Evening star., 1935-01-03
Roosevelt Due to Present
Legislative Proposals
Personally Tomorrow.
Byrns Elected Speaker.
DOZEN NEW SENATORS
TAKE OATH OF OFFICE
Holt Present in Chamber, but Is
Not Sworn in-Speculation Rife
About Executive Plans for
Session-Startling New Pro-
posals Are Rumored.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

The new Congress made its bow to
the country at noon today.
Both Senate and House planned to
complete their organization" and
then recess until they can receive the
recommendations of President Roose-
velt. The Chief Executive plans to 90
to the Capitol tomorrow afternoon
to deliver in person his annual mes
sage to Congress. This is the course
he followed when Congress convened
year ago.
Byrns Is Elected.
Outstanding in the day of routine
was the election of the veteran Repre-
sentative Joseph w. Byrns of Ten
nessee as Speaker of the House.
Byrns, who served as floor leader in
The last Congress, was formally elected
about an hour after the House met,
amid the cheers of the 322 Democrats.
He had been nominated yesterday at a
secret Democratic caucus.
Although today's action was only a
formality, due to the huge Democratic
majority, there were three nominal
tions for the speakership. Represen-
.ative Byrns was placed in nomination
for the Democrats by Representative
Taylor of Colorado.
Representative Smell of New York,
Republican leader, was nominated by
Representative Lehlbach of New Jer-
sey, and Representative Schneider OF
Wisconsin was placed in nomination
by Representative Boileau, also of
Wisconsin.
The Schneider nomination ex-
pressed the protest of Republican in
surgents against Smell. Schneider is
member of the new Progressive
party in Wisconsin.
The vote on the speakership fol-
lows:
Byrns, BIG: Smell. 95: Schneider. Q;
Representa- tive LambertSon, Repub-
lican, of Kansas, 2. Three members
voted present.
Smell Continues Leader.
Smell will continue as leader of the
102 House Republicans
In accepting the speakership Byrns
pledged anew his devotion to the
policies platform and principles" of
the Democratic party and promised
to support its legislative efforts.
This session of Congress will be his
torically important, he predicted, add
ing that he had no doubht the House
would measure up to the responsible
ties facing it.
The House is closer to the people
and more responsive to their will than
any other branch of our Government"
he said. Because it is so representa-
tive of the wishes of the people, we
should see that it becomes a dominant
factor in legislation. l shall as your
Speaker. devote my earnest efforts to
that end"
The new Speaker also promised to
preserve the rights of the minority
party to express itself on all public
questions.
Mrs. Roosevelt and various friends
enjoyed the House scene from the
thronged gallery there. The Presi-
dent, meanwhile, remained at his desk
to work on his 4,000-word message.
Bankhead, Ill, Absent.
Representative William B. Bank
head of Alabama, although absent
due to illness, stepped into the picture
strongly at the Capitol as Byrns' sue
cessor as majority leader. a position to
which he was chosen late yesterday
by the Democratic caucus.
At the Senate end of the Capitol,
the session was even less eventful
than in the House. After a quorum
had been developed on roll call, the
newly-elected Senators we're sworn
in-an except Rush D. Holt of West
Virginia. who has not yet reached 80,
the minimum senatorial age under
the Constitution.
Holt. on advice of the Democratic
leaders, will not present himself to
take the oath of Office until next June,
when he will be qualified as to age.
The opinion generally is that he will
be permitted to take his seat at that
time, although several Senators con-
tend that if he was not qualified at
the time of election he cannot be
seated. In the meantime he will be
at liberty to take a six-months' vaca-
tion-with full pay.
Holt was on the floor as the Sem
ate convened, sitting in a rear row.
When the list of credentials of Sena.
tors-elect was read by the clerk,
Hollis credentials we're among them.
Postmaster General Farley, who also
is chairman of the Democratic Ma
tional Committee was in the Senate
chamber, heartily congratulating the
Democrats who had been successful
in the last campaign.
The new Democratic Senators TAX
ing the oath of Office we're: Theodore
G.. Bilbo, Mississippi; Edward r.
Burke, Nebraska; Vic Donahey, Ohio;
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