Evening star., 1939-04-02

The ADMINISTRATOR moderated Gov
ernment reorganization bill probably
will be law within few days, but
there is only a remote chance for the
President to reshufae any bureaus be-
fore 1910.
The chief reason is the provision IN
the bill requiring regrouping order to
remain before Congress for 60 days be-
fore it can take effect even if the two
Houses take no action during that time
to halt it.
If the President has list of transfers
and consultations all worked out to SUBJ
nit, no indication of it has come from
the White House. But, assuming that
to be the case, if he dispatched the plan
to the Capitol the day after he signs the
bill, Congress would have to remain IN
session until the middle of June to per-
NIT the 60 days to intervene.
Congress probably will be here until
June IS, but if the Chief Executive wait
ed even two or three weeks before per-
fecting a reorganization plan, the law
makers would have to stay in session
until the middle of July to make the
changes effective this year. since the bill
provides that if adjournment takes place
less than go days after a plan is sub
mitted, another two-month period must
intervene after the next session starts,
which, in this case, would be January
1910.
OF course, unsettled world conditions
may prompt Congress to remain IN
Washington far into the summer, in
which case the President would have
time to do a good deal of regrouping of
Federal agencies.
Leaders Want Early End of Session.
There is good reason to believe, how
ever, that unless the international situ-
alton becomes more acute, administra-
ton leaders would rather see the House
and Senate clean up the appropriation
bills, other must" legislation and go
home early. While there are no election
campaigns this year to lure the members
back to the hustings, the growing spirit
of independence among anti-New Deal
Democrats would make the prospect of a
long -drawn-out session anything but at
" oStASS w C11C Pdl ~ lCdoC1o.
On the reorganization bill itself this
cleavage in Democratic ranks cut so
deeply that for "a hours a coalition of
! Republican and Democratic opponents of
the measure succeeded in rewriting it to
place further curb on the limited pow
ers now being conferred on the Chief
Executive by adopting the Wheeler
amendment. The leaders averted this de-
feat by motion to reconsider, and the
next day succeeded in deleting the
amendment by the slim margin of two
votes.
At the last minute, however, the Sen
ate, with administration leaders agreeing,
accepted the OMahoney amendment,
and the House agreed to it in conference.
1t prohibits the President from abolish
ing an agency until he has transferred
its functions elsewhere, or unless its
functions have expired by law. as might
be the case in some of the emergency
New Deal Offices.
No Slashes in Personnel Seen.
To illustrate the effect of his amend
ment. Senator OMahoney, Democrat, of
Wyoming explained that the function of
the General Land Office is to issue home
stead patents. Therefore. if the Presi-
dent decided to abolish the Land Office
as separate bureau in the Interior De-
partment he would first have to transfer
to some other bureau the function of
issuing homestead patents.
This reduces the bill largely to an
authorization to consolidate offices doing
in any drastic reductions in personnel,
since the present functions of each of the
merged agencies would still have to be
performed
Assuming the President will sign the
bill, this will be the third reorganization
proposal to 60 on the statute books in the
last seven years, with only limited
number of resulting mergers.
The first was the authority granted
President Hoover in the Economy Act
Of June, 1882, but that law provided that
either branch of Congress, acting alone,
could nullify the Presidents plan within
so days, and when Mr.. Hoover submitted
a list of transfers in December OF that
year the Democratic House promptly
passed the resolution required to cancel
the order. Mr.. Roosevelt had been elected
a month before, and the House decided
the task should wait his inauguration
The second move came in the Economy
Act of March 8, 1888, which carried
broader power for the Executive than
either the Hoover authorization or the
pending bill. A few months later Presi-
dent Roosevelt merged or abolished some
activities. but then came the drive to
break the depression by expansion of
public works, relief. N. R. A. business
control, home mortgage assistance, bank
deposit insurance and other New Deal
ventures which overshadowed reorganiza-
ton. In 1885 the Presidents power
under that act expired.
Last Years Fight.
Although the first New Deal admin
istration made eight material changes
under that law, it was made known as
early as May, 1888, that comprehensive
reorganization would have to be post
poned because of the emergency prob
lens then awaiting attention.
In 1896 committees again were ap-
pointed, both by the President and Con-
gress, to consider the drafting of new
reorganization law. After nearly two
wears of surveys and investigations, ad-