Evening star., 1926-03-24
BY WILL p, KENNEDY.

There is now really one and only
one pending proposition before the
House for amending the Constitution
of the United States-the joint resolu'
ton Of the House, known as the White
amendment. the provisions OF which
were set forth in detail in the first
article in this series printed in The
Sunday Star, and which the House
committee recommended be substi.
tuted for the Senate joint resolution,
known as the Norris amendment.
There are three points Of slight diff
ference: % The House fixes specific
dates for the commencement OF the
terms of Senators and Representatives
and for the meeting Of Congress Jan
uary 4 instead Of the third Monday in
january; (2l The effective date is
changed from October Is to Novem-
Der 80. after ratification; and 90 The
House adds a new section providing
for the case OF the death Of the Presi-
dent elect and the Vice President
elect.
These changes, if agreed to by the
House, in all probability would be ac-
cepted by the Senate. as they do not
constitute any serious differences be-
tween the proposers Of the two joint
resolutions as indicated in the hear.
tngS before referred to.
Greater Defects Possible.
The crux of this matter. as before
stated. aside from other considera.
tions. from the viewpoint Of its pro.
ponents. lies in the purpose to abolish
the short session Of Congress and to
provide for the meeting of a new Con.
gress soon after its election. If it be
conceded that the present system un.
der which we have operated for 1877
years has its defects, and unquestion-
ably 1t has some. 1t would be expert
mental at best to establish in its place
another system which might develop
other and graver imperfections.
If the short session has its evils they
are not unmixed with good. Thomas B.
Reed had this to say about it: "A short
session is crowded with business to-
ward the end. not on account of it's
brief duration, but on account of IT'S
having a fixed terminus. Wherever
you put that terminus, there business
will be crowded. do not care whether
it is on the 30th Of April OR the 30th
Of August. The fact is that the short
session is business session; It Is one
in which n great deal OF business is
transacted; and that happens because
everybody knows that the time is linn
tied. and everybody sets to work. At
a short session we do not dawdle away
three months in the way we have been
doing this session. because there are
no three months to be wasted"
Short sessions are utilized for the
dispatch of business to a greater ex-
tent now than in Mr.. Reeds day.
work in the Fall, and much business
Is transacted in December and the
Christmas recess is abridged.
Claim Grossly Exaggerated.
The extent to which members not
re-elected participate in legislation in
a short session following an election
has been grossly exaggerated. To
such the approbrious appellation of
lame ducks" is not in every instance
applicable or accurate. For It hap
pens always that a fair percentage Of
members who are not returned were
not candidates at the election, hav-
ing withdrawn voluntarily before the
holding Of primaries.
OF them, and Of practically all
other members who retire voluntarily
and otherwise, 1t can be said that
in a short session, conscious of their
early retirement, such members are
apt to act with a greater degree OF
courage and independence than they
might otherwise have acted. Further
more. the total number of changes in
the entire House Of the Sixty-ninth
Congress- from the personnel of the
preceding Congress was only II per
cent Of its membership. The political
turnover was IA per cent in the Sixty
seventh Congress. 18 per cent in the
Sixty-eighth Congress and 5 per cent
LIT,
an average of IL per cent. In all three
Of these Congresses one party main
tained control Of the House.
In the face of these facts and
figures it is ridiculous and untenable
to claim that members of one Con-
gress not reelected to a succeeding
Congress exercise an undue influence
upon legislation in the short session
and 1t is. unjust to place by far the
greater number of them in the
extremely small class Of those who
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