Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-02-21
THE REPUBLICAN MACHINE.
Congressional subservieney to the
Speaker and President.

Inc lllJl6 uSu anu Ntdh SISlclc III
congress are always ready to stand
by the speaker and the president in
any event. They may be "in doubt
about how their constituents stand
on important issues and very wab'
bly, themselves, on such a question as
ship subsidy for instance, but when the
speaker and president approved that
measure they felt that they could vote
for the steal with safety. They are
now able to go home and tell the
voters why they did it. They are will
ing to give up their W opinions and
go contrary to the wishes of their
constituents lest they be guilty of a
failure to oblige the source of all po-
litical power-the speaker and the
president.
Thus a representative of the people
is degraded into a mere pawn and sub
serviency is more favored than indi-
viduality by the party leaders, whose
wishes are supreme and popular cleo
lions r so degraded into a useless
form. What is the good of going to
the expense and trouble of electing
congressman and sending them and
keeping them at Washington to repre-
sent their constituents when the
speaker and the president would an
swer all purposes and probably act
with much greater celebrity than con
gress does? If an oligarchy is to rur
the United States, we might, at least.
have the advantages of the rule of a
few by doing away with the expense OF
the worthless many.
Why does the ordinary Republican
congressman determine to stand by
the speaker and the president? Be-
cause he knows if he is not subservi'
ent to the machine the speaker will
put him at the tail end of a commit.
tee and refuse him recognition on the
floor and no public buildings or river
and harbor improvements will come
his way, for the pins will be set ur
against him. Because when the presl
dent openly threatened, that as he
alone is the appointing power and that
members of the house of representa-
tives have no constitutional right to
name postmasters or other officials,
he implied that if they stand by
him. they would receive their share
of the patronage. A Republican con-
gresham without pap" would be a
sorry creature.
Occasionally a bold spirit, or one
who thinks he Is really a representa-
tive of the people, breaks over the
traces on some issue upon which he
has strong convictions. What hap
pens then? He is called-a an insurg ent,
he is looked upon with suspicion and
even his friends fight shy of him. He
is disciplined, but If he shows ccltri-
ton he is received back into the fold
and his share Of graft and garrulity is
again his. If he has a large enough
following to be troublesome to the
leaders, they compromise with him
and he is rewarded for his inddpend,
ence and Speaker Cannon puts his
protecting arm around him and says
he is all right, but discipline must be
Observation the sake of the party"
Don't do it again!
Thus the government has degener'
ated into an oligarchy-the speaker,
the president and n or two more
leaders and the subservient ma jority
of congress meekly submits. AS party
government is a well rooted institu'
ton and unlikely to be changed, it is
necessary to have the party repre-.
sentatives in congress as evenly di'
vided as possible, for that gives indie
pendent congressman a chance to pro.
test successfully on such issues as
they know to be improper or unpop'
ular. A few Of the majority can by
joining with the minority upset the
machine program. AS it is, in the
present congress it will require rs
to join with the Democrats to override
aI.y Ubiquitous Legislation or to pass
some good law that the Republican
leaders refuse to allow to be consid
cred.
The larger the party majority is
the greater is the power of the ma
chine. The more evenly party
strength Is divided, the better it is fol
the honest representative of the PEG
pie.
--I.-- 49,. l.. nz--