Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1936-11-13

is whether the New Deal policie.
will be continued or whether the
Administration and the new Con-
gress will take a more conservative
attitude in public affairs. The
general belief here is that the next
four years constituting Mr.. Roose-
velt's second term, will not be SC
filled with spectacular experiment.
in government as the period just
passed.
Despite the sweeping victory Of
the Democrats, it is the belief here
that Republican opposition in Con-
gress will be much better organ
lied and led than in the past two
Congresses, and that there will be
a swing toward the conservative
side in the Democratic Congress
sional leadership.
An interesting phase of the Con-
gressional situation is the rise to
prominence in the Democratic
Party councils of the Texas group.
Vice-President Garner is the leader
of this bloc, which is more power
full than most people realize. Seven
other Texans in the Lower House,
including Representative Raybusn,
Connolly, Summers, Marvin Jones,
Buchanan, Lanham, and Patman,
WELD among them a powerful in
fluence. They have a close tie
with the Administration through
another Texan, Jesse Jones, Chair
man of the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation, who in many respects
is the most powerful figure in the
executive department. Texas has
six committee cnafrmen in the
House.
On the Republican side of the
stage is set for an active and ag-
gressive Opposition, looking for
ward to the Congressional elections
of 1888 and the Presidential cleo
ton of 1910. The foremost Re-
publican leaders are Representative
Smell, Wadsworth, Hollister, Boil
ton, Martin and Treadway. In the
Senate, Senator McNary will con-
tinue to be the nominal leader by
of seniority, but as he is re-
by his associates as being
pro-Roosevelt, the actual
leadership will fall to Senator Van-
denberg of Michigan, who seized
the reins last Winter and led the
only effective opposition which has
developed in the past ; II years.
All the indications, therefore,
point to serious and intense poll
teal activity on Capitol Hill tor
the next two years.
There is some doubt whether
Representative Bankhead of Ala
bama, the present Speaker of the
House, will be physically able to
continue in that office. The prin-
cipal candidates for the speaker
ship, in the event of Mr.. Bank
heads retirement, are Representa-
tives O'Connor of Tammany, Ray
burn of Texas and McCormack OF
Massachusetts. The Tammany in
fluence is expected to be stronger
in the new House, and the Tam
manv bloc will hold the balance OF
power on many issues.
Another thing which seems GER
tain is that there will be more lob
bies and more powerful ones trying
to influence Congress on behalf OF
special groups and minorities than
at any previous time. The labor
lobby will probably be the most
powerful of these, having as its
objective the Guffey Coal Bill, the
Six-hour Day for railroad workers
and the 3o-hour week for all en-
~ploye<s. Part of the Labor program
is to try to build up a strong labor
party to play a part in the cam
paign of 1910.
The effort of the farm lobby
will be to keep what it has got
rather than to urge further bene-
fits for farmers. The Veterans
lobby, however, having succeeded
in getting the prepayment of the
bonus over President Roosevelt)s
veto, has been encouraged to be-
lieve that it can get anything it
wants. What it wants now is a
general life pension for veterans
and the widows and orphans OF
veterans.
So far as Washington observers
can see, only two or three Cabinet
changes are in prospect. 1t is the
general belief that someone will re-
place Dan Roper as Secretary OF
C +bo,ob there is no