Evening star., 1947-07-29

But it has been possible also to
experience a thrill Of pride and
satisfaction that the peoples repre-
sentatives do conduct the public
business with a minimum Of pas
sion and a maximum Of reason, and
that so much agreement is achieved
on so many complex matters OF
diversified interest and appeal.
The writer feels after every Con-
gress that it is nothing less than a
miracle of human behavior when
531 men and women, possessed Of
strong minds and individual view
points and representing large con-
stituencies, should actually join in
the relatively smooth operation Of
. legislative body.
Rules Permit Delays.
When 1t is considered that parlia-
mentary rules and complex methods
OF procedure permit delays and OBJ
struction and that committees can
squelch legislative proposals or that
unlimited debate can defeat what
committees cannot bury, it is re-
markable that as much legislation
is passed as gets on the statute
books after each Congress.
More amazing than anything else
Is the scrutiny which the commit
tees give to legislative proposals.
There are exceptions, of course, but
by and large the committee work
goes unheralded and unsung. The
dry-as-dust subject matter, the long
hours Of study, the patient listening
to those who advocate or those who
protest, the operation of lobbies and
the unremitting pressure of Gov
ernment bureaus-all this empha-
sizes that the members of the Con-
gress of the United States do listen
to reason and do respect the wishes
OF the people who appear before
them in more pieces of legislation
than one would expect to see NOV
ing through the complicated ma
chinery of Congress.
Irrespective of party, the members
do a constructive job in committee
and on the floor, popular impression
sometimes to the contrary notwith-
standing. For the press reports
mostly the sensations, the cleavages,
the little outbursts Of temper and
passion. Due to lack of space, the
press does not print the texts of all
the laws passed nor even record in
small part the work that has been
done to secure their enactment.
There is difficulty in viewing the
work in perspective. ''''.''
Congress viewed as b whole is q
great institution. It is the peoples
legislature. Since every one Of its
members must go before the people
periodically, the Congress, sometimes
by its caution and hesitation, and
sometimes by its haste, reflects the
changing moods of the people and
their broad desires on public ques-
tions.
Cumbersome Efficiency.
Not many countries can point to
q legislative body which does as
much work as does the Congress OF
the United States-uncoerced and
unaffected by the power OF an OIL
garchy and subject at all times to
the searchlisht Of two freedoms
the written and spoken word.
Sometimes Congress seems large
and unwieldy. Sometimes 1t mani
tests an exasperating delay on meas
ures one wants to see passed
promptly. But long experience has
proved that sometimes to defer
action Is to insure subsequent pas
sage, whereas insistence on action
sometimes spells rejection with little
chance Of revival.
The comments on Congress will
be many. Some will be char
acterized by the smart-aleck ap-
proach which will find plenty OF
flaws and will seek to disparage our
institutions. Some will present the
rival claims of the respective par
ties as to what has been accom-
plished. But there ought to be and
hence there is recorded today call
for applause for both parties and
the congressional system that our
forefathers proclaimed. 1t has its
defects but they are, relatively
speaking, minor. For here the mi
nority has rights not trampled upon
or treated with violence. Here the
action OF the majority is not the
tyranny of physical force. Here
alone is the majesty of free govern
ment with the privilege Of making
mistakes, correcting them and NOV
ing on session after session to show
the whole world that lawmaking
which affects every kind OF selfish
interest can be accomplished never
theless through reason and discipline.
Only self-governing nations can
glory in the cumbersome eficiency
Of a representative legislature.
(Repreduetion Rishts Reserysdl: