THE WORK OF CONGRESS

The special session of Congress, the first in sixteen years in which the Democrats have had a majority in either house, adjourned last week. It had enacted the piece of legislation which it was specifically summoned to do, had passed two or three other important laws, had pointed out the line which the Democrats may be expected to follow while they are in control of the House and even presumably if they should gain control next year of the Senate and the Presidency, and had seen much playing of politics. The session lasted four and a half months, and produced four important measures. It also elicited from the President an equal number of important vetoes. The most important measure, and the one to consider which the session was called, was the law putting into effect the reciprocity agreement with Canada. The Reciprocity Bill passed the House in the last Congress, but in the Senate no efforts which its very lukewarm supporters made could bring it to a vote. As soon as Congress adjourned, President Taft issued a call for a special session of the new Congress to meet one month later. In the new session Reciprocity finally passed both houses and only awaits the action of the Canada Parliament to become effective. The second achievement of the special session was the reapportionment of membership in the House of Representatives in accordance with the figures of the new census. law was passed increasing the number of Representatives from 391 to 433, and assigning the additional Congressmen to those States which had shown increases in population. In spite of a widespread belief that the present House was quite large enough, the 42 members were

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added in order not to cut down the existing representation of any State which had not increased in population during the past ten years. A third achievement was the passage of a law for publicity of campaign contributions and expenditures in Congressional elections. The law applies to both general and primary elections, requires statements of contributions and expenses to be made both before and after each election, and limits the amount which may be spent by Senators and Representatives in seeking nomination and election. The fourth achievement was the passage of a bill to admit Arizona and New Mexico to Statehood. This bill as originally passed was vetoed by President Taft, for the reason that the Constitution of Arizona contained a provision for the recall of judges. On the merits of this provision and the wisdom of President Taft's action in vetoing the Constitution on account of this provision-two quite separate questions-The Outlook commented at length last week. On receipt

of the President's veto Congress repassed the bill, with a stipulation that Arizona should be admitted only when its Constitution had been amended so as to eliminate the recall of the judiciary. Congress also passed a joint resolution extending till March first next the provisions of the Burton Act, restricting the diversion of water for power purposes from Niagara Falls.

to its logical conclusion the movement begun in the last Congress by the Insurgent Republicans for the curtailment of the power of the Speaker. The duty of appointing the committees of the House was taken from the Speaker and vested in the Committee on Ways and Means. The effect of this action was shown in the increased importance of the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee as party leader at the expense of the Speaker. Throughout the session the Democratic majority acted as a unit, in hearty accord with the spirit and desires of its leaders; and until the very close of the session the leadership was wise and politic. The Democrats realized that their victory at the last election had been gained primarily upon the revision of the tariff, and that the revision of the tariff was their first task. To this end, the Ways and Means Committee set to work immediately upon the wool schedule, and in due course a drastic revision of that schedule was put through the House. In the Senate the cuts in the schedule were made considerably less severe, and in conference a bill containing rates which were a compromise between the figures of the House and the Senate was finally agreed to. The bill was vetoed by President Taft, on the ground that no proper and safe revision of any schedule of the tariff could be made until a report had been received from the newly constituted Tariff Board. The Democrats next passed what was known as the Farmers' Free List Bill, which removed the tariff entirely from a miscellaneous list of articles—ranging from agricultural implements to boots and shoes, from lumber to salt-of extensive use by farmers. This was intended as an offset to reciprocity, which was deemed to be disadvantageous to the farming interests. The next schedule attacked was the cotton schedule, and a bill making sharp cuts in the rates of that schedule was promptly enacted. The Wool and Free List Bills were passed in the Senate by a coalition between the Democrats and the Progressive Republicans; but on the Cotton. Bill the Progressive Senators, in apparently attempting to enforce the adoption of a cotton bill of their own, suddenly found themselves outside the breast works

when, through the absence or abstention from voting of a number of Regular Republicans, the Democrats were enabled to pass the House bill unassisted. Before the Cotton Bill passed the Senate, however, amendments were added to it revising the iron and steel schedule and the chemical schedule. The lack of skill shown by the Democrats in drafting the Free List Bill, and, more particularly, their action in accepting in the House these amendments to the Cotton Bill, went far to destroy the reputation for steadiness and reasonableness which they had gained in the earlier part of the session. President Taft, as was expected, vetoed both the Free List and the Cotton Bills. His veto of the Free List Bill was based partly upon the same reasons which had controlled him in the case of the Wool Bill, and partly upon the fact that, as he showed, the bill was so carelessly drawn that it would inevitably lead to the greatest uncertainty as to what articles are or are not covered by its provisions. His veto of the Cotton Bill was based, first, upon the same grounds as in the case of the Wool Bill; secondly, upon the fact that the bill was avowedly a tariff for revenue only measure, while he is committed to a policy of moderate protection; and, thirdly, because of the indefensible character of the steel and chemical schedule amendments.

THE FOLLY OF THE DEMOCRATS

The action of the Democrats in both the House and the Senate upon the Cotton Bill amendments was disgraceful. The steel and chemical amendments were adopted in the Senate without having been referred to any committee, without any debate, and without any one, either within or without the Senate-least of all the Senator who introduced each one— knowing what they really meant and what their results would be. In the House the amendments were referred to no committee, debate upon the entire bill was limited, by as fine a gag rule as Speaker Cannon ever invented, to four hours, and the bill was jammed through by the best steamroller tactics. The spectacle would be comic if it were not disturbing. President Taft, in his veto message, and Congress