Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-10-24


ury, is about to resign under
pressure. 1t is to be hoped that that re-
port is not true, for the secretary adds
to the gayety of nations. He has the
reputation of being conservative, yet
he is easily the most reckless talker in
America. For example, in a recent
speech he said that the Democrats have
always been in favor of free raw ma
terials. That Is not true. The secre-
tary should post up or shut up. The
free raw material idea is Grover Clcve-
lands graft into the Democratic party.
AS matter of fact, it is part of the
protective theory. Anybody who will
take the pains to read Carl Schurz's
Life of Henry Clay" will find that
Clay, in his great speech on the tariff
in the days of notification, declared for
free raw materials as one of four ways
of accomplishing protection. Mr.. Clevc-
land, perhaps, did not know that when
he declared for free raw materials.
No doubt he thought he originated the
idea, but Mr.. Secretary Shaw should
know better. A man to be secretary
Of the treasury should not be seventy.
five years behind the times.
\ The most sensible thing said by an
Iowan lately is the declaration of Mr.
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson that
all things considered, the cheapest land
in the world is in Missouri. Mr.. Will
son has a great head and uttered an
immortal truth. Mr.. Shaw would dc
well to take a few lessons out of Mr..
Wilson's book.
A Place of Power.
There naturally comes up in connec.
ton with Speaker Henderson's declina
ton the thought of how the power OF
the speaker has grown under the use
of the Reed rules for the governing OF
the house. These rules were devised
by strong, forceful, autocratic mar
for use in handling what was often al
unruly body. With those rules he
handled the house without gloves and
made it transact business rapidly
often with indecent haste, and choked
off free speech. But Speaker Hender-
son went further and made the house
one man legislative body and, with
the aid Of the pernicious Reed rules,
took into his own hands the power
to absolutely control, force or prevent
almost any sort of legislation. During
the last session of congress no meas.
ure could even be brought up for the
consideration of the house unless the
leading advocates went to the speak
er's room and obtained from him a
promise to permit the measure to come
up. II the speaker said, NO, that bill
cannot come up" all hope for that par
ticular piece of legislation was dead
III one particular case every member OF
large committee voted in committee
to favorably report resolution to the
house, but before making the report
the chairman Of the committee went to
General Henderson to secure his per-
mission. 1t was refused and, in the
popular street language of the day,
seventeen congressman, representing
100000 constituents, "went away
back and sat down."
! When the fathers Of the constitu-
ton In their great wisdom provided q
large assembtage of lawmakers to be
the direct representatives of the PEG.
pie, they probably did not foresee the
adoption of the Reed rules or the ap,
pointment of q committee on rules
consisting of five members, three of
them being Republicans and one OF
those three thus securing the balance
of power absolutely to the speaker) be-
ing the speaker himself.
Roosevelt Redhot.
Thus it will be readily seen that
there need be small wonder at all these
kilograms and counter kilograms that
have been flying from Oyster Bay to
Dubuque and back again. These sam
pies would indicate anything but a
placid feeling of confidence in the de-
voted breasts of the leaders of the G..
o. P:
Oyster Bay. Sept. 17.-Most earnestly
ask that you reconsider your determine
ton not to run.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
Congressman ]. M. Babcock. chair
man of the Republican national COM
'mittee, sent the following:
New York. Sept. liam in receipt Of
telegram signed by you saying that you
have this day declined nomination for
congress. We cannot believe the tele-
gram is genuine. Hepburn and Hull are
here, and all enter, our earnest protest
against action of this kind by you. The
Republican party that you have served SO
long and faithfully cannot part with your
services now.
! An Associated Press dispatch from
Dubuque says:
Speaker Henderson is as positive today
On his declination of the congressional
Nomination as he was, last night, notwith-
standing the food of kilograms from all
parts of the country protesting against
his decision and imploring him to recon-
slider the same. Other kilograms of the
same tenor were received from all the
members of the national committee and
national congressional committee, Sena-
tors Allison. Hanna, Spooner, Lodge, Fair
banks and others.
Hard to Reconcile.
How is the party at large to reconcile
the attitude Of the high tariff men,
such as General Henderson, with such
pointed utterances as those of Babcock
and Foss? For two years Babcock ut
tered warnings to the effect that the
Republican party must REVISE the tariff
'or the Democrats would speedily be
In position to do the revising them
selves. The other day Mr.. Foss, who
IS the Republican candidate for con-
gress in the Eleventh Massachusetts
district, said. docs any one mean to
say that the steel trust needs the same