Evening star., 1933-02-17
The Senate Moves.

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weeks it has passed five of the annual
appropriation bills and put through a
resolution proposing repeal of the
eighteenth amendment. In the two
weeks remaining the Upper House, If 1t
maintains it's present disposition to get
action, may accomplish great deal,
including the final disposition of all the
appropriation 1t is true that the
time Is brief. No b:tter demonstration,
however of the ability of the Senate to
move quickly once it so determines has
been given than in recent days. Having
fiddled away in useless pickering the
first two months Of the short session,
and with only month remaining, the
Senate has buckled down to work and
given a real demonstration of what it
can do.
The House, always in a position to
act quickly, if properly led, because Of
the rules that prevail in that body, Is
we'll up with its work. It has only the
District of Columbia appropriation bill,
the Navy bill and a deficiency bill to
put through to clear the decks CT sup
ply measures, except SO far as agree
nent with the Senate on amendments
is concerned. Under these circumstances
the last lame duck" session of the
Congress may yet redeem itself and
leave the Capitol with the record Of
some accomplishment. This seemed
utterly hopeless fortnight ago.
Many important measures, however,
are still knocking at the door, and most
of them must fail in this Congress and
go over until the special session of the
new Congress. Despite the prompt
adoption of the prohibition repeal reso-
lution-so prompt that 1t left the drys
gasping and the vets utterly surprised
at their victory-the chances for action
on the beer and wine bill now on the
Senate calendar seem dim. There are
also pressing for action the bankruptcy
relief bill, the domestic allotment farm
bill and the La Toilette bill proposing
fund Of $500, 100000 to be appropri-
ated directly for relief of the unem-
ployed and the destitute, of which
5000 100000 is to be allotted to the
States according to population. The
La Toilette bill has been made the
unfinished business Of the Senate.
Involved in the conference between
the two Houses, now in progress over
the Treasury and Post Office appro-
priation bill, is the question of authority
to be given the President-elect and his
department heads The Senate has
written into the bill the Byrnes amend
ment, granting power to reorganize the
Government agencies and bureaus, and
the Bratton amendment, calling upon
the department heads to spend five per
cent less than the Congress appro-
PIRATES for their departments. Speaker
Garner has proposed an even greater
grant of power. There are signs, how
ever, that the matter may be bitterly
fought before action is taken upon the
measure
Even should the Congress perform a
miracle and put through the beer bill, the
farm bill and the La Toilette relief bill,
these measures would have to run the
gantlet of presidential veto. Nor is it
entirely clear that the President would
accept some Of the provisions which 1t
is now proposed to place in the economy
section Of the Treasury and Post
Office bill.
Whether the activity in the Senate
has been due to the absence of Senator
Huey Long of Louisiana Is a question.
At all events 1t has been sychronous
with the present sojourn of Mr.. Long
in his native State. The Senate COM
mittee which is now investigating the
latest senatorial election In Louisiana, at
which Representative Overton, sup
porter Of Long, was elected, may not
have had in mind removing Senator
Long from the Senate chamber in order
to bring about semblance of unity
among the Democrats and to make
it possible to get action as well as
words in the Senate chamber, but 1t
has at least achieved those results.