The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1905-06-09

OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

w H. w YIN sIAS
WASHINGTON, d. c., June. Ord.
r Mr.. EDITOR The President has capitu-
lated to the "stand patters." He has
agreed not to call Congress in special SEES
sion until after fall elections, although
they arc few and unimportant and it is
obvious that they are put forth as a rea-
son for postponing the session only for
effect. According to the Presidents own
announcement he has agreed not to sum
mon Congress to Washington until Nov
ember 10, precisely three weeks before
the date set by law for the beginning of
the regular session. Those who have
heard the Presidents emphatic assertions
that nothing would prevent his calling
Congress in session on October 16, now
believe that there will be no special SEES
sion whatever The "stand patters" are,
moreover convinced, and with reason,
that the President has himself delivered
a deathblow to tariff revision in the next
session of Congress.
Having persuaded the President to
postpone the special session until Nov
ember IS, the "stand patters will now
proceed to show him that that leaves only
three weeks before the regular session.
They will add that nothing can dissuade
Congress fro m adjourning the special ses
sion at least week before the date for
H. nooopohor Ath opG
that means that the extraordinary session
would last just two weeks, a ridiculously
short time, as everyone admits. The rea.
son that Congress would insist on ad-
journing a week before the date of the
regular session is that the members would
be determined to secure their extra mile
age 1t will be recalled that when Con-
gress last permitted special session to
be merged into regular session they
lost their extra mileage. Now the Presi-
dent will be asked if, in his estimation,
the two weeks of special session is worth
to the people the 100000 for mileage
which it is certain to cost. That he will
be compelled to reply in the negative
seems almost assured. 1t may, therefore,
be safely predicted that there will be no
special session of Congress next fall,
which is precisely what the opponents of
tariff revision and railway rate Legislation
want.
Senator German, speaking for the Dem
ocrats in the Senate, promised Senator
Aldrich, the Republican manager of the
upper chamber, that the Democrats would
permit any tariff bill sent over by the
House during the special session to come
to vote before the beginning of the reg
ular session but that was when the Pres
ident had agreed to call the extraordi-
nary session for October Is. Now that
the President has gone back on that
agreement at the behest of the "stand pat
tiers" Senator German could not be asked
to agree to vote at the curtailed special
session, even if the House could frame
and send over tariff bill which it could
not.
With the tariff disposed of so far as the
special session is concerned, the House
will claim that it is impracticable to send
over to the Senate tariff bill at all for
fear the discussion might be prolonged,
the business of the country has too little
time to become adjusted to the new
schedules before the fall elections and
the Republican members of the House
suffer at the polls as a result of the unset
tied condition of business, during the fall
of 1906. This argument will doubtless
prove quite sufficient for the President
and the tariff revision policy of the ad-
ministration may now be laid away on
the. shelf as one of the policies killed by
the Presidents vacillation.
But the President regards railway rate
legislation as even more important than
tariff readjustment, it may be said, and
this is doubtless true, but is not the post
ponement of the special session a yield
ing on this important issue? 1t may not
be. 1t is possible that the President will
yet win out on that policy and will refuse
further to yield to the influence of the
leaders of his party but those who fully
appreciate the magnitude of the struggle
he has undertaken in this direction fear
that he will have to content himself with
very little remedial railway legislation.
And meanwhile, "the tariff hogs will have
all four feet in the trough" to use his own
expressive metaphor, while the consumers
will be absolutely unable to secure that
beautiful square DEAL" He himself has
said that they cannot get square deal
in the absence of the adjustment of the
tariff schedules to the changed con ditions
The Presidents selection of Charles ]