Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-02-01
Once More the Stand Patters.

The stand patters are incOrrigible.
Like the Bourbons of France, they fear
nothing. Like Ephraim of old, they are
Joined to their idols. They propose evil
IDENTIFY to go the whole hog. When the
deficiency bill was up recently to the
Panama canal item Judge De Almond
of Missouri offered the following
amendment: amend by adding the
following: Said purchases shall not be
confined to the United States but the
things purchased shall be bought upon
the best terms that the worlds markets
Afford"
Now, be it remembered that De Ar
mond was only proposing to do by law
what Secretary Taft said last summer
that he intended to do Taft was over
ruled by the stand patters, and SO was
De Almond. Taft is great Repub-
lican; De Almond is a great Democrat.
That what Taft said he would do and
didn't do and what De Almond tried
to do and couldn't do because the stand
patters lined up and outvoted him is
both justice and common sense.
In supporting his amendment De Ar
mond said:
Mr.. Chairman, in the discussion which
preceded upon the amendment just voted
down it was claimed that the amendment
was unnecessary and is unnecessary be-
cause the phraseology under considera-
ton has reference to the locus of the con-
tract--the fact of the purchase being
made in the United States-and that by
~ MT tn do
purchases of articles brought from else
where than the United States. The chair
man will recollect distinctly that that is
the ground upon which this amendment
was opposed; that 1t did not exclude pur-
chases of articles outside of the United
States. but that it had reference to the
auditing of accounts in the United States
by the purchasing agent in the United
States, who, in the United States, would
give orders for the articles no matter
where they came from.
Now, / do not believe that fairly, or at
least necessarily, the language will bear
thai construction beyond a possibility of
doubt or misunderstanding If the Lam
guage means that the articles may come
from anywhere; that anybody, whether a
citizen of the United States or an alien,
may supply them; that they may be
brought from any place in the United
States or from any place out of the United
States then ! think the amendment which
I suggested merely will make palmer and
clearer that proposition.
The purpose of the amendment is to
make this provision Of the law show just
precisely and beyond the possibility of
misunderstanding or miseonstruction what
gentlemen claim it already means with
out the amendment. Now, if the provision
as it stands in this bill does not limit the
purchasing agent in the United States
making contracts in the United States to
the American market then there can be
no objection, it seems to me, to this proc
vision offered by this amendment. If,
however, the provision as it stands does,
or by misconstruction, if you please.
might limit the purchasing agent to ar
ticles Of American production--in other
words, to the American market then
there is the very greatest and very best
of reasons why the amendment Ought to
be adopted Now, II you really wish to
confine the purcha IS to tie American
market, then vote bWn the amendment
and Interpret the struction Of tnis pro-