BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-04-29

the KnOWleQSeO OF an expert. Inc lI1dLla
est impossibility that those few members
of the Senate and the House who really
do the work of our Congress can under
stand not only the breadth but the
detail of these vital questions, is the
prime cause Of much in otr recent
history that can only be called "half-
baked" legislation.
Mr. Chambers recent proposition re-
garding the consumption of the time of
the President in the doing of 10000
little things" to the exceeding detriment
of 800 great things" applies with equal
force to every member of The Cabinet,
to every Senator, and to every Repre-
sentative. Faced with problems of
such vital moment to the nation as the
Philippine question, the Cuban question,
the canal question, Chinese exclusion,
irrigation, ship subsidy, justified appro-
priations of public funds, and due
provision for public revenues, the time
of these officials, to say nothing of their
mental and physical strength, is fritter-
ed away in an everlasting mess of
appeals from their constituents for
Offices, pensions, and local improve-
ments.
These applicants write letters in
endless numbers, and come to Wash
ington in swarns to present their
claims and their own proper person.
For what else do we have vur Congress
men here? Are they sent here to legis-
late for and in the interest of the
nation at large? Not much. They are
here to see that Jonas Jimpkins is duly
appointed Postmaster at Hillville; to
SEE that Thomas Bl1ffkins who served
for nine months during the civil war,
and caught hard cold within three
weeks Of his discharge, but suffered no
other injury during his term of service,
gets his pension to see that ocow
Creek is properly dredged to depth of
feet ? inches at distance of 8 miles
from tide-water. That is hat Con-
gresham is for And Cuba, the Phil
| ippines, and the Isthmian canal and all
the rest of it, may go to the bow-wows.
We nave not yet, in our legislative
methods, reached the stature OF a
world-Power" We are nationally
only few steps advanced from the
town-meeting stage. Our territory has
expanded, and our foreign trade anu
political relations have extended out OF
all proportion to Our provincial habits
of legislation. We have vastly out
grown OR political garments without
realizing the fact.
The greater part of the real work of
Congress- is done in committees. In the
Senate, 50 members are each on 7 dit
ferent committees; IA are Oh commit
tees. The members of committee are
supposed to be specialists on particular
subjects, besides having a fairly COM
prehensive knowledge of any and all
subjects which may come before the
Senate from all other committees. Sc
nator Cullom is Chairman of the Com
mittee on Foreign Relations. That
would seem to be enough for the occu-
patton of one mans time, even II he
were wholly free from all questions OF
pensions, patronage, and local interests.
But it is not He must serve on Inter
state Commerce Appropriations, Rela-
tions with Canada, and Relations with
Cuba, and, when he has pro operly at
tended to all those, he can take few
hours to think about Additional Accom-
modations for the Library of Congress.
Senator Lodge, as Chairman of the Co
lonial Committee, is supposed to know
all about the Philippines. For that job
alone he needs all the wisdom and
strength which heaven may vouchsafe
him. But he must also be fully posted
on such MINOR matters as civil service
and retrenchmeht, foreign relations, i'm
migration, poSt-offices and post-roads,
railroads, and industrial expositions.
Senator Proctor gests off very easily
He is Chairman of the Committee on
Agriculture, probably because his fami-
iarity with marblequarrying gives him
an unusual acquaintance 5ith the best
methods Of turning over the soil But
he is expected to be an expert on fisher
les, which is correlative to agriculture,
on the Philippines and on military
affairs, these also being correlative de-
partmentS.
These are instances of a part of the
work hich devolves upon individual
members of the American Congress.