The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-06-01

"a in the country and
''1'zz the small towns of
Walter Shead this land of ours
may well shake a
speculative head.
On this day you would have
watched from the galleries in the
house of representatives as the
members voted themselves $500
a-year-tax-free salary increase UNI
der the guise of an expense allow
ance. /.
Over ON the senate side Of the
beautiful old building, you would
have noted tier upon tier of emp
fy seats and watched half
dozen members of ''the most
august body in the world fiddle
around for more than an hour
attempting to get a quorum Of
its membership into their seats
SO business could go on.
And If you had stepped with me
into senate subcommittee hearing
you would have blushed with shame
at the spectacle. For there you
would have watched witness be-
fore this subcommittee heckled,
tainted and derided assaulted
with sarcasm, his motives impugned,
bullied, even as a trial lawyer seeks
to confuse and befuddle a defend
ant in court of law. You would
have wondered, with what crime
is this man charged?" "can
things like this happen here in the
capital of the worlds greatest de-
mocracy?" For that witness was
not there of his own accord he
was subpenaed he was a bust
ness man from small town and he
came to his capital at the instance
of the senate subcommittee to give
of his knowledge of the matter.
Not all senate or house commit
tees are like that, of course. But
many are, even though they are sup
posed to be fact-finding hearings
pertaining to some measure up for
consideration to ratification Of
some presidential nomination. Many
committee hearings, say full-press
hearing of the senate agricultural
committee, are conducted in a dig
nified atmosphere of democracy.
Then you would have remembered
that the government is doing every
thing in its power to "hold-the-line"
against imitation and to prevent wage
increases and higher prices for all
our citizens and yet these congress
men, our lawmakers, voted to in
crease their own pay, tax free. And
you would have heard one congress
man say that his taxes and ex-
penses took all but $4,000 of his
salary and another one say
that 1--WE voted those taxes ourselves,
didn't We, and we oughtn't be grant
ing ourselves any allowance or spe-
cial privilege to take care of our
taxes" And you would have left
the house chamber with wonderment
on your face at this example.
And in the senate your expecta-
tons were dashed, too. All those
empty seats. You expected some
thing different here, but you were
disheartened as the monotonous roll
call went on and only a few an
swered and finally as time passed
So senator's answered roll call,
4 more than the legal quorum Of
the 80 members. OF course some
senators are necessarily absent for
committee hearings and other legiti-
mate reasons, but the majority are
In the cloak rooms, their offices, or
elsewhere. Some come running
when the signal bells announce lack
Of a quorum, and remain long enough
10 vote. then dash out again. Others
pay little attention to the signals ex-
cept upon repeated rings. This sig
nal system is so arranged that upon
pressing a button, the bells ring in
the corridors and cloak rooms, COM
mittee rooms. the senate dining
room and in each senator's Office in
the senate Office building a long
block away.
They could be In their seats with
IN q few minutes II they answered
the bells promptly but day-in and
day-out hours are wasted merely
getting enough senators In their
seats 70 do business.
Some Newspaper men have figured
out that time wasted In the senate
alone In obtaining q quorum In one
year, AZ the senate rate Of pay, would
almost pay the salary Of two sena-
tors. These are routine and unspec-
taeular things you admit. the vot-
Ing 81 salary increases totaling
81 so. 900 annually IN the house un-
deF prusent-day circumstances. the
lolling attitude q the senate and the
undemocratic procedure IN TIE sub
committee hearings. but still. you
wonder 4 they are not misuses ol
power unreprenentativo a their