The National tribune., 1907-03-07
FAREWELL, 5sth CONGRESS.
4 Record Of Having Spent $1,000, 900 a
Minute-Everyone Glad II Is Over.
The President Very Tired l. Death Of
the Ship Subsidy.

9eather busters are flying; dark1es ar
cleaning the cuspidors. Heavily ladel
trains are snorting out of the depots II
Washington, bearing the Senators an
members of the late departed 6sth
Most of them are now Senators ant
members of the Goth, some of then
lame ducks.
The terrible stress and strain is over
The Capitol did not rock on its fourda
tions. but if its great mass Of marble
steel mahogany and other material
could be embodied into one living
breathing. thinking personality it woult
probably roar forth its rejoicing tina
the spenders" are gone. For the mem
bership of both branches of the 5Stf
Congress will be known chiefly here.
after for spending proclivities. The
enormous total of appropriations stands
out as the chief feature of the session
which began early last December. The
Spending of 100000 a minute Is lit
orally one of the sessions achievements
For during an evening not long ago
Senator Hale passed thru the upper
branch Of Congress the Naval appro-
prlation bill. carrying a total of over
500, 900, in So minutes. 1t was not
Mr.. Hale's fault. 1t was rather to his
credit that he could engineer such big
bill thru with SO little debate and with
such expedition. Right after him came
Senator Frye, who almost equaled that
record by passing a River and Harbor
bill of about sS0,00e,000 IN little over
so minutes.
The President Is Tired.
But Washington is recovering from
the hurry burly. The city will get back
on an even keel, as it always does when
there is sufficient quiet in the Capitol
to allow ones footballs to echo in the
corridors Theodore ROnSaualt prpSi-
dent, with just two years of his term
remaining, is glad of the quiet. He will
not keep his eye on the Capitol any
more for the present. 1t is not known,
outside of few of his friends, that the
President is tired-exceedingly tired
Vigorous as he looks physically, full of
energy, cheerful, aggressive in the exc
cution of his plans, the President new
ertheless is beginning to feel the strain.
If there We're no other reason for his
decli.iing another term. he would do
SO because he is tired of his strenuous
career as President. He will not
pause. There are "a months more of
his Executive career, and he must drive
thru lot of measures before he yields
to his successor. But he is tired in the
way that comes only from prolonged
effort, effort so enthusiastic that one
does not stop to think how exhaustive
1t is. and realizes only of a sudden when
the WEAKNESS of every fiber of the body
becomes apparent The strenuous work
OF the recent session has brought the
President to a realization of this.
With all its prof1igacy, Its expendi-
lures Of nearly a billion dollars in a
manner that would have made even
Tom Reed shudder 10 years ago, Con-
gress died an easy death. In a few days
the statisticians will have the exact fig
ures to show that at no previous Con-
hills i,fr IN,
Senate or House. We're so many meas,
ures reported and passed. were so gen.
erous appropriations made, even when
the country was at war. But the profit
gacy had been completed several days
before the end of the session was due.
The bars were simply let down. Men
WefS tired of protesting in the mime
Of economy. There was money a-plenty
IL the Treasury. The Dingley sched.
tiles. with their high protection for cap,
tains Of industry were bringing mil
lions upon millions into the National
Golfers. What matter that the money
comes from the people, even indirectly,
Spend, SPEND Every old measure that
carried an appropriation was allowed to
go thru. 1t was not necessary even to
observe the old formula of waving the
flag and declaring that the expenditure
was patriotic; that any poor creature
who opposed was an enemy of his coun-
try. Sufficient to say simply that I'VE
want the money"
A Sunday Session.
Senate and House sat Sunday. That
was unusual, but not unprecedented.
March 8 was in reality the last day of
the Congress, and March 8 was Sunday.
The passage of scores of little bills de-
pended upon the Sunday session. The
work could not all be done Monday
morning, March 4, aitho in a legisla-
tive sense it was not March till noon
OF that day. But the Journals of Sen
ate and House will have no later date
than March 2, for neither branch ad-
journed after 1t began its session Satur-
day morning. It simply recessed. re-
cessad from late Saturday evening till
Sunday, recessed Sunday evening till |
Monday morning. Thus by an old and |
honored legislative fiction Congress was
not in session at all Sunday. 1t ad-
3ourned Saturday.
The Dead Ship Subsidy.
One old corpse was left in the corrl-
dcrs, done TO death by violence. This
was the Ship Subsidy BILL Its last
hourg were ones Of terrible tribulation.
Lobbyists from Ear and near tried to
infuse II with life. The grim old vet
Grams, who came haughtily upon the
scene back In the days when the Sen
ate voted ship subsidies that were little
short of National scandals, were there
as were the younger workers who have
had hand since more reasonable and
more honest ship subsidy bills were be-
ing enacted at the north end of the
Capitol.
There was a terrific struggle to get
the Senate bill before the House. 1t
hac to be materially amended in COM
mittee, and then Speaker Cannon halted
ill ell the appropriation bills were out
Of the way. At last he gave the word
The special rule for consideration was
brought in, the debate of several days
began, and, finally, Friday of last week
the Vote was taken. The bill was badly
mangled. The provision for three SUBJ
ei6.zed lines from the Pacific Coast to |
the Orient was struck out with great
zeal Members could not face the cry
that those subsidies would rebound to
enlarged pochetbooks for ]. J. Hill, E.
H. Hartman end the Spreckles. No
matter how much these charges We're
denied. These are days when trusts
and trust magnates are popular targets
On the first vote the mangled bill.
with two subsidized lines from the At
lantic Coast TO South America, one from
q Gulf port TO Brazil, and one from
the Pacific Coast to Chile, was beaten
ayes, 154; nays, 161. But the recon-
sideration of this vote was brought
about by brilliant leadership, while the
entire force Of the Administration was
being brought to bear upon recalci-
trant Republican members. It was
stotf rorai,, snAp In tho TanttoI Man \