Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-02-14
LONG SESSION Of
CONGRESS LIKELY
HOUSE HASN'T REALLY STARTED
AND SENATE is BUSY WITH
MANY INVESTIGATIONS.
By EDWARD q. CLARK

BY EDWARD 3. CLARK
Washington. Predictions are that
unless lanceyis thrust into the flank
of congress it will be found in session
during the early cold weather time of
next fall. It seems to be assured now
that even if speed shall develop con-
gress will sit through the time of the
national conventions
When this is said, the meaning is
that it is congress and not congress-
men that will do the sitting. There
will be just enough members left here
to keep up the semblance of organiza-
ton. The rest will be in or around
and about the convention halls. This
Is what happened in the year 1912
and in one or two other comparatively
recent presidential election years
The house has not started at it's
real legislative work. A score of OBJ
stinate gentlemen are throwing OBJ
structions on the track in front of
locomotive, which hasn't any too much
steam up anyway. Whether the OBJ
structionists are right cannot be
known, of course, until the days of
! the future.
Over in the senate things are worse
than they are in the house. Some of
the senators are engaged today in the
of course perfectly proper investiga-
ton Of the Teapot Dome scandal,
while some others are at work trying
to prove the wickedness of Edward
! w. Box Of Philadelphia in asking
people to submit plans one Of which
possibly might bring peace into the
world
Many Senate Investigations.
The senate as it is viewed here no
longer is a legislative body, it has
become almost wholly an investigat-
ing body. It has seven or eight in
vestigations on its hands today, most
of them instigated by desire Of this
group or that group, this bloc or that
bloc, or this or that larger group to
make public its suspicion that some
body or other possibly may have done
something wrong. This kind Of in
vestigation has been going on in
congress ever since the legislators
first met. Frequently they have re-
suited in nothing but loss Of time
and money.
The difficulties in the way Of legis-
lative progress at the present session
are increased materially by the fact
that this is presidential nomination
and presidential election year
Politics plus investigations plus the
fact that no party has majority that
/ 1t can count upon are placing rocks
! in the road. The wonder probably is
not that Nicholas Longworth, the lead
err of the Republicans in the house, is
accomplishing so little, but that he is
accomplishing as much as he is with
the conditions that confront him and
almost daily confound him.
There seems to be no reason today
to change opinion that finally Long
worth will succeed in effecting some
kind Of tax legislative compromise
which will secure for tax reducing
bill the sanction of the house and
ultimately get the approval Of the
/ President, provided, Of course that
the senate does not force such changes
In the face Of the measure that the
President will refuse to recognize it
4 as worthy of anything but condemna-
ton.
President Not Disturbed.
Congress has been in session for
nearly two months. It apparently has
been regarded as an achievement by
/ the two houses that after some eight
weeks of ''sessioning" they have
passed a bill which will allow certain
4 cattle once driven across the line in
Mexico to escape the drought to re-
turn into this country duty free.
Probably this speedy achievement will
be one of the legislative acts to which
the pointing finger Of pride will be
directed in the coming campaign.
1t is said that President Coolidge is
1 unperturbed by the sloWness Of things
j on Capitol hill. He realizes probably
that the political party of which he
i is the nominal head cannot do much
in the house so long as certain mem
bers of 1t refuse to stay on. the res
ervation It may be that President
Coolidge sees IN obstructive IacLlcs
certain element of strength for his
own position on matters of legislation,
for generally silent as he is, he has
spoken his mind freely upon the mat
ter Of the things that he wants done
and things he wants left undone.
Not many years ago one session Of
congress continued until it expired by
limitation of law, to be succeeded i'm
mediately by the second session of the
same congress In other words, con-
gress remained in session until noon
of the first Monday in December and
the second session began the instant
that the first session ended. To all
effect or purpose there was one ses-
sion OF congress to last from Deem
Der of one year until March fourth of
the second year thereafter.
1 1t is perhaps unfair to discredit
congress, certainly this year, with a