Milford chronicle., 1936-09-25

u tn1 NOtcIS CDHCEEMcu aAuuoL cA
tireIy with the opposing candidates
/ for the nations highest Office, tn,
next Congress comes in for rela
lively little attention. But Congress
is always vitality important. A stub
born Congress can just about ruin
a Presidents program and ambi-
tions-as Hoover found out in his
last two years. And a friendly Con.
gress can make the White House a
legislative paradise as Roosevelt
learned in his first two years, when
the legislative branch of the gov
ernment succumbed to the influence
and appeal of the executive.
Makeup of the next House Of Rep
resentatives will be largely depen-
dent on who rises to the Presidency
if Mr.. Roosevelt is reelected, it
will be certain that the House will
be preponderantly Democratic. while
il Governor Landon comes in, the
Republicans will undoubtedly con-
troll the lower branch. Representa-
tives must run for Office every two
years. and their political life is often
very short.
A different state of affairs obtains
in the Senate. A Senator runs only
every six years, and, as result, the
1887 Congress will be Democratically
controlled even though the Repub-
licans sweep the country. It is
mathmetically impossible for the
G o. P. to win majority in the up
per house-if it took every contest
ed seat it would lack two votes Of
control. AS many contested senator
ships are in the deep South, where
the Democratic nomination is the
same thing as election, it is newt
able that the Democrats will have
substantial majority when the mem
bers of the Senate answer the roll
call in January.
Even so, best commentators feel
that this will not be major obstacle
to Governor Landon's program, in
event of his election. If the voters
disavow the New Deal, Senators of
both parties will sniff the wind and
fall in line with the mandate. And.
on the other hand. should President
Roosevelt be endorsed again, he will
naturally be able to bring about
Congressional agreement of almost
anything he wishes.
No matter who takes the big plum
in November, the coming Congress
will be faced with a number of vital
issues. The tax issue will be up
again-bigger and better than ever,
in all probability. Governor LandOn
has been biting in his denunciatiOn
OF New Deal spending policies. And |
Mr.. Roosevelt has again said that
he anticipates a balanced budget be-
fore long, has gone on the record |
for economy and a certain amount
of retrenchment. Yet both candi-
dates agree that the farmer should
be helped from the Federal treasury.
that Federal relief for the unemploy- |
ed and needy must be continued.
There is also the probability that the
government will feel that it must
greatly increase its army and navy
appropriations. Under such circum-
stances Congress will undergo many
a headache as it seeks to control ap-
preparation measures.
The tariff will likely be an issue.
difference of opinion
has resulted from the reciprocal
trade agreement act authorizing the
President to lower tariff duties in
favor of countries doing the same
for us. Congress will be beleaguered
on the one hand by powerful groups
wanting a high tariff, such as agri-
culture, and equally powerful groups
wanting a lower tariff and bigger
foreign business, such as the heavy
and automobile makers.
The Townsend plan will. in all
be given little consider
tion. Outside of one or two states,
uch as Washington, Townsendites Il
ave made a very poor showing in D
he primaries of either party. And
he bonus issue is at last dead-a Il
act which has caused many a pO- L
tical aspirant to say THANK Cod"
Some of the longes. and most acri- d
lonious debates VII concern laws q
hich are now in existence but are o
lie to expire-the so-called TEN 8
orary emergency measures" They a
ill go off the statute books unless u
ongress gives them new life. v
mong such laws are: The vitality d
lportant dollar devaluation mea- 81
ire; the Electric Farm and Home u
lthority loans; the CCC appropria-
)ns; the reciprocal tariff; the ex- II
Sc (nuisance) taxes on gasoline, II
dios, etc.; the Scent postal rate; a
e interstate oil production limita- IL
ms compacts; the much reviled. 0,
uch praised neutrality act. The N
1est emergency bureau in the gov u
RFC, which was start 81