The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-04-16
NEA Service Writer

Washington. .----The senate will have to learn a lot of new tricks if It hopes to monopolize the attention of the country in the future IS 1t has since the League of Nations fight.
 Veterans here recall the days when the House galleries were al- ways packed and the senate galleries hardly ever. It has been the other way around in recent years. but the old timers expect the House to draw the crowds again in the 72d con- gpess The probabilities of turmoil are obvious.
 The death of Speaker Nicholas LOngWorth, who was perhaps the only man who could have handled the next House and kept 1t running with q fair degrees of smoothness even though administration control was gone, has increased the chances of confusion and of grief for MT Hoover.
 Even if Ohio sends n republican to replace L0ngworth and the party retains il majority of one vote. the effect of Longworth's loss is expected
 to be important. There Is no one
 else like him. He even had way
 with the progressives, who are like-
 Iy to make the most trouble in the
 next House. In fact, he and the late
 Victor Berger, lone socialist mem
 Der, had been seen with their arms
 on each others shoulder.
 scant Majority
 The party which has a majority of
 one or two votes will be likely, if tt
 organizes the House, to find its tech-
 nicnl dominance more of a liability
 than an asset. It will have theoret-
 ical responsibility without control
 Nothing but the organization itself. and perhaps not even that, will be decided by purely partisan votes be. cause of the presence of perhaps a score of progressiyes. Whatever Is accomplished will be done only as n result of trades and compromises which are likely to become extreme Iy complicated. Longwofth, inci- dentaIly, was master of compro- mise when compromise was neces- sary or expedient.
 The surest thing of all is that President Hoover will have ma jority of the members of both houses opposed to his reelection in 1882, and that's n stahe of affairs which may produce almost anything. Of course the iron-bound control heretofore exercised by the speaker, | the majority leader and the chair man of the rules committee is now definitely gone, So far as that is concerned, 1t makes no difference who has n House majority when congress conyenes--and that's an- other matter of uncertainty.
 Possibility Of Deadlock What counts most now Is that 1t will require majority of the House untaa--fA alant n anaak kGF and proceed with business, There have been deadiocks on the speakership | in the House before and there is q I fine chance Of one next December. If one party has 2l8 seats. a single one of its c0ngressmen could dead- lock the election by voting against the choice of the other 2i7. Unless, of course. it's candidate for speaker drew support from the other party. It doesn't seem as if the repubit- cans could possibly elect a speaker without complete surrender to the progressivess The latter would be committee assignments and revision of the rules, if not for further promises. And 1t will be harder to get them to vote for such an arch conservative as Majority Leader Tti-
 son or Chairman Shell of the rules committee than 1t would have been to round them up for LOngw0rth. Furthermore, all the pFogressives would promise would be to let the party have the speakership. They're
 bound to create constant trouble for
 the administration afterward in any
 event. Democrats Face Difficulties
 The democrats have pr0gressives in their own ranlks-Hnddlest0n Of Alabama and Howard of Nebraska, | for instance. But if December should find them with House mas jOrity their main trouble in getting
 n speaker elected probably would be caused by northern democrats who already have intimated that they would not be willing tO have all the
 best committee ehAirmanships go to southern members, as they would go
 under the customary rule of aeni0f- fly.
 Some congressman are expected to die in the next seven months and
 It might also be suggested that one
 or two of the 43b are likely within that period to become mentally utl. balanced, even if some haven't al- ready, With so much hinging on one or two votes the OppOrtuHities | for some amagtDg Individual per- f0Fmanaes are unparalleled,
 Almost anything can happen and