seniority, secrecy ano
selfish organization advantage. Par.
tyism no longer determines Legislative
policy; it concerns itself with pelt
and power. 1t has long since lost the
spirit and purpose of public affairs
but of politics. The last election ane
the next-that is the circle of its
interest, and vision. A government
of, by and for politicians-that is its
goal.
There can be no adequate recon.
struction, no real re-Americaniza.
ton, of the law-making machinery
without complete comprehension OF
the part end-in-itself politics plays
throughout the existing spoils system
The possible good in partisanship is
SO swallowed up and overshadoweG
by it's viciousness that no compromise
is possible.
A Non-Partisan Basis
2. Boss power must be traced
to: it's remotest parliamentary en-
trenchments, and all those unfair
Notifications torn down. It will dc
no lasting good to deal with the
agencies of obstruction; let the
causes of obstruction be removed, anG
upon their foundations be built insti-
buttons Of parliamentary liberty and
justice.
For example, so long as so-called
rules reformers fool with remedial
devices to compel committee action
failure will be written of their ef-
forts. Instead let them dig out by
the roots every abortive boss power
that now neables a committee to
evade it's plain duty, to practice OBJ
structive tactics, to be "a law unto
ITSELF"
There should be simple rule re-
quiring every committee, within a
reasonable time limit, to report back
all measures placed in it's hands.
8. A hopeless congestion of bust
ness would result, the Old Guard
will answer. Of course. There as a
hopeless congestion of business any
way. The remedy for that is to con-
fine the work of Congress strictly to
matters that are public and national
in scope.
Probably three-fourths of the time
not now given to Privileged" mat
tiers is taken up with the considera-
ton of purely local and private bills
In this respect Congress appears
more like a municipal council than a
national legislature.
At present, for example, if the
court of claims, supposed to settle
such questions, refuses to allow a
certain claim, in all probability the
matter is brought into Congress
through the introduction of a bill. 1t
is the same with pensions. What the
pension bureau regards as too ques-
tionable to be acted upon is taken
into Congress. In a degradingly
petty way, Congress has become the
supreme court of plumber and spoils
All such local "trash" should be
eliminated. The right kind of bud
get system would accomplish most
of this. In every field where pork
now prevails, let Congress legislate
as to both policy and amount of ap-
preparation, and then leave to re-
sponsible executive agencies the ap.
portionment and distribution of the
funds.
a. The right kind of a budget sys-
tenn woul doperate also to curtail the
privileged business" of the House
which now contributes so demoraliz-
ingly to clog jams" If the so-calleo
budget system were more than sub,
terfuge, a political football, if it con-
formed to vital budget principles, all
regular bills having to do with both
appropriations and revenue would be
merged into one administration meas
ure.
5. Congress must be divorced also
from the corrupting influence of pat
ronage. No national legislator should
have the slightest opportunity, di,
rectly or indirectly, to build per
sonal or party machine through hav-
ing hand in appointments. SINH
larly the "lame duck" evil should be
eradicated by making every defeated
congressman and senator ineligible
for a presidential appointment for at
least two years after such repudia-
ton by the people.
6. Another vital necessity is to
reduce the membership of the House
to a workable number. True deliber-
alton is a fundamental necessity in
legislation. Deliberation implies that
every member shall have equal OPP
portunity to represent his constit-
uents. This ideal condition cannot
exist with 435 members. -
Keeping in mind all the foregoing
outline of basic evils to be corrected
here are the American principles
upon which the reformation of the