Congress and the President Last Saturday, after sitting for eight
months, the United States Congress adjourned sine die, having made havoc of President Roosevelt's legislative programme ; it will not reassemble till next January, unless a special session is summoned in the autumn. Five measures of importance, the Guffey Coal Act, the Neutrality Act, the Wagner Housing Act, the Farm Tenancy Act, and an Act to prevent tax evasion, have been passed, after considerable amendment and emascu- lation. But of the President's five most important Bills four have still to be approved by Congress, which has not yet passed either the Black-Connery Bill fixing minimum wages and maximum hours, the Crop Control Bill, or the President's proposals for reforming the Federal Judiciary and the execu- tive branch of the Federal Government. Three influences may account for the unexpected opposition Mr. Roosevelt has encountered, not only among Republicans but among Conservative Democrats—his tactical blunder in persisting in his attack on the Supreme Court, the alarm aroused by the activities of Mr. John L. Lewis and the Administration's handling of the strikes and, not least, the progress of recovery, which leads conservatives to believe that the New Deal is unnecessary and, indeed, that the only obstacle to universal prosperity is Mr. Roosevelt himself. The short memories and ingratitude of politicians are notorious. But it is by no means certain that public opinion is with Congress.
* * * *
Previous page
