THE NORRIS RESOLUTION

The proposed Norris resolution, to do away with the "lame duck" government, has passed the Senate by a vote of 63 to 6. The "lame duck" government is a venerable institution of long years' standing--that uncomfortable period in the administration when, in spite of the fact that both the new Congress and the new President, have been elected, the old officers still control the national affairs. The period is, in other words, the interregnum when the defeated President is still the chief executive. Someone noticed the futility of this system and the Norris Resolution came into being. It provides that the members of the new Congress shall assemble in December immediately following their election, rather than wait thirteen months as under the present method. Furthermore, it provides that the President shall be inaugurated the third Monday in January. Thus the new President and Congress come into power almost simultaneously, and as someone expressed it: "The will of the people as evinced by the elections does not have to sit cooling its heels while the retiring administration does all it can to thwart it."

One surprising feature of this reform bill is the fact that nearly all government officials, with the exception of President Harding, are in favor of it. And the newspapers and weekly journals throughout the country have pledged themselves to suppor ill. There is reason to hope for the bill's ratification as a Constitutional Amendment before the close of the year. Of course, its passage will shorten the terms of many Senators and Representatives when it first goes into effect. But this is a minor consideration. It will more than compensate to have the President start his term of office with a clean slate.

Neither the reactionaries nor the enemies of government interference can find cause for alarm in this resolution. It is merely the correction of a fault of long standing. Its effects are simple but important. By the mere change of date, the government is made more quickly responsive to the popular desire, and coordination between executive and legislative is considerably aided.