Evening star., 1935-08-15
RIP TIDE FORCES
|NJURE CONGRESS
Health Strain Held Due to
Conflict Between Duty
and Policy.
RY DAVID LAWRENCE.


BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
sForty-eighs members Of the House
Of Representatives out OF 435-thls Is
more than 10 per cent-are said to be
iii or in delicate health due to tie
strain of the present session.
On a roll call recently as many as
100 were absent from the city for va
rious reasons, and illness was a fire.
uuently stated cause as the absence
was recorded.
Never before, certainly not In the
20 years going back to war days. has
there been such q strenuous session.
And in some respects the strain is
even greater today than during the
war, because patriotic emotion, unified
leadership and a zest for work at a
time when all elements OF public
opinion were working together made
toll in the committee room OF dif-
ferent sort than today.
Forces Conflict.
The strain in the present session
comes from the conflicting opinions
of constituents and the pressure being
rut upon the members of Congress by
both the people back home and the
administration.
No session of Congress in the last 20
years, in fact probably none in his
tory, has been under such constant
domination by the executive branch
of the Government. The Congress
men feel that they must try to serve
two masters-the protesting elements
back home and the White House here.
The power of the administration to
withhold favors either OF appoint
n,ents or public works projects and the
political influence the President can
WELD in throwing his support to a
rival candidate in the primaries makes
the task of the member of Congress a
strenuous one, apart from the usual
labor In answering voluminous cor
respondence and attending to chores
for constituents in the executive
agencies.
While several members of Con-
gress are not i'll in the sense that they
are confined to bed or are away from
their duties, the reports are current
that several have heart trouble and
that their continued stay here during
the hot weather involves serious
risk.
Adjournment Greatly Desired.
There is no secret about the way
most members Of the House feel about
the need for prompt adjournment. A
bit of this irritation crept out in the
speech of Representative John J.
O'Connor. chairman Of the House
Rules Committee, when he was
speaking in eulogy of the late Repre-
sentative Truax of Ohio. who dropped
dead last week. Said Mr.. O'Connor:
"On Friday last at o'clock in the
afternoon I talked with him. He
seemed well, but tired. as many Of
us are. At o'clock he was dead. It
was a shock to US all. The honorable
ndefatigable members of the House
Of Representatives have ever known.
He gave his all to his Office and his
duties, with the distressing result for
which we all grieve today. He never
missed roll call here. He has now
answered his last roll call.
ITO be near his work, he moved
from a hotel in the northwest section
Of the city within the shadow of the
Capitol. There his duty lay. There
was his heart. But, like all Of us, he
toiled under intolerable conditions. His
Office was unventilated, with q temp
erature and humidity Of e6, when
another body and every department,
permanent or tmporary. saw to it
that even its janitor's quarters were
aforementioned. Like many of us, he
had been here continuously, not of his
own volition. since last December
with no vacation, not even week ends"
Correspondence Heavy.
1t Is not generally realized, but
when the House or Senate recess over
q week end, several members 20 away
for a rest. but large number stay
here to catch up on their correspond
ence with constituents.
The present session will be remem-
bered as a grueling ordeal, the value
Of which in legislative way Is more
open to question than any session in
history. For the laws proposed and
being passed are destructive in the
sense that they involve considerable
reorganization Of the social and eco
nomic structure at a time when the
country cannot afford further. de-
flation or more unemployment. But
the Democrats, who are in the ma
jority, have been good soldiers and
they have determined to follow the
Roosevelt leadership into 1896, come
what may.
Although there have been sporadic
indications of independence, the DEM
ocrats in Congress for the most part
have remained loyal to the President.
That's one Of the reasons for the
strain, physical and mental, which
Is only just beginning, for members
Of Congress, because when they get
back home they'll have more strain
explaining to their constituents what
they have done. The Rhode Island
election did not subtract anything
from the strain.
(Copyrieht. 1e35)