The Harrison times., 1905-01-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WAsHINGToN, D. c., IAN. 9, 100

| efforts to bring Congress to terms
on the subject of tariff revision and
it now remains to be seen how the
Senate and House leaders will avoid
their 'plain duty" which has been so
forcefully pointed out to them by the
| Chief Executive On the day Con-
gress re-convened after the Christ
mas holidays, the President permit
ted the announcement to be made
that he was seriously considering
the advisabiiity of calling Congress
in extra session to revise the tariff
This information brought the stand
patters" to their feet and created
| CONSERVATION at the Capitol. Sena-
tors and representatives had return
ed TO their homes for the HOLIDAYS
convinced that the President appre-
ciated the futility OF asking them to
lower any of the sacred Dingley
schedules and were aghast when
khey learned that he WAS still deter
mined to force them TO show their
hands on the tariff question The
leaders went at once to the White
House, singly, lii pairs and in gangs
20 urge the President not to take so
rash a step as TO call them to Wash
ington just at the beginning of the
heated term The only consolation
they received,,w an invitation to a
conference to consider the subject
and that conference will be held this
afternoon. What the outcome will
be it is impossible to predict but
there is no doubt the President will
have to face some of the widest
members of Congress and he will do
we'll if they do not get the better of
him.
When members of Congress came
to Washington the first of December
L
that the promises of lower duties
made during the campaign, "for po-
litical purposes only" should be kept
and that the top rails" of the tariff
fence should be removed He had
gone SO far on this track, in fact,
that his message, as printed, con-
taine the statement, 81 will COM
municate with you on the subject of
the tariff later" The high priestsof
protection Immediately besiseed the
White House and fpally Pc isuade1
the President y send out to the
press associations an order to strike
from his message the line quoted.
Some of the newspapers had, howev-
er, already printed the G.ne so the
Presidents original intention of
sending TO Congress special tariff
message became known in certain
sections The next step was to pur-
suade the President that "a, special
session could be held late in o,,fall
say in November, at which alIneeded
changes in the Dingley rates could be
made. Finally, the leaders showed
their true hands by deprccating all
changes inJ he tariff and their efforts
to utilize tLs press to that end be-
came known to the President during
the holiday recess.
The only way in hich the Presi-
dent can be prevented from calling
Congress in special session, proba-
bly, this coming spring, will be by
holding up to him the last admins
istration of President Cleveland as a
horrible example and even that will
not prevent his sending to Congress
a powerful appeal for revision next
December if no extraordinary session
IS held.
Another aggravating fact which
has been borne in on the President of
late is that the Senate leaders have
caused the Statehood bill to be taken
up with no intention of -eIAacting it
but for the sole purpose of It's becom-
ing an obstacle to other legislation;
| such for instance, as measures calcu-
lated to give the government full
control of railway rates, to check
the steady growth of the trusts, to
centralize the control of the public
forests under n single department,
etc. A little later in the session the
plea OF mo time will be advanced
whenever the Presidcu. asks why
this, that or the other is not done
and so Mr. Roosevelt is fast awaken
ing to the fact that his Republican
friends in Congress are not IN earnest
when it comes to legislation which
would prove of actual service to the
majority of the people and would
favor no special interest.