Evening star., 1934-05-20

the silver men in Congress desire
nevertheless it will contain a number
of provisions which they consider very
satisfactory.
Silver IS Per Cent.
The silver bill is expected TO call
for IS per cent Of silver In the metal
lie base back of the United States
currency, with the other rs per cent
gold. While the President will be
granted the right to use his discretion
in the purchase Of the silver required
to bring the reserves up to IS per
cent, nevertheless the silverites con-
tend that the law will be mandatory
that he exercise this authority. The
silver will be purchased through the
issuance Of silver certificates by the
Treasury. and to that extent 1t will
mean putting out new money. The
naturalization of silver
stocks in this country, it was said
yesterday, will be absent from the
bill But this does not distress some
Of the silverites In Congress, who feel
that such process would hamper q
free market for silver.
At present, the legislative program
for the remainder Of the session of
Congress includes, in addition to the
tariff bill, the projected silver bill,
the 81 1922, 10000 public works and
relief bill, the communications bill,
not to mention the stock exchange
regulation bill which is now IN the
conference stage, and the bill for the
continuance of the so-called tenn
porary guaranty of bank deposits.
To this list may be added the hous-
ing program bill, the amendments
to the A. A. A. law, and several other
minor measures. The President has
asked, too, for passage Of a joint
resolution which would permit him
to lay an embargo on the sale of
arms and munitions TO Bolivia and
Paraguay.
Much Work for Few Weeks.
1t looks like a large order to ex-
pect Congress to dispose Of all this
legislation within a few short weeks,
even though Congress is inclined to
give the President Just about what
he wants in the way of legislation.
Some of the measures are Of such far
reaching effect and importance that,
in the Senate, at least, there will
be considerable debate.
Senator Norris of Nebraska, who
succeeded in having adopted an
amendment to the Constitution doing
away with the old lame duck" ses-
sions of Congress, expects to bring to
a vote in the Senate tomorrow his
resolution proposing another consti-
tutional amendment which would do
away with the electoral college and
provide for the direct election OF
Presidents and Vice Presidents Of the
United States.
Whether he will have the neces-
sary two-thirds vote remains to be
seen. Some of the Senators have
come to the conclusion that the
amendment is in the interest of
third parties" making it easier for
independent political organizations to
interject themselves into presidential
campaigns. If the measure Is adopted
by the Senate, 1t must still be acted
upon by the House.
Despite the suggestion that "two
thousand" amendments might be
offered to the Roosevelt reciprocity
tariff bill, up to the present time only
about 81 proposed amendments have
come to the attention Of the Repub-
lican leader of the Senate, Senator
McNary of Oregon. Some Of these
amendments are regarded by the
Democratic leaders as disastrous to
the tariff bill, II adopted, and they
will resist them strongly.
Reed Has Mine Amendments.
The Republican ranking member of
the Senate Finance Committee, Sena-
tor Reed of Pennsylvania, has already
nine pending amendments, covering
a wide range. One calls for review
and report by the Tariff Commission
before any tinkering with the tariff
duties by the President may be at
tempted in order to bring about trade
agreements. Another Is similar to the
Johnson amendment requiring ratifica-
ton of trade agreements by the Con-
gress. A third Reed amendment would
limit the reduction in tariff rates
which could be proclaimed by the
President to 10 per cent, instead of
the so per cent limit in the bill. A
proposal that the Senate alone ratify
the trade agreements entered into by
the President with foreign countries
is contained In another Reed amend
ment.
Not all of the amendments are pro-
posed by the Republicans. Senator
Fletcher Of Florida, Senator Copeland
Of New York and Senator Walsh OF
Massachusetts, have offered amend
ments from the Democratic side of the
chamber. A Walsh amendment would
provide that a full Today notice be
given by the President to interested
parties that he was planning to modify
tariff duties In connection with the
making Of international trade agree
mentS ,.