Congress' Week

The people's representatives were busy last week working for their people, whose needs were great and varied. In the vaulted chambers of the two Houses,* Senators and Representatives rose like corn in a popper, introducing legislation.

There were bills to: recondition the vessel Prowler and return it to the Pomperaug Council of Boy Scouts (Bridgeport, Conn.), who had surrendered it for purposes of war; amend the Constitution to let Congress regulate marriage and divorce; issue 3-c- airmail postcards on "good stiff paper"; and authorize federal funds for fighting cattle grubs.

Not in Heaven Either. Off the floor the Congressmen also labored. House committees, finally organized under predominantly conservative G.O.P. leadership, gathered in committee rooms to discuss legislation. Ways & Means, under Minnesota's Harold Knutson, whipped out a bill to continue indefinitely the $1.2 billion excise taxes, terminated as of July by President Truman's proclamation of the end of hostilities (TIME, Jan. 13).

Appropriations Committeemen considered the President's budget, which had "staggered" Chairman John Taber of New York. Illinois' Everett Dirksen lectured his colleagues: "You will get no credit either in your constituency or in heaven for having wasted money."

On the Senate side, a Judiciary subcommittee opened hearings on legislation to check the still rising flood of portal-to-portal pay suits (see BUSINESS).

Having Wonderful Time. With surprising zest, the Democrats took over the minority role, which from Lincoln up to F.D.R. was historically theirs. They took up the sniping which the G.O.P. had carried on for 14 Democratic years.

The man who seemed to enjoy himself most was Maryland's caustic Millard Tydings, who maneuvered the Republicans into a crossfire over the question of continuing the special War Investigating Committee.

The Republicans' position was this: they wanted to continue the committee (the old Truman Committee), despite the fact that it was not included in the La Follette-Monroney reorganization act, passed at the last session. The man who would head it would be Maine's Owen Brewster, who is itching to rake back over those years when the Republicans were outside looking in. But authorizing one special committee, Democrats argued, meant opening the door to many "special" committees and violating the spirit of the reorganization act. Nebraska's Kenneth Wherry was already knocking at the door with another special committee to mull over the problems of small business.

Slyly, Tydings proposed that the standing Expenditures Committee do the war investigating. The chairman of Expenditures, Vermont's George Aiken, would conduct a scrupulously fair investigation, as Democrats well know. "If the Senate should not accept my amendment," Tydings said with relish, "the Senate would insult every member, Democratic and Republican, of [Aiken's] committee. I cannot see how in the public interest the Senate can now go back on their own child [the reorganization act] and adopt a foster child of somewhat bastard parentage."

Laughter from the Galleries. Brewster was interested in Tydings' comment on "this measure being of a bastard parentage." He thought it was rather strong language, "particularly as the origin of the committee was in the gentleman who is now President of the United States." He recalled that 13 Democrats had voted against the reorganization act--"with the spirit of which they are now so much concerned"--and 17 were not interested enough to show up for the vote. On the other hand, he recalled, 23 Republicans had voted for the measure.

"Was the Senator from Maine one of the number?" New Hampshire's Republican Charles Tobey asked treasonably.

"I will verify it," said Brewster. "I am very sure I was." Silence descended on the chamber while Brewster consulted the record. The next voice was Brewster's: "I find I was one of those not voting."

The galleries joined in the laughter from the floor, which prompted Missouri's Forrest Donnell to demand that the galleries be rebuked. But as the Democrats' Joe O'Mahoney observed, there was no reason why "the occupants of the gallery should be blamed for the hilarity in the Chamber."

*Congressmen in both chambers still sit under the temporary girders which were put up in 1940 to keep the Capitol roofs from falling in.

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