Evening star., 1938-11-19

Slt on more COIu-
mittees than they could possibly
attend and when it came to making
A determined stand on vital meas
ure it usually required considerable
help from the independent Demo-
Gratis to revise or block it.
Now the situation is going to be
materially different. The Repub-
licans on the basis of the last cleo
tions will doubtless demand 40 per
cent representation to the Demo-
cratic so per cent. This ratio is in
line with the results of the election
and in conformity with precedent
used when the Democrats were in
the minority and the Republicans
held the majority power.
If the 40 per cent ratio is granted,
1t would mean that in the House
Ways and Means Committee there
would be 10 Republicans instead of
as at present and there would be
IS Democrats instead of l8 as it has
been heretofore. This means that
the 10 Republicans need to get only
3 Democrats to vote with them and
the vote would be 13 to II.
Petitions Not Easy.
Committee action can be reversed,
of course. by rule from the House
itself or by petition to discharge
the committee. But it will not be
so easy for 218 signatures to petit
tions to be obtained if ITO Repub-
licans in the new House should
stand their ground and back up
committee action.
The situation that may prevail in
the House Appropriation Commit
tee is also worth noting. Thus. the
new ratio would give the Repub-
licans IS places instead of II as at
present, whereas the Democrats
would have "a places instead of %
as at present. The Republicans
would have to win only of these "a
Democrats in order to exercise a
check on pump printing" or on the
discretionary use of appropriated
funds by the Executive, both of
which points were of major impor-
tance in the last two congressional
sessions.
Take the Banking and Currency
Committee of the House, which deals
with banking legislation. The new
plan would call for 10 instead of 7
Republicans and Is instead of 18
Democrats. Here again the Repub-
lcens would have to persuade only
3 of the 18 Democrats to block leg
islation undesired by the coalition
of independent Democrats and Re-
publicans.
The all important committees
which will deal with the armament
program will be composed of Is
Democrats and 10 Republicans, in
stead of l8 Democrats and 7 minor
ity members in the case of military
affairs, and Is Democrats and 10
Republicans instead of 13 Democrats
and 7 Republicans in the case of
naval affairs.
Larger Independent Group.
The gains in the Senate are not
as big for the Republicans on a
ratio basis because they did not gain
as much proportionately as they did
in the House There is. however,
in the Senate a larger group of in
dependent Democrats who have been
critical of New Deal legislation and
have voted with the Republicans to
block what they regarded as ex-
treme measures.
The Republican strength of % in
stead of IS as heretofore will mean
more representation on committees
and more of a spread of the men,
bers on the committees, that is, less
duplication. AS for the majority
power in the Senate, the Republic
ans need only 26 out of the SO Dem
ocrats to control the Upper House.
In the famous fight against the
packing" of the Supreme Court, the
independent Democratic strength
approached 36 votes.
A coalition of Republican and
Democratic votes often resulted in a
majority report out of the Senate
Finance Committee in the last two
sessions. especially where tax mat
ters were under discussion. The new
strength of the Republicans in the
Senate will tend to make somewhat
the same situation in other commit
tees. particularly as there may be in
the Senate itself majority to back
up such committee action.
On strictly partisan questions, such
as selection of committees, however,
there will be a substantial Demo-
cratic majority, but the 50 Demo-
cratic votes can hardly be considered
as a unit for anything else.
.(Copyright. 1889