Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-02-21
HOUSE is FAST RECAININC
LEADERSHIP BY EFFICIENCY
Workmanlike Manner in Handling Legis-
lation Declared to Be Bringing
Upper Hand Over Senate.

Dleteu IN committee altPl eAttiSiN'
hearings and will be taken up in thu
House on Tuesday. and will probabl,
be passed on Wednesday. 1t has thu
support of both labor and capital;
very unusual condition.
In addition to such legislation of gen
eral interest already passed, the HOUSE
has three different times cleared the
consent calender of unobJecteC
bills. which are mostly OF local inter
est throughout the country.
III Bills Are Passed.
The House has passed a total of III
| bills of public and. private nature
also an unique achievement in the pro
cedure of the House thus early in the
/ session.
/ The District of Columbia. exclusive
I ly under the jurisdiction of Congress
has twice had its calendar cleared
a total of seven bills. and the House
District committee held II special SEES
sion on Friday To get two bills reported
out SO as to have three meas ureS on
the calendar for Monday. which is
| District day.
Now. the underlying cause of this
eXpeditiouSness by the House is the
fact that it has a responsible ma jority,
which is so we'll organized in its lead
erShip and committees that co-opera
tlOn. tlcll anu
exists. where it was sadly lacking in
previous Congresses. when there was
no responsible ma jority.
The House leaders and ma jority
membership from the titular leader,
Speaker Longworth, and the floor lead
er, John Q. Tilson, on down the line
are working together in perfect har-
mony and correlation. with a definite
program. which is being carried out
from day to day as far as circum
stances and unforeseen contingencies
permit
Committees Laid Ground Work.
Three of the most important House
committees worked during the in
term between the Sixty eighth and
the SiXty-ninth Congresses TO get
their major measures in the best pos
Sible shape for early consideration in
the Eouse-the ways and means, the
appropriations and the interstate and
foreign commerce committees. These
and all other House committees have
been engaged ever since the Congress
convened in extended hearings upon
all the great questions before them.
This has resulted in positive action by
way of favorable reports on many
measures. and IN other cases in mega
tive action, after elaboration. 1t
should he noted right here that il re-
qllireS Just as much time. thoucn mt,
consideration and courage TO reach
negative an affirmative conclusion.
Thus much of the time of mem
berS of the House and of House com
mitreeS is occupied in keeping off of
the calendar unwiSe lcgisla tive propo-
SitiOnS-almOSt as much as is con
Sumed in giving favorable considera
worthy.
The bulk of the legislation sent to
he Senate by the House is still pend
ing in the Serate. The Senate'S time
has been consumed in debate on the
World Court and taX-reduCtion bill.
1t was not until last week that any
Of the appropriation bills was taken
up in the Senate. During the past
week the Treasury and Post Office
appropriation hill. the Navy Depart
ment appropriation bill. and the first
deficiency bill were passed and sent
to conference There still remain in
the Senate committee on appropria
tions the Interior, Agricultural and
War Department appropriation bills.
Tax Bill Brings Battle.
The tax-reduction bill is a striking
illustration of how the House has
acted in buSineSS-like manner, ca re-
fully considering the interests of the
people to whom they are responsible.
while the Senate ran wild The
House committee worked during the
rest period when Congress was not in
session. and reported on n non pa rti-
san basis a scientific. we'll considered
taX-reduction bill based on the finan-
cial condition of the Government.
designed to preserve the integrity of
the Governments finances and to Gre
ate healthy economic condition.
The House passed a bill reducing
the tax burden of the people $335.00o.-
600. When the Senate got hold of it.
ruthlessly, without hearings and eco
nomic study, on the motion of indi-
vidual Senators, 500 100000 more was
slashed off. without any evidence
that the Treasury could stand the
loss.
Then the House was heard from
as an echo of the old days-the House
leaders, Democrats as well as Repub-
licans. united in declaring to the Sen
ate: You shall not impair the finan-
cial stability of the Government ="
The House stood firm on two big prin-
ciples: First. ii was willing to yield
W to $3.50 600 900 in reductions feel
ing that was the ultimate limit the
! finances of the country would stand
and prevent any change in the policy
of paying off the national debt: and
second, the House stood against the
Senate action in wiping out entirely
the Inheritance tax. which the House
was willing to cut in half. from 40
per cent to 30 per cent
So the House comes out victorious.
having gained the confidence of the
people by basing the tax reduction on
sound business basis, while the peo.
pie are not blind enough not to see
that the Senate made a few grandilo-
uuent gestures so that as the Sena-
tors came up for reelection they
could should've tried to reduce YOUR
taxes another $3.50. 900. 900" But the
people are seeing through all this.
Bloc System Scored.
There the House assumed respon-
sihlity to the people and the Senate
INDUCED in irresponsible action,
through coalition. That shows forci.
bly, the difference between responsible
action in a body controlled by a def.
mite positive party ma jority and a
body where the bloc system operates
1t is an excellent illustration of what
may happen in legislative body
| here when no party has a responsible
ma jority, like the French Chamber
of Deputies and the German Reichs.
tag. in which there can be no effective
action on great public question
without coalition of two or more
blocs.
Following the example, of the House
Senate leaders have just made an
effort to protect against a wild orgy
of costly investigat tons, by employing
safeguards, which have long been in
vogue in the House. The cost of Sen
ate Investigations has been mounting
enormously and Scandalously, up to
Honn mn 1oiro Snort ~, oor