The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1933-02-03
WHAT'S GOING ON
in WASHINGTON
Congress Headed Straight
for Long Extra Session;
Many Weighty Problems.
BY wlLLIAM HRUcKART


Washington. The wish Of a great
number Of senators and representa-
tiyes to stay in Washington at least
a part of this coming summer Is go
ing to be fulfilled. They are headed
straight into an extra session Of con-
gress, and unless all signs fail 1t Is
going to be long-drawn-out affair.
It always has been the case that a
goodly number of the national legis-
lators prefer to stay around the Cap
ital after futile session, rather than
to go home and see the folks. Con-
stituents have habit Of asking en-
barrassing questions as to why moth
ing was done about this, that or the
other. So, except for a short period,
between the retirement of Mr.. Hoover
and the date which President-Elect
Roosevelt fixes for the extra session,
representatives and senator's are like
" to be here ON the job through much
Of the summer.
The incoming Chief Executive thus
far has kept his own counsel about the
extra session, but the wiseacres among
the hundreds of volunteer assistants
who have tied themselves to him, or
have attempted to do so. claim that the
extra session will be called around
April 20. That will give Mr.. Roosevelt
roughly seven weeks of the seven
months honeymoon" in the White
House for which he asked during his
campaign.
who desired to have that honeymoon
period at the beginning Of his admin
istration. The expressions from bust
ness leaders were Of the same tenor.
They thought, and still believe, the abb
sence of congress from Washington
for while would serve as tonic for
the country by allowing business to
move along undisturbed during that
time
Heavy Work Ahead.
There is no better way to depict
what kind of a job confronts the ex-
ira session than to set down some of
the things pressing for decision. Here
are just few Of them:
The unbalanced federal budget, with
its family of related questions like
taxation, economies in government,
abolition or consolidation Of govern
ment functions and the policies neces-
sary to carry out those decisions.
Unemployment relief, with the fur
tier call for federal funds for loans to
financial houses, railroads, cities and
states, and now it is even proposed to
make loans to school districts.
War debts. to which is inseparably
linked proposals for world economic
conference involving tariff policies,
economic restoration, monetary stand
ards Involving valorization Of silver),
and establishment Of foreign trade.
Imitation Of the currency and its ST.
amese twin, domestic mortgages, both
farm and city. Allied with these two
questions necessarily is the question
of ways and means to pull our own
country out of the depression, and leg
islation revising national banking and
federal reserve laws. The demand for
immediate payment of the veterans
bonus has place in the same picture.
Prohibition in its various phases.
The whole category of agricultural
problems and prices Of commodities
and questions of production and distri-
button.
These are not mentioned in the order
of their Importance, but they all are
with us, and they all must be dealt
with.