The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-05-21
I 0
SESSIONS
CLOSE
Bonus Fades as Campaign
Issue-Farmers and Unions
Have Replaced Veterans
BY WILLIAM HARD.

BY WILLIAM HARD.
Today the big noises in Wash
ington are the Howell Barley
bill and the McNary- Haugen bill.
Yesterday the big noises were
the tax reduction bill and the
bonus bill.
The skies have changed. The
first period of this Congress is
over. The second period has be-
gun.
In the first period the principal
subjects were the reducing of tax
alton and the granting Of So
called adjusted compensation to
ex-soldiers. Those subjects were
distinctly revenue subjects.
Scene Is Shifted.
Now the scene is shifted to en-
tirely new and different subjects.
From now forward this session
Of Congress is going to be devoted
to the farmer and to the railroad
Wage.earner.
The Howell-Barkley bill is a
railroad trade union bill for abol-
ishing the Railroad Labor Board
and for substituting in it's place a
new series Of boards demanded by
the railroad standard brotherhoods
and unions.
The McNary.Haugen bill is an
agricultural relief bill demanded
by the agricultural interests of the
West in general and of the North
west in particular.
In the first part Of this Congress
the keynote was the taxpayer and
the ex.soldier. In the approaching
and already arriving second part
OF it the keynote IL the farmer and
the laborer.
The McNary-Haugen bill on be-
half Of the farmers is now today the
immediate engaging business Of the
House of Representatives. The
Howell Barley bill on behalf Of the
railroad employees will he UP in the
House Of Representatives again on
June 2.
Climax for Session.
These two bills will provide the
climax Of this session of Congress.
ACJ AdNO dtILaCICO S1AAdA AAtSTSSI
in comparison with the taxation re-
duction bill and the bonus bill,
Nevertheless they represent issues
which without any doubt will have
more influence upon the Presidential
election in November than either
the taxation reductin bill or the
bonus bill.
The bonus bill is accepted and
over. The taxation reductin bill
will soon be finished. The session
will end with the struggle over
things which affect ultimately a
much larger number Of voters.
The Howell bill, which is
currently and flippantly called in
Washington the "Howling- Barking
bill,'' is what the railroad trade
unionists want in the relations and
in the negotiations between labor
and capital on railroads.
Bonus Issue Fading.
The McNary Haugen bill is what
the mass of the farmers and what
also the mass Of the business inter-
ests in the Northwest are demand
ing from Congress on behalf of
agriculture and on behalf of the
export trade in agricultural pro-
ducts.
The bonus is settled and the
common expectation here is that
in the November election the bonus
issue will have little weight one
way or the other.
In taxation reduction the com.
peting bills are so close together
In their dealing with all controver.
sial subjects that no faction is
likely in the November election to
have any advantage over any other
faction.
The Howell.Barkley bill and the
McNary. Haugen bill open up a new
and much more difficult prospect.
They deal with the two classes of
persons who most particularly and
especially are likely to provide the
human material for a new third
party in November.
Two Glasses Affected.
These two classes Of persons are
the railroad trade unionists and the
Northwestern farmers. The Howell
Barley bill is designed to pacify
the railroad trade unionists. The
McNary-Haugen bill is designed to
pacify the Northwestern farmers.
Both bills are highly obnoxious to
orthodox Republicans in Washing
ton. The Howell Barkley bill gives
Increased power to organized labor
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