The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1937-05-27
CONGRESS LESS suP1NE

CONGRESS LESS SUPINE
Congress just now is thrilled with
what senators and representatives
are beginning to call their 'parlol
revolution says the United States
News. Reference is to the expert
ment in kicking over party traces
INDUCED by members of each House
for the first time in four years."
Whether this unlocked for ex-
ample of independence on the part
of the legislative branch will become
a full-fledged revolt against domin-
ance of the Executive, remains to be
seen. However, the seeds Of dissent
have been sown, and it is no longer
strictly accurate to say that the
President can get whatever he
wants, with hardly a ripple of oppo-
sition from supine Congress.
Mr.. Roosevelt may still get what
he wants in every particular-his
influence and prestige may still be
strong enough to make congressman
swallow bills they heartily dislike
but he is not going to get it without
a real battle. And that. fact alone,
whatever the outcome of pending
must" legislation will be, marks a
far cry from what the country has
been witnessing the last four years.
The President stirred up a hor-
nets nest when he introduced his
judicial reorganization proposal.
Senators whose faith in the New
Deal was considered unquestioned,
have taken the lead in aggressively
battling this bill, which is unuues-
tionably the most important one yet
sponsored by the Administration.
Senator Wheeler is the prime ex-
ample Of this no conservative has
used stronger words or showed more
determination in opposing what he
regards as packing of the Supreme
Court with Executive controlled JUS
tices.
AS matters now stand, half q
dozen or more Democratic senators
have recently announced that they
will vote against the bill. Admins
tration majority is unquestionably
less than five in the Senate
that Is remarkable thing in the
light Of the fact that any and all
Ro0sevelt-backed bills used to 60
through with an anvil chorus Of
ayes" and the merest scattering of
Intellectual Republican mays"
The judicial proposal Is not alone
in stirring up opposition. The Pres
ident's spend policy is In grave dam
ger-that is, Congress is nowhere
near willing as it used to be to give
him a blank check. His farm ten
ancy bill, which would cost q vast,
unpredictable sum to carry through
to a successful conclusion, couldn't
win approval from the House agri-
cultural committee. More import
ant, when the President asked for
81, SOC, 000, 900 for relief, to be spent
at his discretion, for the coming fis-
cal year, he ran into the direct op-
position of some Of his best sena-
torial friends. Senator Byrnes, al
ways regarded as a 100 percent Adj
ministration man, Is fighting for q
ten percent cut in all expenditures
and other senators are known to be
figuring on cutting the relief bud
get to billion-all Of which means
las the Washington observers have
been announcing with convincing
regularity and unanimity lately
that Congress Is getting Economy
minded" The size Of the national
debt is beginning to frighten and
worry many congressman who vot-
ed In the past for maximum appro-
priations and other congressman
can see no reason why emergency
spending should be continued In q
period when business is rapidly ex-
banding, Is practically back to NOR
NAL" levels In most lines, and is OBJ
viously encountering an actual
"boom" in other lines.
Congress new attitude Of inde-
pendence may be tempest In q
teapot so far-but most unprejudic-
ed commentators feel that, like the
proverbial rolling SNOWFALL, It will
grow. No one expects that Congress
will adopt a consistently anti-exe-
cutive attitude which did so much
to ruin Wilson and Hover POLITICAL
ly-but they do think that the per-
iod when the President ran the
whole show is coming slowly to an
end.