The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-03-24
WILL SOUTHERN REP
BE
REDUCED?
Td;toriaI Correspondence

sioni6cance of the action of the Senate Re
npb,iean majority directing the Commit
tee on Rules to meet during the recess mas
| NOT been appreciated. 1t was given out
that this committee would meet TO con-
| slider anv proposed changes in the SEN
ate rules. That sounds very harmless
and the people have not generally sup
posed it had any hidden meaning. And
there may be none. Again 1t may por-
! tend such q radical change as will enable
| the next Congress to settle the presiden-
| tial election before the nominating con-
| ventions are held.
Ten wears ago Mr.. Lodge, Mr.. Hoar
| and other Eastern Republican Senators
led the fight for the adoption OF the Force
| bill. fittingly characterized by Senator
Teller 1.-THE most infamous measure that
| ever crossed the threshold of the Senate
1t was defeated by the votes Of Western
| Republican Senators. Today the Eastern
| Republican Senators, as a rule, are OPP
posed to any legislation whatever that
touches the Southern question, while it
is Western Senators who are now In favor
| of Furnishing the South for being true to
| the Democratic party.
What has that to do with the recess
| meeting of the Senate Committee on
| Rules? Everything. If the majority in
| the Senate is considering a reduction of
| Southern representation in Congress-, as
there is good reason to believe, the first
| step would be to amend the Senate rules
| so that the Democratic minority coul
be treated in the Senate with as little
courtesy and consideration as is given
them in the House. Why should the
COMMITTEE on Rules desire permission to
sit during recess? To give time for w
things: /. To perfect a cloture that would
sound smooth, but which would have the
gag law under the velvet; 2. To give
time to sound the party leaders quietly
and work up the machine" in all the
Republican States to the sticking point
so that any weakened Senator's may
be forced into line.
do not say that the next Congress
will pass an act something like the Crum-
packer bill reducing Southern represen-
tation in Congress-, but the real secret
of this recess meeting of the Committee
on Rules is that the Republican leaders
| here wish to see how deep the water is.
If they think they need to reduce South
ern representation in Congress and that
| they can get enough public sentiment to
| back it up. look out for the reduction of
| Southern representation to. be the lead
ing question before Congress next winter.
AS a preparatory step to that end, the
rules must be changed. There is really
! no reason for changing them unless some
such revolutionary measure is to be un-
dertaken.
OF course the Republican majority has
! been exasperated because of Senator
Tillman's %compulsion Of paying the debt
| due to South Carolina and Senator Nor
| gan's long drawn out opposition to the
Republican canal program. These, how
| ever. are being made the excuse for the
revolutionary and sectional programme
| which the leaders have under advisemcnt.
1t is believed that Allison and Aldric4
will daddy the reduction of representation
scheme if it shall be found safe to carry
the Plan by those old stagers would be
ominous to the South.
There is an internal reason why the
Republican party would like to go into
the next national campaign upon an is
sue that appeals to prejudice rather than
to reason. The President is not in accord
| with men like Aldrich, Plat and Quay on
the tariff. He is believed to be nearer
in accord with what is known as the
ton. The demand for taking the tariff
duties off of articles controlled by the
trusts, or making a heavy cut in them, is
growing in the West. If the President
and Allison fear the result. 1t would de-
stroy the calm and peace they wish to
preserve within the Republican party. In
| old times whenever the people began to
demand new rights and privileges from
their kings, those monarchs were wont
to drown the internal cries by declaring
a war upon some foreign country. In the
| glare and flourish and enthusiasm of a
foreign war, the people who fought were
clothed and fed, and for the time forgot
the despotic way Of their sovereign. In
the same way, whenever the Republican
party leaders, who are the special rep
resentatives of protected interests, find
that the rank and file are growing FESTIVE
under the heavy taxation imposed to en-
lrlch the trusts, they divert attention
from the discriminative and burdensome
taxation by waving the bloody shirt
and renewing the talk about Southern
barbarities and wrongs Upon the negro, !
More than once this plan has saved the