Evening star., 1937-11-13

AN/ OF the President, Senators
" " and Representatives troop
back this week to the halls
u Congress, their coming will mark the
tWenty-fourth calling together of the
Upper and Lower Houses for purposes
OF an extra session to meet what is
generally termed "a national emer-
gency"
Ihe emergency responsible for this
early convention is something separate
-. and apart from those prior emergencies
which resulted in presidential procla-
nations for extraordinary sessions.
Predecessors of Franklin D. Roosevelt
nave been moved by the necessity for
meeting three kinds of emergencies
war or the effects of war, depression or
financial panic and aid for agriculture
or industry. And in each instance thev
requested the return of Congress to
give these matters special considera-
ton. President Roosevelt, however.
seems to have included extension of
the frontiers of social progress" among
the problems to be met. and it is al
together likely that such legislation
as will shortly be considered on the
Hill will have to do primarily with
matters affecting social welfare.
Under this heading most certainly
Will come the oft-argued wage and
hour legislation and, in a broader sense.
such matters of crop control, executive
reorganization and national planning.
which may be said to have social i'm
pllcatlonS beyond their special fields.
Some weeks ago Secretary of Agricul-
.ture Henry Wallace told the writer that
IN his opinion one of the first consider
ations of any special session that
might be called should be crop con-
troll and other agricultural problems.
few days later Postmaster General
Farley made a similar statement. add
Ing that executive reorganization, he
believed, and taxation would head the
list should special session be called.
In AIS proclamation on October Is
, President Roosevelt seemed to bear
out, in his statements, these two pre-
dlctlons. Agriculture, executive reor-
ganization of the Federal Government.
taxation and the anti-lynching law
will hold, in the opinion of returned
members, the spotlight in the days
that lie ahead.
CoNvENING on November IS, Rep
resentatives and Senators may
well look forward with resignation to a
long and arduous siege Once the
special session is under way there
seems little likelihood that anything
save brief Thanksgiving and Christ
mas holiday will interrupt activities.
That means that Congress. from pres
ent indications, will sit right on
through until the date of the regular
session in January and, drawing it's
breath, go on from there.
AS an indication of the changing
times, it is interesting to compare the
reasons for calling this present ses-
sion with reasons that motivated SIM
liar extraordinary meetings in the
past. Going back in our history to
1897, when the first extra congress
slonal session was called, We find that
Presidents Adams, Jefferson, Madison.
Van Buren, Taylor, Lincoln, Hayes,
Cleveland, Mckinley, Taft, Wilson.
Harding, Hoover, and Franklin D.
Roosevelt have all exercised this ex-
ecutive privilege.
There have been "a extra sessions
IN all, and they have concerned them
selves largely with matters of war or
finance. Another interesting fact in
this connection is that no one of the
Presidents named saw fit to mention
in his proclamation the reason for
calling the session. In the case of
President Roosevelt, directly after
the announcement this year he ex-
planned via the radio to the people
OF the United States the reasons back
OF his proclamation. President John
Adams, the first to use the power,
took great care in demanding re-
turn OF Congress, not to explain the
specific problems he sought to have
solved.
That first proclamation, back in
1877, was an ambiguous, secretive doc
ument. Lay aside all other matters
and cares" President Adams besought
the Congress, "in order to consult
ana determine on such measures as
shall be deemed meet for the safety
and welfare of the United States"
But he did not outline the emer-
gency. There are" he limited, dark
ly. "weighty and divers matters" to
be considered.
THOSE "weighty and divers mat
ters" turned out to be the immi-
nent suspension of diplomatic rela-
/. tions with France, with which coun-
try we were on the Threshold of war.
The first five emergency Congresses
IN our history, were, as matter of
fact, attributable to war or threats OF
war with France or Great Britain.
The second emergency Congress, for