Evening star., 1933-03-23
The Political Mill
By C.. Could Lincoln.

continues unbroken. No greater evil
dence of this fact could be asked than
the vote taken in that body yesterday
afternoon on the Presidents expert
mental farm relief bill. 1t passed with
315 voting AYE" and 90 mo" This
is not intended as q criticism OF the
President or an attack upon the House.
In the conditions that confront the
country today 1t is essential that q
President-the President-should take
the lead, and that the House ana Ine
Senate, too, should back him up. The
farm relief bill as it came from the
White House is big dose to swallow
1t Is admittedly an experiment, and
the President has said he will abandon
the experiment quickly II 1t does not
work as 1t Is hoped it will work. The
measure now goes to the Senate, where
amendments will be In order and debate
unlimited. Yet even there the bill Is
likely to pass in much the same form.
although it may have coupled with 1t
the Presidents coming proposal to ease
the mortgage burdens Of the American
farmer and the small home owner. The
President was wise, indeed, when he
let it be known yesterday, few hours
before the farm bill was to come to q
vote in the House, that he intended to
send to Congress almost Immediately
a bill dealing with the farm mortgage
and home mortgage situation.
**
Only % Democrats in the House
turned against the President on the
farm bill. This was better showing
than the Democrats made in the House
on the Presidents economy bill. But
the farm organizations were support
ing the farm bill, while the veterans
organizations were opposing the econ.
omy measure. The greater part OF
the opposition to the farm bill In the
House came from the Republicans, "a
of whom were registered in opposition
to the measure. One Farmer-LaboI
member also voted mo" The Repub-
lican leadership in the House, which
has gone along with the President In
his banking. economy and beer legis-
iation, declined to accept the farm bill
on the ground that it was dictatorial,
unavoidable and would cause to spring
up a huge army Of Government en-
ployes all over the country.
Incidentally, the debate on the farm
bill brought before the House the new
Republican Representative from New
York-James w. Wadsworth, jr., an
old, or rather a former, Senator. Mr..
Wadsworth Is looked upon in some
quarters as the White Hope of the
G. o. p. If there is swing back of
the pendulum in the next few years
toward conservatism, there is none
more likely to come forward as leader
than Mr.. Wadsworth. He is able. He
halls from the Empire State. He is a
wet Of the vets, a pioneer wet when
the G. o. P. was closely allied to the
prohibition movement. He is also a
farmer, and a farmer on a large scale.
During his speech In the House yester-
day-confined to four minutes-Mr.
Wadsworth attacked the farm bill,
which he said would build up huge
bureaucracy with its headquarters in
Washington and Its tentacles reaching
all over the country" The New York
member did not confine himself to at
tack, he suggested other remedies TO
aid the farmer as follows:
1T strikes me-" he said. land has
struck me for many, many months. that
the things that the farmers of this
country need most Of all are, first, re-
duction in taxation, and this is especi-
ally local duty; second. any mes sure
Of relief which the Congress can afford
to them under the Constitution Of the
United States in the matter of the in
terest on their mortgages; and, third,
Mr.. Speaker, and most important. in
my humble judgment, is the taking
down of that multitude of artificial bar
riers erected by governments all over
the world, which are today sitting in
ternc tional trade"
Tn, demand by r. Wadsworth for
the limitation of trad barriers which
have grown up, including high tariff
walls, embargoes. allotments and the
like, strikes a new note from a Re-
publican leader in the Eastern par,
of the country. 1t sounds more like
progressive thunder from the West. Ger
tainly it is in line with the doctrine
the new Secretary of State, Mr.. Cordel
Hull, has preached and is continuing
| to preach.
The Senate Is wrestling with a prece.
dent. In vain has a search of the
records been made to find the case Of a
Governor of State who resigned hi;
office and had himself appointed q
Senator to fill q vacancy. until the
present case Of Senator Erickson oi
Montana. When 1t was first announced
that Mr.. Erickson had decided to quit
as Governor of Montana and that the
Lieutenant Governor upon becoming
Governor would appoint Mr.. Erickson tc
the Senate, Senators sail at, OF course
such things had happened in the past
But unless further searches of the rec
ords reveal a precedent for such q
course, Senator Erickson's case stands
as precedent making. The Senate is
particularly careful about precedents
and individual Senators do not care al
all for this particular precedent. In
fact. they regard the course of Mr.
Erickson as distinctly open to criticism
The only thing that Is worrying the
Senators Is what they can or should
do about it. A subcommittee of the
Privileges and Elections Committee
headed by Senator King Of Utah, Demo
crat, has been appointed to delve into
the matter.
When the late Gov. Sproul of Penn.
syivania had to fill vacancy in the
Senate in 1922 caused by the death
of Senator Boise Penrose, the Gov.
ernor had senatorial ambitions him.
self. He asked q number of his friend,
in the Senate and out to advise him
They told him not to do it. The man
whom he appointed, former Senator
George Wharton Pepper, said when he
came here that he had been prepared
to advise the Governor not to resign
and have himself appointed, although
he never gave the advice. Senate,
Pepper reasoned it out that . mar
who became trustee either of power OF
money was not entitled to use that
power for his own advancement OF
benefit. A Governor Of a State, hi
argued. was intrusted with the power
of making appointments to fill vacan.
cies in the Senate temporarily and he
had no right to use that power to pu,
himself in the Senate. When Senator
Pepper was called In by the Governor
he was prepared to make such an agru-
ment. But the Governor did not ask
his advice. He merely asked Mr.. Pep
per whether he would like to 60 tc
the Senate. Mr.. Pepper, not being
Governor, Immediately said "Yes."
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