Arizona republican., 1906-12-24
STIRRING TIMES
 IN BOTH HOUSES
Some Of the Causes Which Have Con- tributed to the Gayety Before the Holiday Adjournment.

| Washington. D. C. Dec. 1S.-(Special Correspondence tO The Republican).- Congress is at it. hip and thigh, ham
 mer and tongs; hot air, verbal pyro-
 technics. vocal explosions are the order
 of the day In the senate we have the Shoot case with Senator Burroughs as . stage manager. star performer and leader of the orchestra: Senator MoT-
 gan and his pet scheme to build an i Isthmian canal by actually having a
 ditch dug. And then. when senators
 get tired of of playing statesmanship
 and law making. they devote little 1 time each day 10 the consideration of cabinet and other appointments. vary ! ing the monotony of the proceedings | by trying to find out what length of time is hidden away in the little word ''soon." as found in a number of the 1 Presidents nominations. If and
 and" and but" have frequently caused grave and lengthy discussions, but this is the first time in the history of our national legislature that our grave and dignified senators have tried to find out just how long a period of time mot yet. but soOn." covers. Since
 the foundation of the government it
 has been the unvaryinS practice of a
 President not to nominate any one for a cabinet office until the resignation
 of the holder had been rendered and
 accepted. but Mir. Roosevelt scorns
 precedents. as the tempest scorns the
 chain" and he anticipates prospective
 vacancies by sending the names of the
 ones he desires to sit at his cabinet
 table. who are. according to the term
 of the nomination to take the place of
 - who is soon to resign" It
 was formerly held that as soon as a
 man was confirmed to any office by the
 senate. that he was not only de jure
 but de facru the officer. only waiting for his commission, so. should the sen ate confirm for these prospective va cancies we would have more actual cabinet officers than the law contem- plates.
 In the house we have reformed spell ing troubling the waters, with many gibes witicisms and jokes thrown at thru" "althO.r "thoroly." etc. Bu here is trouble threatening all along the line. Everybody in government wants raise in salary. and there will be. in all probability. an effort to give the waiting ones the wished for raise. Even congIessmen have been convin- ced that S5. 900 is too small for the out lay and labor that accompanies a life in Washington as one of the law-mak- CTS of the nation. Free seeds, ship sub sidy, the public printer, the discharge of the colored soldiers. the efforts of the Standard Oil Company to estab- fish. by judicial decision that congress overreached itself in passing the rate bill. and by implication. if not by di- 1, rect enactment. repealed the Elkins law. by passing the rate bill; eacI 1 singly. and all collectively are giving ! the house and senate much trouble just 1 now. It would be rather a costly joke | f the rate bill does away with the i EIkins law. for it will bring to a sud- den end all the prosecutions in essH and promised, of trusts. You can nev- l CT tell how a court or a jury will de- l eide once upon a time man was indicted for attempting to pass" cOun
 terfeit money. The prosecutor he had | a sure case. He put his witness on the | stand and he swore that the prisoner l bought goods of him and made pay ment in counterfeit money. The judge | turned the prisoner free, the prosecutor | had proved too much The court held | that as the man had been indicted for l attempting to utter counterfeit mon | ey. evidence that he actually did utter | was not good. "A wise judge, a most | noble judge" and we have many of l them these days; so it may turn Oyt | that the rate bill that has not been | tried. repeals the Elkins law that has ! been tried and found effective.