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Show chhme of independents . is considered Bi-partisan Organization of Incoming House, With Clark as Speaker, Is Being Discussed. WASHINGTON, March 6. Bi-partisan organization of the incoming house, with Champ dark as speaker, and the V committes memberships and patronage equally divided, is being discussed by Democratic and Eepublican members as a possibility in the event the five inde-. inde-. pendent members hold up public business busi-ness in the next session by attempting ' to dictate how the house shall be organized. or-ganized. The independents thus far have declined de-clined to align themselves with either of the bij parties and have held several secret caucuses. If they vote as a unit, as it now uppears they may, they can delay business in the house just a3 long as party lines are maintained At best neither Democrats nor Republicans will have more than 215 party members, and 21S are required to elect a speaker, except ex-cept by special agreement. , In case of a deadlock, many Demo-' Demo-' crats and Republicans believe it would be their patriotic duty in face of an international in-ternational crisis to break down party lines regardless of political fortunes. The desire of the house to keep its record clear of any charge of tying President Wilson's hands as the senate did is expected to play a big part in converting members to the bi-partisan proposal. It 'is a house boast that a large majority of its membership always has stood behind the president in the many crises of the last three years. Leaders Sounded. Virtually every leader of importance on either side has been sounded for his views on the bi-partisanship plan, and no vigorous opponent of it as a last resort re-sort has been found. Republican Leader Lead-er Mann is quoted as saving recently at a dinner to retiring New York members mem-bers of the house that he had rather see bi-partisanship organization of the house than to see it controlled by a small band of "filibusters." Some Republicans who have been arguing ar-guing that their parly should not assume control of the house'with a big preparedness prepared-ness debt facing them greet the bipartisan bi-partisan plan heartily. They insist that in such unusual times as the present it would be only fair for both parties to sharo equally the burden of meeting a debt that was contracted on the insistence in-sistence of both parties. Discussion of bi-partisan plans to be put forward in an emergency does not mean, however, that the majority of cither party is preparing to desert its light for control of the house. Each sido is hopeful that a majority or all of the five independents have been , converted to its cause. Whitman Acts. Democrats lenrued with pleasure today to-day that contrary to precedent in New Tork, Governor Whitman probably soon will call a specfal election for the selection selec-tion of a. successor to the late Representative Represen-tative Conry, Democrat, who came from a strong Tamninny district. While attending at-tending the inaugural, Governor Whitman Whit-man discussed the situation with several sev-eral Republican congressional leaders and although it appeared certain that n special election would add another Democrat to tho incoming house, making it stand a tie at 215 members each, they advised him to call it. Failure to call a special election at this time, he was told, would set a precedent which Democratic governors of strifes with Republican Re-publican representatives might have opportunities op-portunities to follow. The governor is said to have declared that he though lfc his duty to cnll a special election if there was any likelihood likeli-hood of nn extra session. Tho innin body of tho house membership member-ship left, today for home. Representative Representa-tive Flood and Representative Adamson, chairmen of the foreign affairs and interstate in-terstate commerce committees, respectively, respec-tively, will remain to discuss with President Presi-dent Wilson whether he desires to reopen re-open his armed ship anil railway legislation legis-lation fights in an extra session. |