The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1925-12-30
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
Presidential electors of the states
met January II and went through the
formality of voting for President and
vice president of the United States.
Calvin Coolidge and Charles Gates
Dawes were declared elected, and on
March 4 they were duly inaugurated.
Before that event congress had put
through the usual grist OF appropria-
ton bills and had passed a measure
increasing postal rates and the pay Oh
postal employees. 1t also raised the
salaries of its own members to SlO,Ooo
and of the cabinet members to Sl5,OOo-
Associate Justice McKenna of the
Supreme court resigned January and
the President appointed Attorney Cen
eral Harlan F. Stone to the vacancy.
A few days later he nominated Charles
B. Warren of Michigan to be attorney
general. When the senate met In spe-
cial session after the inauguration one
of its first acts was to reject the war
rem nomination because Of his former
business connections. The President
sent in the name again, and again 1t
was rejected Mr.. Coolidge thereupon
nominated John G. Sargent for the
place and he was accepted. Secretary
of State Hughes retired from the cab
met on March 4, and was succeeded py
Frank B. Kellogg, then ambassador 10
Great Britain. Secretary of War
Weeks, who had been i'll for many
months, resigned on October IL, and
Dwight F. Davis, assistant secretary,
was given the portfolio. Mr.. Davis
position was filed by the appointment
of Col. Hanford MacNider, former ma
tional commander of the American Lee
gion. William NJ. Jardine of Kansas
was made secretary of agriculture on
February IA. A change in the Whlte
House itself that was of especial In
terest to politicians was the resigna-
ton of c. Bascom Slemp as secretary
to the President and the appointment
of Everett Sanders of Indiana.
President Coolidge spent the sum-
mer vacation at Swampscott, Mass,
and during the year he made several
trips for the purpose of delivering al
dresses. The more important of these
were to st. Paul, Mimi, for the Morse
American centennial celebration; 10
Omaha for the meeting of the Amer
ican Legion, and to Chicago for the
convention of the American Farm Bu-
reau federation. Vice President Dawes
WAS exceedingly active in carrying on
his campaign for revision of the rules
of the senate, making speeches on that
ropic In many parts of the country.
When the Sixty-ninth congress opened
tic sessions OH December he was
ready to go on with his fight, but with
out glittering prospects OF success.
The Republicans were in full con-
troll of the new congress, but the old
insurgent bloc In the party was there
again undaunted by disciplinary meas
ures BY which its members were de-
prived of most of their important COM
mittee assignments. In the lower
house they refused to support the lie
publican candidate for speaker. Nicho'
las. Longworth of Ohio, who neverthe-
less was elected. The Republicans
also amended the rule concerning dis
charge of committees so that a ma
iority of the house must sign petit
ton TO take legislation out of a COM
mittee's hands and place il before the
bouse In the lower house sat three
women memberships. Rogers OF
Massachusetts and Mrs. Kahn of Cali
fornia on the Republican side and Mrs.
Norton of New Jersey on the Demo
cratic side. With vast number OF
hills introduced at the beginning of the
session. the house put at the top Oh
tho list the tax reduction measure thai
had been prepared by the ways and
nouns committee during the fall, and
at once went to work on It, This bill
nronosed a cut in income and other
taxes that would reduce the national
revenues by more than S325.000,0 900.
II was virtually a nonpartlsan meas
ura and seemed assured of passage.
Aside from Vice President Dawes ef
fort 10 reform the senate procedure, in
forest In the upper house at first CEN
rered on the attitude Of Senator Rob-
err NJ LaFollette. Jr.. Of Wisconsin,
Who had been elected to succeed his
late father. the leader of the insur-
gents. The young man gave every IN,
dication that he would follow closely
in the footsteps of his sire. Another
of the radical senators had passed
away-Senator Ladd of North Dakota
and Governor Sorlie had appointed
Gerald p. Nye, an avowed follower OF
LaFoIlette, to succeed him. Some OF