Work Done

Planting himself before a radio microphone last week. Senator Joseph T. Robinson looked back upon the session of the 74th Congress which began eight months ago, was all but overcome with pride at its record. Boomed the Senate Majority Leader: ". . . The session just closing has performed an enormous amount of necessary work. ... It may give you an idea of how Congress kept busy . . . when I tell you that there were presented in the House of Representatives 10,000 bills and resolutions and in the Senate nearly 4,000."

What Senator Robinson did not mention was that 1) less than 600 bills were actually passed; 2) approximately 20 days of the eight months were spent by the House in calling the roll; 3) the first three months were principally frittered away in a prolonged wrangle over the $4,880,000.000 relief appropriation; 4) the second three months were distinguished by passage of the Greenback Bonus Bill which was vetoed; 5) the seventh month was marked by the passage of the dubious National Labor Relations Act. Most of Senator Robinson's pride sprang from what happened in Congress during the last month when the Social Security Act, the Motor Carriers Act, the Spanish War Veterans Act were put through, when conference committees rounded out the Congressional record for 1935 with the following work done:

P: The Banking Act of 1935 which sets up after Feb. 1, 1936 a new Board of Reserve Governors more isolated than the present board from political influence. Seven appointive members will serve 14 years, cannot be removed except for cause (see p. 9).

P: IV Amendments which limit TVA's borrowing power to $50,000,000, deny it the right to buy private power systems, authorize it to sell power and fertilizer and to lend municipalities funds to set up distributing systems.

P: The Public Utility Bill, which got through last week on a House-White House compromise of the "death sentence" for holding companies. The Securities & Exchange Commission must order holding companies to divest themselves of utilities outside "a single integrated" system (with certain narrow exceptions), must prevent any holding company from controlling a second holding company which controls a third holding company.

P: Guffey Coal Bill v/hich enacted into Federal law most of the old Bituminous Coal Code.

P: The Share-the-Wealth Tax Bill, raising an estimated $250,000,000 in additional revenue.

P: The Gold-Clause Bill which forbids suits against the Government on its gold obligations unless instituted before Jan. 1, 1936.

P: A Neutrality Bill (see p. 11).

P: AAAmendments which permit processing tax recovery suits only when the processor can prove that he absorbed the tax.

P: The Alcohol Control Bill which lodges liquor administrators in the Treasury Department.

P: A Railroad Pension Bill replacing the act declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The Government will pay direct pensions up to $120 a month by means of a 7% tax on railroad payrolls, half to be paid by the carriers and half by the employes.

P: A Railroad Reorganization Bill which simplifies insolvency procedure under I. C. C. approval.

P: Work left undone: Ship Subsidy Bill, Food & Drug Bill, Commodity Exchange Regulation Bill.

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