The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-11
FIGHT LOOMS OVER SENATE PRESIDENT.
Smiths Election Presages Attempt To Defeat
 CumminS

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.-Reverber- ations from the months battle in the Senate, which resulted in the election yesterday. of Senator Smith, demo- crat, South Carolina, as chairman of the interstate coi.amerce committed over Senator Cummins, republican. Iowa, continued today in the form of rumblings that presaged a somewhat similar fight over the retention by Iowa and by the office of President pro tenn.
 The House, meanwhile, began work in the first big appropriation meas ure of the session-the interior de- partment supply bill-which was re- ported yesterday by the appropria- tions committee with the total cut to 261,727,965, which is $35, 5,792,044 less than allotted to the department last year.
 Senator Cummins was defeated for the interstate commerce chairman ship on the, thirty-second ballot, re- Smith, which included six cast by Senator LaFollette, republican, Wis consin, and five members of tho in- surgent group he heads. Senator Couzens, republican. Michigan, re- ceived six votes on the final ballot.
 The likelihood of an effort to un- seat the Iowa senator as president pro tenn now that the chairmanship fight is out of the way, has brought out suggestions in some quarters that certain of the republican in- surgents and the farmer-labor sena- tors comprising the LaFollette group, might throw their support to Sena- tor Pittman, democrat, Nevada. The insurgents have been described as willing to vote for Senator Cum mins for the office If the democrats precipitated a contest, but anfmosi- ties developed during the interstate commerce committee deadlock have raised hopes on the part Of senator Pittman's supporters that their votes can be counted on in effort to elect him. Republican organization sena- tors have contended that Senator Cummins retains the Senate presi- dency by virture of his election at the last session of Congress, and they have not formally indorsed him for reelection.
 Important Conference.
 In the House, the republican con- ference tonight on tax and bonus legislation overshadowed other acti- vities, to some extent. but the Dyer uation and agriculture's problems received a share of committee at- tention, with the ways and means committee continuing its work on revenue legislation.
 The Dyer bill which was passed by the House at the Iast session, but failed to get through the Senate, was taken up by the judiciary committee. and the administrators policy with respect to aiding the Obregon gov- ernment through the sale of surplus war materials and in other ways oc- cupied the foreign affairs committee in it's consideration of the resolution introduced by Representative Fair child, republican, New York. to pro- hibit sale of munitions by the United States to any foreign government.
 The House immigration committee began work on a draft of the pro- posed bill which would restrict i'm. migration to 2 per cent of the for eign born of each nation in the United States in 1890 and to ? per cent of the blood relatives of for eign born here. and the agriculture committees of the Senate and House continued their studies Of farm re- lief legislation.