The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1935-01-17
Congressional
NeWs Letter

(Note by Editor: During the
present session of Congress
Congressman Harold Knutson,
of st. Cloud, will write for this
paper from time to time, giving
!, his views on the workings Of
! our national legislative body.)
j Washington, d. c.,
January 8, 19S
, Once again we have Congress
, with us, the 74th Congress havin
convened on Thursday. For tn
first time i'm the Nations histor
a new Congress convened with,
60 days after its election, so tn
boys are here hot from their cam
paigns. Just how much of an i'm
provement the new system will b,
over the old with its lame duck
session following election, remain
to be seen. Personally, believe /
was a good idea Of the Foundins
Fathers that newly elected nationa
legislators should have sufficient
time in which to really prepare
themselves for the important worl
they will be called upon to perform
and to permit the heat generated
by the campaign to cool off. It re.
mains to be seen whether the
change will be for the better. I hope
that 1t will.
AS was expected the House ma
jority party selected the veteran
| -
Speaker, and w. B. Bankhead of
Alabama, for floor leader, so the
South remains solidly in the saddle
with their numerous important
committee chairmanships Smell Of
New York state will again lead the
minority. These gentlemen are ex-
perienced legislators, able and con-
scientious.
After the organization of the
two bodies on Thursday President
Roosevelt came "up on the hilr' on
Friday and personally delivered his
message, which was well received.
1t was brief and quite general in
scope but 1t will doubtless be fol-
lowed from time to time by mes
sages dealing with specific prob
lens, as occasion demands.
The message dealt primarily with
relief and he laid down the prin-
ciple that all relief work should be
necessary and permanent, per-
manently improving our living con-
ditions; that all projects should he
self liquidating so far as possible.
All relief agencies will be CONSOLE
dated into one organization but the
President added significantly, 1.-THE
Federal government must and shall
quit this business of relief"
One of the things that impressed
me when the new House conven-
ed was the unusually great number
of new members, and the absence
of many veterans who have had a
prominent part in the framing of
important legislation since the
world war. Especially did I miss
such stalwarts as Luce and Foss
OF Massachusetts,, Beedy Of Maine,
Evans of California, Dowell of
Iowa, F'rear of Wisconsin, Britten
OF Illinois, and Shallenberger of
Nebraska. 1t will be recalled that
Shallenberger was the author of
the amendment to the 1884 Rev
enue bill which imposed a five cent
per pound excise tax on imported
vegetable oils, which has already
proven a help to the dairyman and
stock raiser. am informed that
much outside money was spent in
Shallenberger's district to defeat
him. OF course, we will probably
never learn where the money came
from but we can draw our own
conclusions. His defeat was a real
surprise as he has been a staunch
supporter of the Administration
and came from an agricultural dis
trict. Apparently his farmer con-
stituents did not realize the nature
of the campaign made against him
and by whom. Agriculture will miss
him in this Congress.
Out Of total membership of 1875
this House has 100 new members.
an unusually large number when
it Is considered that there has been
no change in the political complec-
ton Of Congress. Naturally, it will
take from six to eight years for
them to really get their bearings
and in the meantime the burden
will largely fall upon the old tim
ers. We are going TO miss many Of
those who went out on the Novem-
Der tidal wave. They were a steady
ing force and acted as a brake up
on the younger and more impet-
uous members who, naturally, will |
be largely concerned with building
up their fences and getting ready
for the next election. To my way
Of thinking these old timers whom |
have enumerated were most val
liable in that they Outlines pre-
vented the enactment Of visionary
and impractical legislation that |
would have done the country in
more harm than good in
the long run. Let us hope that they
will be returned two years hence
FOR we really need them more
right now than ever before.
Hardly day passes but that my
nail contains inquiries regarding
he prospect Of initiation. The adj
does not want infla-
lion but its hand may be forced by
events beyond its control. IF infla-
ion does come 1t will behoove all
IF us to make for the cyclone cell
ar and remain there until after the
storm Is over. It was tried over in
Europe after the war and they
want no more Of 1t.
My guess Is that early action
Observation-Disclosures