Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-09
DEALS IN .PoRK, ARE SAFE.

4
DEALS IN "P0RK" ARE SAFE.
Current discussion of the probab;lit!
of President Roosevelt vetofng the pub
lie building appropriation bill very nat.
urally fills the hearts of many com.
munity with CONSERVATION. The awfu
terrifying to think of, but The proba-
bilities are that the one man who is
thinking least of such veto is the
president himself.
The story started from the artfu
soothing of some disgruntled scribe, who
reported the president as being con-
sumed with an intense desire to dc
something startling. Like the foolish
maiden who, while having no though.
sires to do something shocking, the
| president is said to be looking for
something that he can veto and startle
the country, and has selected the omni-
bus appropriation bill, which, if killed
could make Noise enough and yet no
great governmental policy would be
jeopardized. This same writer of still
| letto fiction has suggested what a
| plausible argument the president could
contained in almost every clause of this
| bill But the facts undoubtedly are
/ that the president is no such foolish
grand stand player as his enemies
would have the public believe him to
/ be.
| Men placed in positions Of great re-
sponsibility are oppressed by the ne
cessities of saying no" to many a pet
scheme of friends, and when they do
exercise veto it is always done Ut a
cost of personal sacrifice, IL not with
misgiving. To thwart a frield who may
be needed the next day to assist one in
some important accomplish ment is al
ways serious thing to do, and there is
the added fear of the poss Utility that
ones own judgment may he in error.
Hence men of sense veto with caution.
The suggestion that President Roose-
Welt is seeking trouble of this kind and
wants to veto just for the fun of the
fuss it would stir up is silly to an ex-
trerne. Roosevelt is politician and no
fool.
II it could be shown that the public
welfare demanded throttling of the
omnibus appropriation bill there are
undoubtedly few men in America with
the courage to veto it as quick as
Theodore Roosevelt would. The bill,
in the main, provides for the erection
of public buildings turnout the coun-
try, postoffice buildings customs hous-
es, court houses, etc. Each appropria-
ton passed muster in the final voting
by virtue of it's log rolling capacities to
be sure. Each senator and representa-
tive secured his favors because he vot-
ed for the pork sought by the other
fellow, and yet all provide only for per-
manent public investments in buildings
to be used by the federal government,
which, in principle, is not bad public
policy. In times of plenty the indiyid-
ual builds permanently for the future,
the farmer builds his barns and his
fences, while the business man replaces
his frame structure with one of brick
or stone, adding an extra story for flu
ture expansion. If the investments of
public funds called for in an omnibus
appropriations bill are eXrrayagant, as
many unquestionably are, there is the
possibility of a young and healthy
country growing up to its here and
there overdone federal building. In no
case is money sunk hopelessly in some
useless river. OF course, if law could
be passed that would provide for only
the wise and just appropriations it
would be the ideal bill to sign, but APP
preparation bills are not passed wholly
on their merits, and, in considering the
veto Of any, there is the possibility of a
worse one appearing next time. Some
federal building must be done, hence a
president afflicted with veto habit is
going to swallow his convictions as to
many a private grab If the bill as a
whole depends upon it. In this case
President Roosevelt, with important
policies to put in force affecting far
greater national interests than the
public buildings bill, is not going to in
vite the hostility of one-half the SEN
ators and representatives in congress,
as we'll as the contempt of the other
half, by vetoing their cherished, and
often to them vitality important appro-
simply because of the many
IDEALS in pork" necessarily involved.
Regret it as he may. that a congress-l