Evening star., 1939-01-01
Party Leaders Push
Plans for Congress
Opening tuesday
President to Deliver
Annual Message at
Wednesday Session
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

congressional leaQerS, DOth Demo-
cratic and Republican. are pre-
pairing over the week end for the
opening of the first regular session
of the Seventy sixth Congress at
noon on Tuesday.
President Roosevelt is to appear
before a joint session of both
Houses in the House chamber on
Wednesday to deliver in person his
annual message on the state of the
Union. His budget message will be
transmitted to Congress later in
the week.
The opening session will see all
the newly elected members of the
House and Senate sworn in Busi-
ness will be routine, it is expected,
except for the report of the Sena-
torial Campaign Investigating Com
mittee. which Chairman Morris
Sheppard is expected to toss into
the ring. 1t Is reported to be filled
with dynamite, particularly as it
relates to political activity on the
part of the w. P. A.
May Send Nominations.
The President may also send to
the Senate number of important
nominations, including that of
Harry L. Hopkins to be Secretary
of Commerce.
The House will organize Tuesday
with Speaker Bankhead reelected.
Representative Sam Rayburn of
Texas remaining majority leader and
Representative Joseph w. Martin due
to be named minority leader. This
will be arranged in the party caucus
tomorroW-the Democratic caucus
at 3 pm. and the Republican con-
terence at 7:30 pm. A committee
will then be appointed to join with
a similar committee of the Senate
to notify the President that Con-
gresS is ready to receive any recon-
mendations he may see fit to make
regarding legislation.
The Democratic members of the
House Ways and Means Commit
tee will be busy for several davs
completing a list of committee as
slgnments, and the appointment of
chairmen of eight or ten important
commlttees-under seniority prefer
ence. but several men will become
eligible to make a choice of their
preference for such posts.
After the formal election of Mr..
Martin as minority leader, ha will
confer with the Speaker and Ma ior-
aty Leader Rayburn regarding
larger representation for Repub-
hcans on the various committees in
proportion to their increased num-
oers IN the House. The new propor-
ton will be approximately a 6O-4O
ratio. This will not. however, mean
many more Republican places on
the more important committees but
That the Democrats will refrain
from appointing members to fill
vacancies on the majority side. Re-
publican committee assignments are
10 be made by a special committee
Or committees.
Many Committee Vacancies.
There are big holes torn in manv
OF the important committees espe-
elally in Rules, Ways and Means and
appropriations. For these places
there is keen rivalry, so that any
new appointees will probably create
vacancies on the minor committees
to be filled by the new members.
South Trimble, clerk of the House,
himself a former member, is the
tie that binds the old and the new
Congresses. While there is no op-
position within his own party to the
reelection OF Mr.. Bankhead as
Speaker. he, like all other members
OF the House, has to be reelected,
and so Mr.. Trimble, the ranking
continuing officer of the House, will
call the session to order and preside
until after the Speaker is elected
and formally conducted to the chair.
Mr.. Trimble prepares the roll of
members from the official certifi-
Gates of election filed with him by
the Governors and Secretaries of
the several states. He reads this roll
call of Members elected and admin
listers their oaths of Office.
In the Republican conference to-
morrow there is to be an apparent,
though not serious, contest for the
election of the Minority Leader.
Representative Allen T. TreadWay,
Republican dean of the House, will
present Mr.. Martins name as the
party candidate for Speaker. This
is a mere formality because it is
known that there is no chance of
his being elected Speaker, but it is
customary, and after the Democra-
tic majority has formally elected
Mr.. Bankhead as Speaker. Mr.. Mar
tin will become his party's leader
in the House.
However, Representative James
w. WadsWorth of New York said
yesterday that his name will be pre-
sented to the conference as candi-
date unless he changes his mind.
It is generally conceded that he will
get only a few votes and probably
not all of his own delegation.
Eventually, the Republican confer
ence is expected to elect Mr.. Martin
by acclamation.
Harrison Refuses Pleas.
A conspicuous figure in the House
when it assemblies will be Repre-
sentative Bertrand H. Smell of New
York, who has resigned after "a
years of consecutive service and
was Republican leader in the last
four Congresses. He is planning to
start soon on a cruise to the Carri-
bean.
The Senate Democrats held their
usual procession caucus yesterday,
a Commute affair devoted to un-
tangled harmony. This was made
possible by the fact that Senator
Harrison of Mississippi turned down
the entreaties of a number of anti
New Deal Senators, and declined to
seek election as majority Floor
Leader.
Consequently, Senator Alben w.
Barkley, Democrat, of Kentucky,
who was renominated and reelected
this year with the support of Presi-
dent Roosevelt WAS continued as