Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-23
Politics at Large
By G. Gould Lincoln


elections will be their share next year.
The new Congress has been in ses'
sion for two weeks. The progress
made so far with the administration 5
program has given added hope that
the Congress will be 'out of the
trenches" by June. Working accord
ing to schedule, the House has passed
the taX-reduction BILL which is the
keystone of the entire structure rep
resenting the administrations pro-
gram. and has sent it to the Senate.
The House also has practically dis
posed of one of the annual supply
bills. All of which means remarka-
bly, quick work In the Senate the
Bingham civil aviation bill. providing
for a new Assistant Secretary of
Commerce. to have charge of avia ton
under that department. has been
passed and sent to the House. And
the World Court debate is well under
way. s
Many of the proposals made by the
President in his annual message have
been put into legislative form and
introduced as bills in the Senate and
House. The farm relief bill, which
is really designed to aid cooperative
marketing, has been offered in the
House. The bill CARRYING out the Pres
operation of the Government owned
merchant feet-tbe separation of the
Shipping Board and the Fleet Cor
poration. and the ransfer to the lat
ter of the ships and their opera ton
by law-has been introduced in both
houses. Senator Jones of Washing
ton will call the commerce committee
together soon after the holidays TO
consider this measure. and the House
merchant marine committee Will take
up The Lehlbach bill.
While there have been several in
dica tions that all will moi be pain
sailing for the administrations pro
gram. the prospects are that the
President Is going TO have his way
to a very considera BILE extent with
regard to legislation put through D>|
the new Congress. AS the lrlshman
says. "Divil thank him for it, why
wouldn't he?"-with a really remark
able popularity throughout the conn-
try and prosperity everywhere ex-
,cept among some of the farmers IN
Iowa.
The war debt settlement with Italy.
negotiated by the American DEBT
Commission with the sanction of the
administration, raised roar in the
Senate when Senator Smoot, chair
man of the finance committee ana
a member of the debt commission.
sought to have 1t taken up for con
sideration. 1t has been understood
right along, however. that opposition
to any settlement which departed
from the terms of the settlement
with Great Britain would be attacked
from some quarters when approval
of Congress was sought. But there
is strong feeling that the settlement
will be ratified eventually. This
settlement has been negotiated with
regard to the capacity of Italy 10
pay, and Senator Smoot and others
who support it feel that it represents
all that Italy can pay, and perhaps
more They are banking on the com
mon sense of the American people to
take what they can get rather than
to demand all and fail to get any
thing. The debt settlements will be
ratified, it is confidently predicted. in
the end. and the funding of these
debts will be held a big feather in
the administration cap. The Italian
settlement and the Belgian settlement
TO a less degree will come in for not
little criticism from the Democrats.
who will try to make the American
people understand that the admins
American taxpayers to be muicted
out of billions of dollars in interest
on the war debts.
-
The anti-prohibitionists have lost no
time getting into action since the
opening of Congress. Senator Edge of
with the introduction of his bill per-
hitting 80 per cent beer. which he
supported in a long speech in the
Senate. Representative Jimmy" Gal
Ivan of Massachusetts. on the House
side. has ably seconded his attacks on
prohibition enforcement, and others
have followed suit. The talking has
not all been on one side, however. for
Senators Willis of Ohio and Morris
Sheppard of Texas. Representative
Bla nton of Texas and others have rush
ed to the support of prohibition. The
plain truth of the matter is that not
withstanding the arguments of the
VETS" and the hopes of thousands of
their supporters throughout the coun-
try. the great ma jority of the votes in
Congress are still with the .'drys." The
hope of the VETS" however, is that by
constant agitation and repeatedly
showing up the lack of enforcement
they will bring about the election of
sive Congresses. until they have a
ma jority and can overturn the Vol
stead act. The dry leaders, however.
are insisting that the present effort of
the "wets" is a final flash" and that
the enforcement of prohibition is be-
coming more and more effective.
The debate on the liquor question of
the last week has recalled the pre-.
prohibition days with it's intensity and
bitterness of feeling. The "wets" are
getting plenty of publicity. and they
rest of the present session of Con-
gress.
The Republicans. apparently well
satisfied with the way in which a bust.
ness man. Senator William NJ. Butler
OF Massachusetts,, conducted their ma
tional campaign last year. have picked
another successful business man. Sen
ator Phipps of Colorado. to head the
senatorial campaign committee for the
struggle next year to retain Repub-
lfcan control of the upper house. With
&c Senators to elect. il the Republican
ma jority is not to be eaten into by the
Democrats, the Republican orSaniza-
ton has man-sized job on its hands.
Senator Phipps, 1t is expected, will get
his committee together and outline
plans for the campaign soon after the
Senate meets again in January. AL
ready he has had several conferences.
Close cooperation between the ma
tional committee and the senatorial
committee and the congressional COM
mittee, headed by Representative Will
Wood of Indiana, is the order, al
though the national committee prob
ably will not take part in any of the
primary fights. After the nominations
have been made, however, the organi-
cation of the national committee,
which has been kept in skeleton form,
will be ready to do its part, it is said.
X
The latest charge emanating from