Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-12-26
SIXTIETH congress
BUT LITTLE POSITIVE ACTION
may Be EXPECTED.
The Approaching Campaign Will
Cause Measures for Public Good
10 be SidetraCked While Personal
Ends Are Sought to be ATTAINED
by C0ngre Ssmen.

Those who expect much positive ac.
ton from the Sixtieth Congress this
winter will probably be disappointed.
No legislative body ever accom- pisl'es A.
much as it ought, because private ami
party interests are forever interfering
with measures for the public good. L"-
cal advantages almost invariably takes
precedence over the general welfare he.
cause upon what thew can do for their
own constituents at the expense OF the
nation depends In large measure the
political prosperity OF the members.
Men OF such caliber that they can ignore
petty local dist. actions and work un.
hsmpered for the country which en-
ploys them are exceedingly rare. even in
the Senate. I'm the lower house there it
Mr.. Burton. M. Cannon also might do
it il liz liked. but of him may be said
with truth what Goldsmith falsely said
Of Burke, that he has narrowed hi
mind and 10 party and given up what WINS
meant for mankind"
Congress ought to begin decisive action
this winter looking TO the revision Of the
tariff downwards. but in all probability
nothing of the eort will be done; and
the reaeon for inaction will be the fear
OF losing votes in the approaching pref.
dental election. This fear is groundless.
There is no doubt whatever that the re-
publican party:owonld be enormously
strengthened with the masses OF the peo.
pie we're the leaders to fulfill the universal
desire for relief from the exactions Of the
Dingley tariff. But, strange az it may
seem, political leaders who have resided
long in Washington are the last men in
the country TO feel correctly the currents
Of public opinion. They acquire the
habit Of acting upon general rules and
pauxing the popular mind by set formulas.
Thepe rules and formulas are sometimes
correct, hut for the moot part they are
wrong, and this is the reason Why 90 few
of our statesmen either acquire much In.
Auence or hold for great while the little
they do scrape together. They lack the
instinct which moves in harmony with
the national mind. Presently the coun.
try outsteps them. They are left behind
and heard OF no more. Most OF our
statesmen are showing by their reluct-
ance to take action upon the tariff that
they lack precisely this instructive feel
ing for what the people desire. If the
republican party loses the next presi-
de initial election the leaders may thank
in large part their fatuous clinging to the
monstrous wrongs OF Dingleyism. The
people are tired OF being exploited for
the benefit OF the truste. They are tired
of paying ten dollars to the monopolies
for the sake OF passing one dollar into
the federal treasury.
If nothing should be done for the relief
Of the Philippines from the iniquity OF
he tariff which is destroying their indus
tries, it will be because the leaders OF
cannot bear the thought Of adj.
hitting an "entering wedge" into the
sacred vitals Of Dingleyism. The very
word reduction" is bugaboo to the
orthodox standpatter. Once reduction is
begun, who knows where it will stop? 1t
might even touch ones own particular
graft. a thing never to be permitted by a
who knows his business.
Mutual protection is the watchword #
all gratis when fatten upon the excessive
exact,ons of the tariff. United they
stand; divided they might fall. Hence
they are not very likely to divide, and
the paper trust, among the rest. will
probably pass through the ordeal OF the
Congress blooming like the rose
of Sharon, This lie one OF the most de.
teetable of all the trusts, and it is doubly
first by the tariff on paper and
then by that on wood fit for pulp. 1t not
only robs the people but it is doing as
much as any other agency to destroy our
Still. il the tariff on pulp wood
and white paper were removed, the land
knows what would happen; perhaps that
on steel might 60 next and American
consumers would be buying steel rails as
cheap as the trust sells them in Canada
and England. The American consumer
must never be pan,pered in this way. 1t
would destroy his incentive to effort.
Il would pauperize him.
Because of the mutual dependence OF
the gratis upon one another it is as like.
ly az not that the parcels post and postal
savings bank bills, which Mr.. Meyer
and backs by reasons 80
cogent, will receive no attention from
congress this winter. Party exigencies
are always more important than the pub |
lie welfare. and the exigences OF the ex.
press trust seem even more important
than those OF party. 1t would be excel.
emf politics for the republican house and |
senate to cut loose from this nefarious
alliance. Nothing would please the peo-
ple better: nothing could be more Just. .