Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-18
LAWRENCE NOTES
LACK Of POSITIVE
LAW|MAK|NG PLAN
Sees Spectacle of Congress
FIoundering in Sea of In
surgency Unable to Garry
Out Voters Wishes
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
Especial Wire Service to The Journal.)
Copyright, 1921

Especial Wire Service to The Journal.)
Copyright, 1921
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-two
weeks have gone by. but congress
is not yet organized.
Not only has no important bus;.
ness been transacted, but it begins to
look as if it will be after the holiday
recess before a start will be made.
For several months there have
oeen predictions that the present
congress would founder around in
a sea of insurgency. Those predic-
tlons are being verified. The spec.
tacfe OF a national legislature I'M.
able to carry out the supposed man.
date of the people at the last cleo.
lions is such that it may furnish
the leading issue at the polls next
November when new congress is
elected.
Neither party is able at the mo.
ment to keep harmony in its ranks.
though the Democrats are in better
CONDITION in that respect than their
Republican opponents.
Affirmative Plans Lacking
The spirit of the electorate in the
last congressional campaign was to
vote against things" The men in
oIflce in both parties suffered. The
Verolct was generally negative -
continuance of the negative cam.
palgns that have prevailed ever since
the war. If there was an affirna.
tive desire at the 1922 election. moth.
ing has developed thus far in tba
STATEMENTS of senator's and represen.
tatlVeS to indicate that thew ara
conscious of what it was. If Won
ask members of congress what tha
country meant when it cut down the
ftepupilcan majority to a mere hand.
1ul III poth houses, you will get from
eile democrats the answer that the
Iiatlon was showing its impatience
nl.n the lack of performance of a
nr.eplipiican congress, and from the
Republican members Won will oa+ Az Az
excuse tnat agricultural discomfort
and adverse business conditions %
the tlmo Of the elections had much
10 90 with the cutting down of the
Republican strength.
but the new congress is here
thirteen months after the election
and about the only things that mast
members will agree upon is that co.
oltlons have changed since the tin,a
OF thelr election. The Democnats
say the country is even more Demo
cIatlc: and the Republicans insist
that IL the elections were held r..
morrow they would recover most ~
their lost seats. -
Taxes, Bonus, Railways
About the only things that have
colne TO the front since the last cleo.
IloH and which are bound to tran.
scend IN Importance everything else
IN the session are, first, tax revi.
sion downward; second, the soldier
bonus. and third, fight on this
railroads to force lower freight rates
Tor farm products.
All three issues will be interviewer
and party lines are bound to be
broken when the parliamentary ma
neuVers begin whereby bills are
framed and reported by committees.
TO sum up the present situation,
1t is no exaggeration to saw that
congress is almost unanimous in
FAVOR of some kind of tax reduce
tlon measure. Congress, moreover.
remains unconvipced that a soldier
bonus il enacted would bring about
the serious consequences to the ma.
tons economic condition which the
treasury department experts saw
would be the result. The advocates
OF the bonus admit there will be
some strain, but insist the country
Is in splendid condition to bear it
without danger.
Railroads Face Defeat
AS for the contest to get lower
freight rates, the indications at the
moment are that the railroads will
lose their fight. Sentiment to re-
peal the so-called earning clause is
SO powerful that it will take a COM
bination of Democrats and Republic
cans to break it down and keep the
transportation law intact. II the
railroads were able to make Volun-
tary decreases in freight rates, they
would be able to ward off much of
the opposition to them in congress.
The earning clause is being used as
means of striking at the railroads
for refusal to reduce rates. There
is no question but that the railroads
will be able to influence a large
number of members OF both houses
to accept the economic arguments
they have made, but the western
radicals are not as sympathetic with
railroad finance as they are with
farmer economics.
There are rumors that President
Coolidge, while opposed to any
change in the earning clause of the
transportation act, will not make an
issue of it with congress. In some
respects the railroad question will
furnish more ammunition for pollt-
ical battle than any other problem
before congress.