The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1907-01-25
JACK" HARRIS WASHINGTON LETTER,


the days are lcngthening, the
Fourth of March and final ad.
journment is not many weeks
away, and has at last settled down
to work at a fast gait. Ninety-five
per cent of the time is consumed
in famboyant speeches, of course,
which are entirely outside any
necessary business, but they have
the speeches in them and they
must find vent. Last week saw
several things accomplished which
have been hanging for some time,
and this week both houses have
made good progress in general
legislation. Last week in the
House saw everything cleaned up
on the calendar, and they adjourn
ed over Saturday for lack of any
thing to do. One or two appropria-
ton bills have been passed and
sent over to the senate, and the
various committees are hard at
work on the others to prepare
them for consideration. FRIDAY
they passed over five hundred pri-
vate pension bills in less than
eighty minutes. The passing of
private pension bills is about the
most mOnotonous routine in all
legislation. Most everybody goes
home except the chairman of the
pension committee having the bill
in charge, no one interrupts or
objects to anything, and after the
bills are favorably reported all in.
terest in them is lost.
This week the House has been
grinding along with appropria-
ton bills, with no particular in
terest excited in anything except
some measures before committees.
AS proof of the fact that all gen
eral legislation is practically post
pOned to next December | took
note that the old moss backed bill
providing for the codifcation of
the laws has, by vote, been made
the unfinished business before the
House, and as such will have
precedence of everything else ex-
cept appropriation bills. This is
done to block and head off all
other legislation, and settles the
question that nothing whatever
of large national importance will
be allowed to come to the front.
In the Senate long hours have
been the rule for two weeks, and
a crack has been. taken at many
different matters. Last week
Senator Macumber of South Da-
kOta succeeded in getting his old
age disability or service pension
bill through with very little oppo-
sitiOn. Whether it will get
through the House so easily or
at all this session is very doubt
full. After months of labor-and
Knights of Labor-and seeming
endless Vaccinations for delay
and speeches without number the
LaFollette bill to prevent railroad
train operatives from working
more than sixteen consecutive
hours without a ten hour inter
val for rest was finally passed by
the amazing vote of seventy to
one, the only vote in the negation
coming from Peters of Alabama.
This measure has been the espe-
cial hobby for months of Senator
LaFollette, backed by the lobby
and influence of the American
Federation of Labor, and on the
face of it the passage of the bill
looks like a big victory for the
Senator and his Federationist
supporters. The bill was amended
very materially from it's original
form, however.
Another thing, it is very i'm
probable that it can get through
the House, for reasons above Civ
en-. 1t will depend entirely on
Speaker Cannon's wishes in the
matter, and considering the oppo-
sition and abuse to which he was
in his district by the
labor leaders, he may decide to
them and their bill. All
he has to do is to refuse to recog-
nize the chairman of the commit |
tee to report it to the Houses, even
if the committee were to consider
it favorably, which is not at all |
likely. This is a year of sudden
things, however, and the inhu-
ences behind the bill-among
which are said to be the president |
may succeed in overcoming the
objection.
The supporters of Senator
SmOOt in the Senate led off with
4 mastery speech in his defense
by Senator Hopkins of Illinois,
Dne of the strong lawyers of that
body and. prominent member of
The committee which heard All the
testimony. To those people whose
only information on the subject
vas their own prejudice the
speech was revelation and a
bitter disappointment. Among
others who have or will argue the
question in defence of Senator
character and clear right
o his seat are Senators Foraker,
Knox, Beveridge and others of the
lawyers of the Senate.
Dillingham;, who was a
member of the investigation com