Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-07-16
81
Special Washington Correspondence.

1
leaders and one OF the ablest men 10
the House OF Representatives, is the
Hon. David A. De Almond, of Mis-
souri,. Judge De Almond has been in
Congress since 1890, having been first
elected to the Fifty.Second Congress
and reelected to each succeeding Con-
gress. He Is one of the ablest lawyers
in the Congress and a member OF the
Committee on Judiciary. He was the
choice Of the Missouri delegation for
the caucus nomination for Speaker In
the Fifty Eighth Congress when it
convenes, but he refused to stand for
the nomination, and the choice then
fell to Hon. Champ Clark. II the
Democrats had carried the House he
undoubtedly would have been a can
didate for Speaker, but he did not care
to undertake to harmonize the factions
in the party In the House as the floor
leader. The Judge realizes his short
lcomings as q good mixer with men.
He has none OF the bon homme,
camaraderie characteristics in his
mental makeup. He is short on cheap
talk and long on thinking. He is
essentially thinker and student,
and never loses any time INDUCING in
cloak-room stories. He does not in
spire affection, but compels admiration
from his Democratic colleagues, and is
feared and disliked by the Republi-
cans. He is the greatest verbal
eviscerator in the House, and can per-
form the neatest job of skinning and
cutting an opponent OF any man in
the Congress. He is human wasp,
and his stinger is always ready for
business. He ia not an orator, in the
true sense of the word, for he has a
monotonous and metallic voice that is
not pleasant, and he rarely gesticu-
lates. His diction, however, is almost
perfect, and he is one Of the few men
in Congress who meyer corrects the re-
porters' notes for insertion in the
Record. When he gets through his
speech is finished production. As a
sample Of his dexterity with scalpel
and rapier, he once said OF an open
ent, who had penchant for spilling
large gobs OF printers ink and volum-
inously vociferating to the reporters:
"He is, Mr.. Chairman, the most re-
markable man I ever knew. When he
is not writing he is talking, and when
he is not talking he is writing, and he
does both without linking"
Judge De Almond is an amiable and
kindly gentleman, a ripe scholar, an
able lawyer, and splendid legislator.
His retirement from Congress would
be q distinct loss to the Democratic
party and to the nation.
1t is the general consensus of opinion
here that the decision OF Federal Judge
LRcombe, OF New York, in the case
against the anthracite coal.carrying
roads brought by Mr.. William R.
Hearst, to the effect tha: they cannot
be compelled by the Interstate Com
merce Commission to produce their
contracts with the mining companies
is unmitigated "stutf." The Commits
sion represents the Government, which
has . constitutional right to regulate
commerce between the different States.
This being admitted, why shouldn't
the Commission have the right to de-
mand the production Of papers bearing
upon the regulation Of interstate COM
mercep Judge Lacombe may be a
learned Judge, but he does not seem
to be equipped with burdenscme
quantity OF common sense. His ruling
will be appealed to the United States
Supreme Court, where 1t will un-
doubtedly be swept aside with scant
courtesy. II there is an anthracite
coal trust in existence (and everybody
knows there is), then 1t 10 the duty Of
the courts to facilitate and not to OBJ.
struct the Governments efforts to in.
vestigate and to suppress IL. There is
nothing unreasonable in asking cor
porations to produce papers in evil
dence which alone will enable the
Interstate Commerce Commission to
judge whether the laws OF the land
are being violated or not. II the Coal
Trust thinks that William Randolph
Hearst is gutter they have another
and larger think coming.
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Although Secretary Root, Of the War
Department, has temporarily side
tracked the opium business In the
Philippines In order to get the peo-
pie to quit thinking about 1t, 1t un-
doubtedly 10 the intention Of the
American administration to establish
an opium monopoly in those islands.
When 1t does 1t will receive rake-ofi
amounting to one hundred and fifty
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