Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1906-01-11


of his influence in other channels, the
President is making good the retrench-
ment he advocated in his message. But
the leaders Of the Senate do not mind
passing their troubles on TO the Prcsi-
dents shoulders, and Uncle Joe Cannon
can scarcely resist n wink and a nod
which will turn the resentment against
| the cheese-paring toward the occupant Of
| the White House rather than the occu-
/ pant Of the Speakers chair The game
in Washington is complex, and many Of
/ those who think they are engineers are
! only cogs and wheels
When the President said ne would not
run again, the delighted public saw him
/ in the safe position where his acts would
/ be removed from all suspicion of politi-
cal motives. Every day weakens him
! with Congress by lessening the number
of political favors which he has at future
| disposal Patronage is the one thing
! that makes the quotation of Congress-
| ional views confidential. Like hawks,
/ the Presidents enemies watch for the
/ first sign of the waning of his popular
/ ity. Every time a Democratic member
criticises Che administration, the Repub-
/ Leans put their ears to the ground to
4 hear the effect on the country. If the
country rumbles back "Hurrah for Ted
dyl' Senator Elkins Immediately an
nounces how hard he is working on a
rate bill
The insiders" tell you that the Presi-
dent must come forward next autumn
and use all his political magic to keep
the House Republican; otherwise, he can
not carry through his policies. After
that the Republicans may talk openly
instead of confidently against him. They
hope TO put an end forever TO what they
cali "the Roosevelt hurrah" and re-estab-
lish the party ON The old stable lines.
The Third Chamber is wholly in sym
pathy with the inside view Of the Senate
and Representatives This body cham
Der is neither Republican nor Democratic,
being above partisanship 1t has the adj
vantage over the Senate, in that it does
not require election even by a vote of
State Legislature. Any hour of the day
| you may see the members of the Third
! Chamber with their heads together in the
lobby of one of the hotels. They have
the quiet and unostentatious manner Of
a true House of Lords. No vulgar shout
ing and playing to the gallery, such as is
in vogue at the White House.
you think he is safe, ell l'-"And
how about S. fn-"Teddy told him
that, h-m-ml"-'I think we can block
that game by getting e. TO bring in
an amendment" And so on the debate
runs without putting the country TO the
expense of a press gallery or printing the
speeches in the "Record."
Among the speakers YOU recognize cor
poration attorneys and their men, who
have had such an access of patriotic de-
sire that they are obeying the law by
stopping the issue Of passes to the fam
lies and friends of Congressman. They
are educators, not agitators. They will
teach a Congressman his lesson so we'll
that he viii speak of the gratitude the
country owes TO its great corporations.
The Third Chamber never wastes its
energy. Let us suppose, for example,
that the country thinks it is right that
we should have pure food legislation or
freer trade with the Philippines. The
Third Chamber concentrates its energy
by trades, by deals, by advocacy, by
money indirectly used, and by blocking
legislation for one session, being fully
convinced that before another year has
passed lin keeping with the constitu-
tional provisionl the public will have for
gotten the agitation.
Now, the peculiar thing IS that mem
bers of the Third Chamber who are not
known as lobbyists pure and simple, but
are earnest and sincere representatives
of great vested interests, have their
hearing at the White House, too. Tho
trouble is that the President win listen
to opposing interests as readily You can
get no line on him or the best way to
influence him; he is so chaotic, so change
able. Not only will he not stand with
out being hitched, but he is likely to
break the hitching-sirap and bolt at any
moment. No man has ever been more
accessible to members than he. His
friends always resent any attacks on
Congress because It may hinder him in
securing legislation which has the mis-
fortune Of being popular. His friends
say, too, that many of the men in Con-
gress who are knocking him. in case of
national danger would feel confident of
success under his leadership.
It was the ingenuousness of an out
slider, hoping that the public might have
the inside Republican view stated au-
thoritatively, which suggested humbly to
an eminent member: "Why don't you
meet the man in the White House with
his own weaponsl Why don't You say
on the floor what you have said TO me, so
that he whole country win hear itg He
} would, under the same conditions"
The member looked at me as if had
trumped my partners ace. ! asked him
to excuse me for not understanding the
game. His very superiority drove me,
although / had heard only the knock
er'sn view, over to Join the crowd around
the White House There the machinery
is an in sight. / suppose the compli-
J Gated Congressional machinery IS I'm the
cellar because SO many Congressman
keep their ears to the ground.