Evening star., 1924-04-05
COOLIDGE POWER
BECOMING EVIDENT
President and Congress Are
Getting Closer Together
After ParIeys.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


been getting closer together thi.
week. Breakfast luncheon and din
ner sees some republican leaders at
the White House discussing the
Legislative program Mr.. Coolidge is
beginning to exercise his influence
on Capitol Hill.
First and foremost has been the
Presidents Intervention in the tax
situation. The Senate finance com
mittee virtually is rewriting the tax
| bill passed by the House. And there
have been so many changes that the
Senate leaders have found it desira
bic 10 consult the President constant
ly. His decision against the levy of
new forms of taxation is significant
Must Reconstruct Plan.
The House repealed several taxes
which Secretary Mellon did not rec
ommend for modification at this time.
As q. consequence the House bill will
not. in the opinion of Treasury ex
perts, get the needed revenue. This
means that the whole scheme has 10
be reconstructed
gested as 2. profitable source of rev
enue, But Mr. Coolidge interfered.
And now the Senate finance commit
| tee will revive the tax on kilograms
and telephone messages, which were
| cut out of the House bill, but which
are in the present law. Indeed, many
Of the so-called nuisance taxes will
be reconsidered, as the cutting OF the
Mellon plan in the House turned the
whole scheme upside down, and the
Senate is compelled to rehabilitate
| the measure.
Forced TO Watch Democrats.
! Mr.. Coolidge finds that in summon
| ing the leaders for conference he
cannot depend upon their getting 70
the White House during the day be
! cause so many of them have impor-
tant committee meetings. While the
republicans are not interested in in
vestigating themselves, they must be
present to watch that the democrats
do not turn the sessions into cam
paiEn caTnivals, asking questions that
make damaging headlines and fur
uish political ammunition for the
coming presidential and congression
al contests.
/ The President has found that about
! the only time OF day he can get a
I number Of men from Congress into
| conference Is early in the morning.
! The breakfasts have not been numer
! Gus, but they proba bly, Will be one OF
! the features OF the Coolidge admins
| tEat!on henceforth.
/ Congress Spirit Better.
| The spirit of Congress at this mo-
| ment, SO far as the legislative pro
! gram is concerned, is much better
! than it was u week ago. The agita
| tion of the country against the al
legged waste Of time in Investigations
has aroused the democrats, who point
| out that the responsibility for the
| delay is on the republican party
| adjusting their campaign as to keep
| the Investigations going but at the
| same time insisting upon Legislative
/ action.
Senator Robinson, the democratic
! leader, who is an unusually aggres-
! sive type will not let the repub-
! licanS attack his party for delaying
| legislation. He has begun making
! speeches showing that the repub-
! licans have not made much progress
!
! is likely 70 turn the occasion into an
! attack himself. for most everybody.
! including the President, knows that
! the republican leaders have not been
| particularly energetic in handling
(! the legislative program thus far.
Legislative jam Seen.
/ The outlook is for a Legislative. jam
! just about the time most OF the mem
! bers Of Congress want to get AWAY
/ for the national political conventions.
The biggest fight Of the session over
the McNary- -Haugen bill providing an
agricultural export corporation under
government supervision is yet to
come. The farm bloc is almost solid
! ~ for the bill, while the millers and
grain exporting interests are lighting
| the proposal tooth and nail.
| The ChamDionS OF the idea have for
the moment switched their tactics
and plan to get the bill through the
! House next week. so that when the
Senate acts the bill can shortly there
after go to the President for sigma
] ture. The supporters OF the HauEen
| hill feel sure it will pass the House
without difficulty.
They are not certain what the
! President will do when it comes to
! him, but, at the moment, it represents
| the outstanding piece of agricultural
| legislation for farm relief
There have been some alternative
proposals made by Senator Curtis OF
Kansas. providing for a federal mar
keting board to coordinate all the CO.
operative organizations and arrange
for more orderly marketing and dis
| tributiOn, but until the McNary- Hal-
gen bill is approved or rejected no
other agricultural proposals viii get
much attention.