The Program

When Congress assembles on Dec. 1, it will be faced by a mass of legislation only a small part of which can be dispatched at the short session. Some of the major legislation that will be up for consideration:

P:The appropriation bills for the various Departments of the Government will be the first and most important business. All must be passed before Mar. 4.

P:Farm legislation in many forms will be presented. It is hardly expected that any important bill will pass; although some recommendations by the President's Agricultural Commission will probably be up for consideration towards the end of the session.

P:Income tax legislation will probably be left alone, since the Administration does not plan to press it. There will probably be some action in regard to the publication of income tax returns, however.

P:Important railway legislation, for want of time and inclination, is likely to be omitted.

P:The bill for reorganizing the executive branch of the Government will come up and has a good chance of passage.

P:The proposal for U.S. entry into the World Court might safely be expected to remain in limbo except that Senator Borah is to be Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

P:Agreements for funding the War debts of Lithuania and Poland to this country, having been negotiated, will be up for approval-- probably without opposition. However, there will, very likely, be a controversy over the unfunded debts. Three large debtors-- France (four billion dollars ), Italy (two billion dollars) and Belgium (450 million dollars) have not yet made an agreement for repayment. The life of the World War Foreign Debt Commission (members include Secretaries Mellon, Hughes, Hoover, Senator Smoot, Representatives Burton and Crisp, one-time Representative Richard Olney) must be extended if it is to continue its efforts for refunding. Alternative and, perhaps, more drastic methods of collection are likely to be proposed.

P:The disposition of Muscle Shoals is almost certain to precipitate a new wrangle. The Wilson Dam will be completed next July and at least some temporary plan for disposing of the power must be adopted, since Henry Ford has now withdrawn his bid for the property (TIME, Oct. 27).