Congress Again

First there was War. After the War there were veterans. After the veterans there was the American Legion; after the Legion, .the bonus bill; after the bonus bill, Congress, which passed it; after Congress, the President who vetoed it; after the President--Congress again. Mr. Coolidge and the whole country have been assured by politicians --pro-bonus and anti-bonus--that the bill would be passed by this Congress whether or not the President vetoed it. Yet there remained a possibility that the Senate might not do as expected--that some Senators might reverse their votes after the President's veto. The House. The first attempt to pass the bill over the veto was made in the House. In part it justified the belief that the bill would be easily, passed over the veto. In part it added to the hopes of those who wanted the Senate to sustain the veto. With the veto only two days old, the House stood up and voted. A two-thirds vote was necessary to override the President. The totals showed: For Bonus Against Bonus Against Veto For Veto

Republicans 166 57

Democrats 145 21

Independents 2

Total 313 78

The House had overriden. But the game was not over. The original vote in the House had been 355 to 54. Following the veto 26 Republicans, including majority leader Nicholas Longworth and Martin B. Madden of Illinois had changed sides to vote against the bonus. Two Democrats had done likewise. The Senate. Then the matter was up to the Senate. If the Senate clung to its original division the bonus would be law. If the President's veto had won nine Senators away from the bill, the bonus would be defeated. The country waited with polite attention, not to say interest. On the morning of the day on which the bill was passed, seven Republican Senators took breakfast at the White House. They were Keyes, McKinley, Phipps, Sterling, Cameron, Dale, Harreld. Presumably the President argued with them to support his veto. All of them had voted for the bill originally except Harreld, who had been absent. At two in the afternoon the bill came before the Senate. The clerk read the President's veto message. No one listened ; everyone knew it too well. A few more words, and the bell rang. The roll call began. Five Republicans previously in favor of the bill changed their votes--four of them had breakfasted at the White House. One Democrat, Ramsdell who had voted for the bill originally was paired against it. Senator Lenroot who has been ill, walked into the chamber apparently hale, and voted "Aye." Senator Green, struck down some weeks ago by a stray bullet in a bootlegger chase, tottered weakly to his seat, voted "No" as his name was called, and retired immediately.' The vote: Against Veto For Veto For Bonus Against Bonus

Republicans 30 17

Democrats 27 9

Farmer-Laborites 2

Total 59 26

The bonus was law, by a margin of three votes. Messrs. Cameron, Dale, and Harreld, who had breakfasted at the White House voted for the bill. Buckwheat cakes and maple syrup were a failure.