The National tribune., 1907-08-01
VACATION TIME.
The Wheels Running at Low Speed af
WashingtO ton.

The National Government at Wash
ington is now running with minimum
of energy The exodus of offfcialdom is
at it's most pronounced stage. Some
days there is not a Cabinet officer IN
town. They are scattered all the way
from Hawaii, where Secretary Straus IS
studying immigration and other prob
lens, to Murray Bay, where Secretary
Taft is winding up his vacation pre-
paratory to trip around the world.
The suborduates in the various De-
Dartments and Bureaus are hurrying
away as fast as opportunities offer The
mercury often climbs to 100 degrees on
Pennsylvania Avenue. The hotels are
deserted No one is coming to Wash
ington these days who can possibly help
it, Only routine business. as rule. Is
transacted, and, of course. officials feel
that there is not much reason for their
staying here.
Then, this is the hight of the vaca-
ton season for the clerical force. Every
man who works for the Government,
except a few who are not allowed vaca-
tions, is planning for his time to get
away from town A feeling prevails
that there is a long and very strenuous
period ahead, and that period of rest
is neeuea to prepare for it. When the
President gets back to Washington in
October things will be doing. The prep
gress will be extensive. There will be
many conferences to arrange for the
legislation which the President wants.
There will be world of Presidential
politics.
The session of Congress will be the
long one, and will probably last for six
months, to be followed by the nominat-
ing conventions and the Presidential
campaign. The President will he un-
| able to get away to Oyster Bay as early
next year as he was able to do this
year. The Presidential election will be
followed by short session of Congress
and the inauguration. A new Admins
tration means five or six busy months
always. and in addition it is almost a
certainty that the next Administration
will be ushered in with an extra session
of Congress for the purpose of revising
| the tariff. And therefore the period of
long and reStful Summers. with half
holidays every Saturday, may be inter-
rupted for year or two after this.
Furthermore, it is net unlikely that the
aext President will stick more closely to
the White House than President Roose-
welt has done, and that means harder
work for everybody connected with the
Administration
Reduce the Surplus.
Recently a new agitation has been
started with reference to the growing
| Treasury surplus, but it is hardly ex-
pected to bring about any legislation al
the coming session. Former Treasurer
| Ellis II. Roberts, in a magazine article
| has sounded the dangers of the present
surplus of approximately $9O, 1000, 900,
| and issues a clarion call for Congress to
| legislate this Winter so as to reduce the
revenues and remove some of the bur-
dens of taxation that rest upon the peo-
pie. He has a very plausible argument,
and the tariff revisionists are making
| the most of it. They find in his argu-
ment from man who was long identi-
| fied with the Administration ground for
enforcing their appeal for tariff revision
at the coming session of Congress.
However, the Standpatters will not
heed it. They say that Mr.. Roberts
now at an advanced age, is disgruntled
because he was displaced for some one
| whom the President favored. While
this may not be an entirely satisfactory
epiy to the facts and figures that Mr.
Roberts marshals in powerful and con-
| ;incing array, the tariff will not be
revised by the Republicans till after the
| Presidential election. 1t would disar-
range the Presidents program for fur
ther railroad reform and upset a vir-
tual understanding that exists between
the Republican leaders and the highly
protected trusts.