Evening star., 1930-06-08
Confidence and Compromise.

Simmons and the House leaders into
legislative procedure on the police anc
1iremen's pay bill is that difference:
of opinion and points of view, ostensibly
to be reconciled around the conference
table, must be settled in advance OF
the ssnference and according to the
point Of view of Mr.. Simmons and the
House leaders or not be settled at all
1t q one thing to instruct conferees
by vote not TO yield. But it becomes
an entirely new and high-handed pro-
cedure when the alternatives are that
the probable conferees must either
agree not to yield in conference or else
the fate Of the bill will be sealed in
advance by not sending 1t to confer
ence, thus closing the only door through
which 1t could emerge to be enacted.
This principle, in the first place,
reduces to an absurdity the purpose
Of any conference at all. In the Sec
ond place, it denies the House the
opportunity of discussing and voting
upon the merits of the issues presented.
Finally it denotes q disrespect for the
Senate that mipimizeS the Importance
Of decisions by the Upper House and
places 1t in the position Of merely rub
Aer-stamping the views of q few mem
bers Of the Lower House or killing the
legislation involved.
The situation in which the pay bill
o placed would be ridiculous but for
the fact that so many faithful public
servants are dependent upon the out
come. The bill was permitted to come
up in the House for a vote only after
the legislative committee that handled
1t was bulldozed into either accept
ang the amendments insisted upon by
AIR. Simmons or seeing the bill killed
by suffocation. The House passed the
bill with the amendments. The Sen
ate, having previously passed the bill,
rejected the House amendments and
sent the bill to conference. Ordinarily
the bill would have been sent to confer
ence by the House under unanimous
consent, but Mr.. Simmons objected. It
cannot go to conference now unless
the rules committee will permit a
resolution to send it to conference to
come up for . vote, or unless the op-
ponents of the Simmons amendments
promise not to yield to the Senate, in
which case 1t will 60 to conference
under unanimous consent. II the bill
does not go to conference it will be
lost.
The dishsartening part of the pro-
cedure is that the House leaders are
not particularly interested in the merits
OF the amendments. They are inter-
ested only in avoiding the inevitable
discussion that would arise over the
bills merits. But what about the
police and nremen who are dependent
upon passage Of this bill for deserved
increases In pay? What about the
people of Washington who, through
their spokesmen, have indorsed the
bill as written? The police and fire.
men are willing to leave the fate OF
the bill to the votes of those who
govern them. II Congress voted for
or against the amendments there could
be no justinable complaint over the
outcome. But everybody knows that the
fate Of the bin does not depend upon
fair and open discussion and the YER
dict of the vote. The fate of the bill
depends upon the decision of three or
four men who have nothing at stake,
politically or otherwise.
Stubborn committal to set policy
in advance, with presumptuous disregard
for the views or the merits Of the views
of others, has characterized the House
attitude heretofore In connection with
the annual District appropriation bill
Here there Is no semblance Of regard
for the more deliberate and comproms-
ing attitude Of the Senate. The only
item in the current appropriation Dill
upon which the House members have
yielded has been the mosquito item, and
yielding on a mosquito item Is symbolic
of their stand. The people OF the Dis
trict are arbitrarily denied the fruits
Of intelligent discussion and wise
compromise.
If Mr.. Simmons wins his fight on the
pay bill measure or on the District OF
Columbia appropriation bill he will be
entitled to the satisfaction and prestige
enjoyed by the small boy whose acci-
dental possession of key enables him
to lock the family in the cellar, releas-
ing them on the promise Of stick Of
eandv