Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-02-13

o clear sighted men it has
been apparent for twelve
years that the senate is alb
~ sorbing or usurping all leg
islative functions and pow
ers, while the house of representatives
is being curtailed of its usefulness and
influence. More properly speaking, the
house of representatives has been for
the period named engaged in the un-
wise and self imposed task of cJlrtail-
ing its own power and minimizing its
own influence. The decadence of the
house dates from the first election of
Hon. Thomas Bracket Reed to the
speakership. His great ambition, or,
rather, one Of his great ambitions, was
to change the house from a delibera-
tive into business body. He succeed
ed so well-he and his SUCCESSORS
that the most important measures are
now rushed through the house with no
adequate discussion, full of imperfec-
tions, crude and misshapen, to be
dumped into the senate, which is a de-
Lucrative body and which it is hoped
will amend these half baked measures
into form presentable to the public
and the courts; consequently the SEN
ate takes a sort of fiendish delight in
remodeling the house bills to such an
extent that their authors would not
recognize them if they met them in the
big road.
The Democrats have from the begin
ming been restive under this despot.
ism, which has reduced the influence
Of the house to zero, and they will
never be satisfied until it is overthrown
and the house is restored to it's an
cient high estate.
Richardson's Resolution.
Jan. 81 Hon. j. D. Richardson of
Tennessee, Democratic leader, intro
duced the following resolution as a
matter Of privilege and as the begin
ming of systematic fight to rehabili-
tate the house:
Whereas, There are now pending before
the senate numerous treaties proposing
commercial reciprocity with other ma
tions by which customs revenue duties
will be changed from those established by
acts of congress duly approved by the
president of the United States; and
Whereas, There are bills originating in
the senate now pending before that body
regulating the duties imposed on articles
from Cuba and the Philippines imported
into the United States; and
Whereas, Resolutions have been intro
duced in the senate and are now pending
in that body declaring that the doctrine
of reciprocity as stated in the act of Oct.
l, 1890, known as the Mckinley bill, and
the act of July q, 1897 known as the
Dingley bill, is the true doctrine, and that
the various treaties pending in the senate
should receive consideration and action at
the present session of congress; therefore
Resolved, That it is the sense of this
house that the negotiation by the execu-
tive department of the government Of q
commercial treaty whereby the rates of
duty to be imposed on foreign commodi-
ties entering the United States for con-
sumption should be fixed would in view
of the provision of section Z, article /, of
the constitution of the United States be
an infraction of the constitution and an
invasion of one of the highest preroga-
tives of the house of representatives.
Hon. Serene e. Payne, chairman Of
the ways and means committee and
ex officio floor leader of the majority,
raised the point of order that Mr.. Rich
ardSon was premature in rising to a
question of privilege and that the SEN
ate had not infringed the rights of the
house until it had actually ratified the
treaty or treaties. Mr.. Speaker Hen
derson, taking Mr.. Paynes view, sus-
tanned his point of order and ruled
against Mr.. Richardson. Clearly Mr..
Speaker Henderson and Mr.. Chairman
Payne are statesmen who believe in
the efficacy of docking the barn after
the horse is gone" But the fight for
the restoration of the prerogatives of
the house is begun, and begun by Dem
ocrats, and will be waged to a success
full issue. 1t is passing strange that
all members, Republicans as well as
Democrats, are not jealous of the
rights, prerogatives and immunities of
the house to which they belong. But
while Democrats are the Republicans
are not.
Too Bad.
Certain benighted denizens of Chica-
go are incubating a plan to get up a
petition with 100000 or 20,000000
signers asking Dom Paul Kruger to
visit this country at the time King Ed
ward VII. is coronated. 1t goes with
out saying that these traitorous Chica-
geese ought to be yanked up and sum-
marily punished for having such gall
and bad mGnners as to invite the grand
old Boer to be among us at the very
instant when the universe is supposed
to have it's eye fastened on Whitelaw
Reid and company as they are ko-
towing before the great-grandson of
/ George III. 1t is really too bad that
that immortal scene should be marred
by these simple minded ChicagOese.
The Most Unkindest Cut.
| Precisely how sincere is the new
J born love of John Bull for Uncle Sam
may be inferred from this question pro-
pounded to all creation by Mr.. Gun
ningham-G Graham in The Saturday
Evening Review: 81 wonder how many
men our dear cousins have shot in the
Philippines without the formality of a
trial?' To borrow a saying from Will
liam Shakespeare, ''That is the most
unkindest cut of ALL" He continues,
i eff we therefore are assassins, what
i epithet belongs to our dear cousins? "
! All of this arises out of Senator Tel
/ ler's remarks in the senate on the
! Scheepers murder, wherein he de-
nounced the perpetrators of that foul
! crime as assassins. Our anglomaniacs
will be greatly worried by Mr.. Gun
| ningham-Graham' nnkind .ramarks /,
! At last our stake and rldered hlgl
protective tariff system is in real peril
| The 1adies-God bless them!-have ris
| en- in revolt, and they are proposing tt
make it hot for President Teddy ant
! all the rest of the high and might.
! functionaries who believe that a mai
| can lift himself over the fence by tug
! ging at his own boot straps and arr
committed to the proposition that th'
/ way to make people rich is to tax then
within an inch of their lives. The par
ticular grievance of the ladies is tha
'impert5nent questions are asked ant
remarks are made which are humiliat
ing and intolerable" by the customs of
ficers. 1t may be-who knows?-tha
the anger of the ladies may accomplish
what all else failed to do-a change
in the tariff system regulations.
! Too Inqusitive.
Everybody has read of the hot indig
| g \ oh n