Evening star., 1937-04-04

NE VI lllt lullCglOllS VI u
minority party in any WELL
ordered democracy IS the de-
~ velopnent Of an alert and
well-informed opposition ready at all
times to criticize constructively.
The minority should be willing and
able to take the floor at all times and
give the opposition viewpoint clearly
and succinctly whenever a second
viewpoint is supportable on any mat
ter of pending legislation.
Consider then, the herculean task
of the Republican minority in the
present Senate.
In the organization Of the Senate
there are 43 regular committees and 26
special and joint committees, total
of SO committees.
When there are plenty of Senators
available, each Senator has but two
or three assignments, possibly only
one of which is of outstanding i'm
portance. When there are as few as
is, as in the present Republican sit
uation, each Senator must serve on
4AioAAy dllu SCNCl dl Ol OllCSC
assignments must necessarily be of
great Importance. The situation
spreads the talents of each over con-
siderable territory and it follows that
these talents become spread danger.
ously thin.
Senator Wallace White Of Maine,
discussing the situation recently,
pointed out the problem which faces
himself and his colleagues.
Must Attend Sessions.
In order to be informed properly on
pending legislation it becomes vital
that Senator attend the meetings
OF the particular committee consider
ing the legislation In the discussions
within the committee and in the state
ments of witnesses at hearings he be-
comes thoroughly familiar with the
issues. He may have preconceived
opinions which he finds cannot be de-
Tended against existing fact, or he may
have points of view which are correct
but in support of which he lacks sufi-
cient data to uphold his views in de-
bate. All angles are generally covered
in the committee sessions and the
minority Senator becomes fortified
with facts to back his argument and
Is guarded against support of an un-
tenable position, from which he might
otherwise be forced to retreat in con-
fusion during debate on the floor, a
defeat, incidentally, which might
jeopardize the entire argument he
might seek to make.
To sum up the problem as it affects
each Senator, it may be stated briefly
that Senator Austin is assigned to
seven regular committees and three
specials; Borah, four regulars and one
special; Bridges, six regulars; Capper,
six regulars; Davis, six regulars;
Frazier, seven regulars and two spe-
cials; Gibson, six regulars and one
special; Hale, four regulars; johnson,
six regulars; Lodge, six regulars; Nc
Nary, five regulars and four specials;
Nye, seven regulars and two specials;
Steiwer, six regulars and one special;
Townsend, seven regulars and two spe-
cials; Vandenberg, seven regulars and
one special, and White, six .regulars
and three specials.
The matter Of special committee
assignments is far more important
than might seem apparent at first
blush. For instance, there is the
matter of the special committee
charged with inquiry into the NUM-
tions industry, the committee to in
quire into bankruptcies, the commit
tee to investigate espionage in indus
try, and other such special committees.
During the course Of a session sew
eral Of such committees may be
named - committees which require
almost constant attendance at the ses-
sions as witnesses are questioned and
the value Of their testimony Is
weighed. A Senator 50 engaged must
necessarily slight some Of his regular
committee work.