The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-12
CONGRESS
 SUMMER TER M
 TO FINISH WORK
Leaders Suddenly Realize Mass Of Legislation
 Still Needed
tLs..sa wire |. Ths .HsraId.,

a. WASHINGTON, March 11.--Lead. CTS in Congress have suddenly come to the realization that they have less than three months in which to jam through the heavy budget of routine legislation which they desire to pass before the national conventions in June.
 Unless this legislation, consisting of about, no remaining annual supply bills and a number of other measures like the immigration bill, is passed by early June, Congress will have to come back after the conventions and work through the summer. This prospect is appalling to the congressman and some 30 senators whose terms are about tO expire. No one wants to be held in Washington during the heat of the po- litical campaign.
 Warnings Given
 But leaders of the House and Senate are passing around quiet warnings to the various committee chairmen that they must speed up or an effort will be made to hold Congress in session all summer. There are some who think that it will be impossible now for Con- gress to get it's work done by June. Some are trying to blame this situa- tion on the oil investigation, which they claim has monopolized the attention of Congress. But this complaint hardly stands up. The Teapot Dome and Daugherty investigating committees can pursue their work without interrupting the routine activities of the other com mittees of the House and Senate. As for the time consumed on the floor in debate-the scandals, while bulking large in terms of newspaper space, ac- tually has consumed but a small DOT tion of the fSenate's time, except on the days when, the Walsh and Robinson resolutions were being passed, the Sen ate has spent hardly an hour a day on this question--at times much less than that. So it is difficult for administ-a- tion leaders to use the oil scandal as an excuse for the delay in showing through important legislation.
 Appropriation Passed
 Of the, dozen appropriation bills which carry the funds to meet govern ment expenses for the fiscal year be- ginning July Il, next, only two have been passed by both houses-the in- terior bill and the post office and treas- ury bill. The House has passed the s,x bill. Monday it passed the Muscle Shoals bill. This completes the budget of important legislation which has been passed since Congress met nearly three and half months ago. The resolutions relating to the oil scandal require lit tie time.
 The balance of the time has been spent in going through false motions. Time consumed in framing the tax measure is responsible for most of the delay in the House. This labor ap- pears to have been largely wasted, for the House re-wrote the committee bill on the floor. The ways and means com mittee is now working over the bonus bill. It will be reported out probably this week. This will be subjected to long and rambling debate, for there is scarcely congressman who will pass by the opportunity to make a speech on it-intended largely for the ears of his own constituents.
 r. House leaders are trying to decide whether to force action on the resolu- tion authorizing flat 9 per cent cut on current income tax payments. Cool idge favors it, but democrats and insur- gents are opposed because they scent a trick to give the President chance to veto the general tax bill which he could safely do if immediate reduction on this years tax payments was author ized.
 The Senate is still debating the Nor beck farm relief bill and is about to take up the Norris constitutional amendment providing for induction of new congressman and senat tors imme- diately after election instead of a year water, as under the present constitu- tional provision. N