Gas Days

When the 72nd House assembled most of its members were fairly popping with political speeches they had had nine months or more to prepare. Because it takes about a week for the House to organize its committees and get down to work, there was no legislation ready to dig into. Therefore after electing a Speaker and liberalizing the rules, Democratic leaders turned the House loose to blow off political steam for three full days. Technically the members were debating the President's message on the State of the Union. Practically they were giving an exhibition which clearly indicated the political temper of the session ahead. Excerpts from last week's House debates:

Majority Leader Rainey: I move the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union. . . . Nothing of importance will be presented for the balance of the week. . . . There's no reason why gentlemen who live in nearby cities can't go home.

Democrat Huddleston of Alabama, fiery little advocate of direct Federal relief for unemployment: The State of the Union is darned bad! President Hoover has given an outright dole to the railroads. He would give a dole to the building and loan associations. He would come to the aid of banks with frozen assets. He would help foreign countries by the Moratorium. . . . To these interests he would give billions but to starving American women and children he wouldn't give one red cent. In the White House we have a man more interested in the pocketbooks of the rich than the bellies of the poor.

Republican Beedy of Maine, bald and aggressive: I'm amazed that the first speaker on the Democratic side commits his party to the principle that it's the duty of government to go into the Treasury and dole out money to those in need [applause]. Is there a man on the Democratic side who now wishes to rise and dissent from committing his party to the dole policy [nobody rises]. Very well, then, the issue is clean cut. The Demo-cratic party in the House would commit the Government to the dole.

Democrat Lamneck of Ohio, a round and ruddy newcomer in the House, rising: Not I!

Republican Beedy: Only one man rises in dissent. [Raucous Republican laughter and applause.]

Republican Underhill of Massachusetts: The Democratic party has abandoned the principles of Jefferson' for the principles of Karl Marx.

Democrat Oliver of Alabama: The cheapness of [Beedy's] demagogic inquiry is discreditable!

Democrat Huddleston: Of course you all know how irresponsible I am [loud Democratic laughter]. Yes, I'm without following and am responsible to nobody. So I can afford to tell the truth.

Democrat McKeown of Oklahoma, burly and red-faced: If the Democrats don't give Mr. Hoover any more support than the Republicans gave Mr. Wilson after the Armistice, God save Mr. Hoover and the American people!

Republican Kahn of California, widow of a post-war Military Affairs Committee chairman: You certainly don't question Julius Kahn's support of President Wilson? [Republican applause.]

Democrat McKeown: No, he was loyal. . . . You Republicans can get up here and laugh and talk about the Democrats not being solid and all that kind of stuff but what the people want to know is where is that prosperity around the corner you've been talking about. . . . What we want to do is to increase the per capita circulation of money in this country. . . . Our program won't be hot air like we've been getting from the Republican side. We'll have some sure-nuff relief. . . .

Democrat Rankin of Mississippi: A dole? I'm not in favor of a dole. But I'm not willing to see men, women and children starve. . . . You Republicans are willing to give a dole to the predatory interests, to the lords of industry, to international bankers. But when in the midst of this terrible panic we attempt legislation to help feed hungry millions, you accuse us of standing for the dole. . . . I hear the gentleman from Wisconsin say "hurrah." I'd like to know what he's going to do to relieve the suffering people of Milwaukee.

Republican Schafer of Wisconsin, big and beefy: Modify the Prohibition law and put about 25,000 people to work!

Democrat Rankin: He wants to give 'em beer instead of bread. But while the men are drinking beer, don't you think their women and children ought to have some-thing to eat? . . .

Republican Cooper of Ohio: This is a time for other work [to meet a situation] second only to war.

Republican Wood of Indiana, small and weazened: Stocks reached the lowest point yesterday in all time. If the mere threat by the Democrats of a program has this effect, in the name of God what will their carrying out of it do?

Democrat Lewis of Maryland: At the same time the American public was reading the President's message. . . .

Republican Wood: Thanks be to God nobody has starved in this country yet and I don't believe anybody will. . . .

Republican La Guardia of New York, swart, chunky little Insurgent: The subject of my remarks today is A POOR START. Under normal conditions this party sniping and repartee would be amusing but this is no time for politics and political speeches. Let's stop all this and get down to work. ... I can go down to the market here and buy a parrot for $2. And in one day I can teach it to say "Dole, Dole, Dole." But that parrot would never understand an economic problem. By the sinister use of "Dole" to stigmatize necessary relief, we're not going to solve this problem. . . . You can't ignore it by talking politics. You can't becloud the issue by nagging the President. . . . The situation is very, very serious and the issue is not the success of the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. It is the very preservation of the Union. [Nonpartisan applause followed by a guilty hush]. . . .

Republican Treadway of Massachusetts: I'm glad I am a rabid Republican. . . .

Democrat Sumner of Texas: President Hoover had no more right to commit this nation to that Moratorium than the lowliest citizen in it.

Democratic Sweeney of Ohio: I'm a new member and I hope the House won't think me presumptuous if I congratulate and criticize at the same time. But the first day I tried to listen to the debate and all I heard was chaos. One gentleman, near me, was talking about the war with Japan. Someone on the floor was talking about the tariff while two members on another side of me whom I know to be Drys by their consistent votes--I'm no Smedley Butler so I'll keep the names to myself--were lamenting the bad quality of liquor in Washington. I'm afraid I'm mixed up in a Congress that's going to be hypocritical. I reached the conclusion that the women of the House were behaving like gentlemen and the men were acting like a lot of old women.

Speaker Garner, off the floor: I wanted to give the boys a chance to get the gas off their stomachs.

The Senate's first week was less gaseous than the House's but equally barren of achievement. Efforts of regular Republicans to re-elect New Hampshire's Moses President pro tempore were blocked by a dozen Insurgents bent on humiliating by demotion the jut-jawed Senator who had tagged them "Sons of the Wild Jackass." By scattering their votes among other and less sharp-tongued Republicans they managed to maintain for more than eleven ballots a deadlock which gave neither Senator Moses nor Senator Key Pittman, the Democratic nominee, an elective majority. Not until this old grudge was settled could the Senate organize and get down to legislating.

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