Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-15
81 HOUSE CHAIRMANSHIPS
SLATED TO co TO SOUTH
Democratic Control to Give Dixie IA OF
Most Important Groups Under
Seniority Rule.

one on Ways and Means to the unim-
portant one on Disposition of Useless
Papers. There are AZ in all. Bear in
mind the South at present, and for II
years past, has had no chairmanships
at all, and controlled no committees
at all-because all committee chair
manshipS go to the party having con-
troll because the Republicans Rave
been in control and because t--crc are
no Republicans in Congress from the
South.
Out of At committees in all, the
South will now have 81 counting
Maryland as Southern State). Six
teen will go to Northern States. The
States that will have the chairmanships
and the number of chairmanships that
will go to each are shown in the table
below. There may be slight changes
in this list when the Democrats actu-
ally organize the House. The list shows,
however. the States which now have
the senior Democratic member on each
com mittee, and in almost every case
this senior member will be the chair
man. The seniority rule is held sacred
by both parties and by individual men,
bers. There will be very few departures
from it and only in cases where the
seniority for some strong purpose of
party expediency or through personal
willingness to exchange Craftsmanship
Of one committee for Craftsmanship of
another:
Southern StateS-TeXas, T. Alabama,
5; North Carolina, 4; Tennessee, 3;
Mississippi 3; South Carolina, 3;
Georgia, Q; Louisiana, q Maryland, l !;
Florida, /.
Northern States-New York, 7;
Massachusetts,, @; Ohio, 2; Montana, 2;
Nebraska, /; New Jersey, l Indiana, l.
In that list are striking evidence of
the picturesque change OF control the
shifting of political influence that at
tends the growth of a country whose
expansion is mainly on its western
front. Here is Texas with the largest
number of chairmanships that any
State has, seven-and Texas will have
also the Speaker Clearly, Texas will
be the big State in Congress. It may
be added that the seven chairmanships
Texas will have include some particu-
larly important ones. There is much
difference in the Importance of COM
mitteeS. The seven chairmanshipS Texas
has are more important than the seven
New York has.
Seniority works out some odd results
mississippi is one of the smallest States
but Mississippi has three chairman
ships, and those are three of the most
ana
Means (which writes tariff and tax
bills), Military Affairs and Veterans
Legislation (Which writes the bills ap-
propriating immense quantities OF
money to veterans). Mississippi will
have the great tax-raising Committee
and the greatest taX-spending commit
tee.
Virginia has no chairmanships
though Virginia is one of the oldest
Southern States, and once played a
larger hand in government than any
other State in the nation. The reason
Virginia has no chairmanships is that
she has not followed a practice of re-
elected the same Representative term
after term for prolonged periods
| When the seniority rule determines
chairmanships, length of continuous
service on the part of the individual
Representative is an all-powerful asset
Seniority is, indeed, the reason the
South will have SO many more chair
| nanships than the North. The South
sends none but Democrats to Congress
and keeps re-electing them. The North
Continued on Fourth Page.)