Extra Agenda

Leaders of Congress, last week, set afoot preparations for the extra session of Congress called by the President to meet on April 15.

In the House, Speaker Longworth and his fellow Republicans planned the personnel of committees which will have to function until April 15. The Committee on Agriculture (to prepare a farm relief bill) was made up. Because of their increased majority in the next Congress, the Republicans took for themselves 15 instead of 14 seats of the 22 on the Agriculture Committee. The Ways & Means Committee (to prepare the tariff bill) was also set in motion. Incidentally Congressman James A. Frear of Wisconsin, a former member of the Committee ejected four years ago for having supported the late, great Senator La Follette, was restored to the Committee, to fill a vacancy. The third committee set up was the Rules Committee which will prepare the calendar (agenda) for the next session.

The Agriculture Committee will meet on March 27 and is expected to have a farm relief measure ready for Congress to act on as soon as it meets. The Republican members of the Ways & Means Committee are already quietly writing a tariff bill-- it will be known as the Smoot-Hawley bill --without consulting their Democratic colleagues. Because of their majority the Republicans can report the bill and probably get it through the House under a special rule prohibiting amendments. In the Senate, however, where no such rule will apply, the question will be torn wide open and the bill amended. Perhaps as much as two months will be spent in Senate wrangling over the measure. Congress may not be able to adjourn before the end of summer.

Other measures which are almost certain to come up in the extra session are bills:

P: For suspending the operations of the National Origins clause of the immigration law (TIME, March 11).

P: For providing $30,000,000 for the census of 1930, and for reapportioning the representation in the House. The Constitution calls fo a reapportionment every ten years. There has been none now in nearly 20 years with the result that, for example, California with a population of 4,433,000 (1927 estimate) has eleven Congressmen and Wisconsin with a population of 2,918,000 also has eleven Congressmen.