Evening star., 1932-12-25
Business as Usual.


happens to be in large part Repub-
hcan, is having a tough time function
ing during the holiday season. Despite
the edict of Speaker Garner that, with
the exception of a three-day recess,
business would continue as usual for
the House, members have turned home
ward. They have not only turned, they
have gone. On Thursday, and again
on Friday, a quorum of the House
failed to be on hand.
The contention of the Speaker that
the House-and the Senate-should
stay on the job and not go away for
the regular Christmas recess Of ten
days or two weeks seems reasonable
enough In view of the problems before
Congress. The session closes March 4.
The Seventy-second Congress dies on
that date. 1t has only few weeks
still to function. AS matter Of fact,
however, If it had six months, the lame
duck" Congress probably could accom-
plish little of importance And so,
while the Speaker is right in his con-
clined to throw up their hands and say,
Whats the use?" And in such q
frame of mind they feel themselves
justified in going to their homes for
the Christmas and New Year holidays.
1t has become more and more appar-
ent that the President-elect. Franklin
D. Roosevelt. is intent on dealing him
self with the great problems that con-
front the country after he enters the
White House next March. There might
be a chance of some accomplishment
Roosevelt would reveal his program for
agriculture, for dealing with the foreign
debts, for governmental economy and
the like. The Democrats in Senate
and House doubtless would back up
such a program and there are, probably,
many Of the Republicans who would
Senators and Representatives, however,
are still In the dark as to what the
Roosevelt program will be, The only
thing that seems crystal clear Is that
the Roosevelt program will include an
immediate modification of the Volstead
act so as to permit the manufacture
and sale of mon on-intoxicating beer
fixed now by the Democratic House at
32 per cent alcoholic content by weight
and will also include repeal Of the
eighteenth amendment. Those meas
ures the Democrats of the House have
already dealt with in the present short
session, and the Democrats Of the Sen
ate promise to do the same.
Senators, as we'll as the House men,
bers. have felt the holiday urge and
have left Washington. Whether either
house will be able to produce a quorum
when they meet Tuesday remains to be
seen. The Speaker has threatened to
arrest absentee members If there is
with business, and every effort will be
made to have them on hand. In a
measure, the matter has become a test
of the Democratic control Of the House.
headed by the Speaker. Republicans
who delight in any discontinue or en-
barrassment that arises for the Demo-
cratic leadership, are prodding Mr..
Garner because the roll call, disclosing
the lack of a quorum, on Thursday was
omitted from the House Journal and
from the Congressional Record Of that
day. They are confident that its pub
lication would show a large absentee
list on the Democratic side of the
chamber. Mr.. Garner is standing on a
rule Of the House that says the pro-
ceedings shall be vacated" when the
House adjourns because of lack Of a
quorum.
What the country might as well un-
derstand is that with Democratic
House. a Senate that is only nominally
controlled by the Republicans, and a
Republican President in the White
House, legislation of Importance at this
short session of Congress is, from a
practical viewpoint. impossible. The
country must look to the new Congress,
which inevitably will be called into spe-
cial session next Spring.