Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-28
Fails to Back the Senate.

An effort TO line up the Rouse Will
the Senate in the latter's contest with
the executive branch of the Govern
ment over three members of the Fed
eral Power Commission failed yester-
day. Representative La Guardia of
New York sought to have the House,
during it's consideration of the indie
pendent Offices appropriation bill, insert
a provision that none of the money
should be used to pay salaries of any
OF the power commissioners whose con-
flrmation has been or is being recon-
sidered by the Senate or against whom
custer or removal proceedings have been
instituted or authorized" The proposal
of the New York Representative was
voted down in committee of the whole
lO2 to 81, and the bill finally passed
the House without any such limitation.
The fiare-up in the House, however, is
probably only a forerunner of what
may be expected in the Senate when
the independent offices bill reaches that
body. 1t has been predicted that the
upper house would amend the measure
so as to prohibit the payment of salaries
to the three members of the Power
Commission who have aroused the hos
tility of that body, Chairman Smith
and Commissioners Garsaud and Draper.
If that course is followed the matter
will 90 back to the House and probably
be fought out in conference. 1t may
provide another of those ticklish sub
jects in appropriation bills which are
now threatening deadlock between the
houses or between the Chief Executive
and the Congress and the failure OF one
or more of the supply bills, thereby
.neceSsitating an extra session OF the
new Congress after March 4. Already
the demand of the Senate for direct
appropriation of $25,Oo0,OOO to provide
food for sufferers in the drought district
and for unemployed in the cities is in
that category, and there is threatening
a demand to pay q cash bonus to the
veterans of the World War in place OF
their present adjusted compensation
certificates.
The Senate will soon have before it
a proposal to request the United States
attorney for the District of Columbia to
take the Senate's demand for custer OF
the three power commissioners into the
courts for final adjudication. Senator
Walsh Of Montana has resolution for
this purpose favorably reported to the
Senate from the Judiciary Committee.
The expectation Is that the resolution
win prevail. Whether the Department
of Justice will accede to the request Is
still another matter.
It does appear, however, that the
effort in Congress to lop off the salaries
of the three commissioners and to do by
indirection what it does not seem pos
sible TO do by direction is rather a
futile performance. It may be a
threat to the executive department to
permit the case to be taken to the
courts, the threat being couched In the
terms Of an extra session Of Congress,
which the President does not wish to
see materialize. However, there is
strong preponderance Of sentiment
among the Senators themselves against
a special session of the new Congress.
If the matter were put to vote today
scarcely q dozen Senators would be
found voting for special session.
Whether the demand for the custer Of
the power commissioners, for direct
appropriation for food for drought and
industrial sufferers and for a soldiers
cash bonus will outweigh the desire Of
the Senators to- close up on March 4
still remains to be determined. What
the country thinks about the matter
may have something to do with the
final answer.