The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-24

modern school, wrote history as fluent
ly and critically at 80 as he had done
at 80. He covered almost the whole
range of modern, study, the Spanish
and Ottoman Empires, the Prussian
Kingdom, the Popes of Rome. the
Religious Wars in France. England
chiefly in the 18th century (Which
latter work in six volumes the Edin-
burg Review said was the best COM
tribution to English history ever
made by any one whatever). ana then
in four large volumes got the Universal
History down as far as the tenth CEN
tury In the first volume of this i'm
portant work his sketch of the Solon-
ian and later Athenian Constitution in
terested me even more than Evelyn
Abbott's fine presentation of it in the
elaborate History of Greece which was
left incomplete by his untimely death.
Another comparison would be between
some of those primal Americans of
the greater day-greater in statesman
ship, greater in public Virtue-and
some of the Englishmen of the 18TH
century. For instance. it is fraught
with interest to parallel as orators
Chatham with Patrick Henry. 1t is a
contrast. true. But in my Judgment
these are the two greatest political
orators of the English race, with
Whitefield as the third orator and rep
resenting the pulnit. Fox. Charles
James / mean. Fox had no precise
counterpart here. John Adams was
our parliamentary orator for the
Revolution period. But he was nc
dextrous leader of parliamentary ma
jority or opposition. Both We're grand
Wings. OF later men the most likely
comparison with Fox and the Younger
Pitt is with that phenomenal Ameri-
were the two greatest American poll
ticians who ever lived.
Canadian reciprocity is the pet hob
by of New England liberals in the Re-
| publican party. The sentiment has de-
veloped in few years into some pro-
lportions in the country at large. II
remains to be seen what the Republi-
cans will do i'm yielding to the feeling.
| Pending the settlement of the issue ii
may be we'll briefly to glance at the
! Figures of the value of trade with Cam
ada from 1873 to 1904, inclusive. The
| imports in the first year We're $751;
I175,254; in the last named, $51,552-
! 791. The exports. in the two years
We're 1873, $32, 534,9 84; in 1904, $13l,-
2349S5. The excess of exports In 190f
whereas. there was in 1878 an excess
of imports of s4,640,270. These figures
illustrate better than words the needs
of an arrangement with the Dominion
which shall be reciprocal and give an
equilibrium to trade between the two
countries satisfactory to the enlight-
ened traders of both.
1t is duty the newspaper men here
owe to the public to characterize fit
tingly the course of Congress in shirk-
ing its tasks in the beginning of short
sessions Now it stands to reason that
| if there are barely three months in
which to legislate for this big repub-
lie, with all of its complicated and
constantly increasing business con-
Germs. legislation should not be
rushed through at the close of the
| session, but should be carefully ma
tured in committees, considered in
committee of the whole and enacted
by the two chambers with a full
knowledge of what is required and of
| the measures thus adopted SO far
from this being the case the habit of
Congress has been more and more, es-
pecially since the Reed rules have
been in being and the Republican par
ty has controlled under their opera
ton in the House, to put off all legls
lation possible until after Christmas.
and sometimes until very late i'm Feb
ruary, and then under the lash of a
report from the Committee on Rules
to push through in an unconsidered
or ill-conSidered mass the regular an
nual appropriation bills and q few pet
measures. The hour of sine die adj
journment arrives. The old boys
chuckle to one another, well, we
choked 'em off, we got through and
NOV we go home to our families and
private business Just so. 1t is q
game of the Republicans to shirk re-
sponsibility NV playing into the hands
of the lazy. the Indifferent the selfish
members who do not care to work for
the public good but who never neg
lect their own private interests. The
people should be told that there is
business here in short sessions requir-
ing the full use of every moment of
these three months sessions. Why is
it that for more than a hundred years
Congress has gone on with the slack
twisted system of meeting thirteen
months after elections, legislating hig-
gledy- piggledy. adjourning before the
legitimate public business is dis
charged and then bobbing up Serenely
to ask the public for its endorsement
of the men who are thus careless and
neglectful? A constitutional amend
ment, which would easily be voted ty
three-fourths of the Legislatures,
would cure the part of the evil en-
braced in the short session. The ses-
sions should begin early in January
after election in November. They
should be nearly equal in length. The
amendment should also provide for
an Inauguration of President and Vice
President at Il time when the weather
is mild-the historical date of Wash
ington's Inauguration. April 80, is
a.N1s lNlx IL, IL
saving the lives oI thousands and
preserving the health of many more