Nogales international., 1928-05-29
Congress To Soon

spurious Mexican state docu-
ments" by Hearst newspapers,
the violent fluctuation of the cot
ton market, the sinking of the
submarine S-4 and the conduct
of the presidential campaign.
But not much came from any
of them. The Teapot Dome Nin-
quiry developed that four oil men
including Harry Sinclair Of the
Sinclair Oil Companies and Rob-
ert w. Stewart of the Standard
Oil Company of Indiana had
secreted a fund Of more than
$3,200,000 in a mysterious Con-
tinental Trading company of
Canada. Contempt and perjury
proceedings were started by the
senate against Stewart, but the
statute of limitations prevented
any other prosecutions. The acts
were committed more than 8
years ago.
The coal strike investigation
developed valuable information
upon which some effort may be
made next session to propose
remedial legislation. The same is
true of the cotton inquiry.
Documents Forged
The Hearst investigation dis
closed only that someone had
forged the documents published
and that there was no foundation
for the charge made in one of
them that four senators had been
offered large sums of money for
their position on Mexican rela-
tions.
The investigation of the So
called power combine proposed
by Sen. Walsh of Montana was
referred to the federal trade
commission by a vote of 46 to 81
after one of the most bitter fights
of the session.
At the outset in December the
House set the pace by passing
the tax reduction bill before the
Christmas recess. The vote was
overwhelming, 365 to "a. But
Senate Republicans were fearful
that the $290,O0O,00O reduction
it provided was more than the
treasury could stand SO the bill
was held forcibly in the senate
finance committee until near the
close of the session when it was
reported out and passed in a
modified form.
The peaceful tenor of the ses-
sion was best illustrated by the
S ucce essful negotiations to
straighten out the three-sided diff
ferences among President Cool
idge, the senate and the house
over flood control legislation. The
bill first passed the senate March
% by vote of 79 to 0. Mr..
Coolidge served notice he would
veto the measure unless it was
changed. Some changes were made
n the house before the bill pass
ed there 254 to 81. Those
changes did not suit Mr.. Cool
'dge and the bill remained in
conference for weeks until a
measure suitable to Mr.. Cool
;dge was written from the bills
passed by both houses.
Muscle Shoals Bill Passed
The power of the new regimes
! negotiation policy was illustrated
n passage of the McNary-
Haugen bill with limited debate.
The measure passed the senate
So to % and the House 204 to
121.
The case of Muscle Shoals is
similar. The question has been
licking around in congress for
ten years. Every year some sort
of bill passed one house but fail
ed in the other. Nothing was done
until this session when, without
attracting any national attention,
the senate adopted the Norris
resolution for limited govern
ment operation 48 to 25 and the
house later passed a bill along
similar lines PSI to 165.
/ Compromise was likewise the
spirit which pushed through a
modified Jones merchant marine
bill. A potential government op-
Grafton project first passed the
senate So to 81. The House
changed the bill completely, CIV
ing $1O,0O0,O0O mail subsidy to
American ship operators. West
ern Independents threatened a
filibuster in the senate. The Re-
publican leaders offered to let
the McNary-Haugen conference
report through without a record
vote or debate, if they would let
the modified Jones bill pass. The
compromise worked. The changed
Jones bill passed 81 to 90.
Less important legislation, such
as The Dill White bill extending