The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 1905-1908, 1907-10-24


tie in the matter Of real legislation.
Inasmuch as the speaker is the one
dominating factor of the house of
representatives this allusion of his
to what the Democrats will be may
/ be accepted as an expression of his
hope that they will do it. The speaker
and the leaders of both houses are
anxious that as little as possible shall
be done by the Sixtieth congress for
/ reasons so obvious that they must
! appear clear to the reader who has
kept in touch with national affairs
even casually.
In the first place, the ad 9inistra-
! ton is demanding legislation the
leaders are not willing to give, and
! if the time can be consumed by the
minority in discussing their favorite
theories they will be given abundant
opportunity for debate The more
\ time taken up by them in this fash
ion the less opportunity for serious
consideration of one or two matters
/ the president will press home to every
member when he calls at the White
House. If there is one thing near to
| the presidents heart it is the Philip
pine tariff bill, which virtually estab-
fishes free trade between the islands
and this country. Dalzell of Pennsyl-
vania, the high priest of protection,
and Serene E. Payne, the chairman
of the ways and means committee,
although both are administration
leaders, at bottom do not believe in
the wisdom of this proposed measure.
Speaked Cannon himself is opposed
to it, and there are dozens of influ-
entail Republicans who think the
president has made a mistake in this
phase of his policy.
The Philippine bill passed the
house during the last congress, but
was buried in committee in the SEN
ate. 1t was referred to the commit
tee of which Senator Lodge of Mas
sachusetts, the personal friend and
mouthpiece of Mr.. Roosevelt, is the
chairman, and yet that influential
leader could not muster enough votes
in his committee to have it reported
to the senate. In the coming con-
gress the fight must be made over
again in the house, and it is not GER
tain under the political circumstances
even if it can pass there.
1t must be remembered that this
is the last Tap of the Roosevelt ad-
ministration, and Federal patronage,
which has been largely distributed,
will not have the potency to compel
action that it had in the past four
years. The vote against the Philip
pine tariff proposition has been some
what strengthened in the senate by
changes in the personnel of that body
so that the president can hardly hope
to gain favor there. From all indi-
cations legislation giving the islands
freer trade intercourse with the Unit
ed States is doomed to failure.
If the president heeds the wishes
of his party leaders in the two houses
he will not urge amendment of the
rate law during the coming session. |
To do so would be tantamount to
opening up the whole question, for
the president is certainly not blind
to the fact that effort to strengthen |
the rate law, should he believe it
to be weak in spots, would bring the |
whole subject once more into the |
field of general debate and that at
tack upon the whole structure would |
be renewed.
Such men as Senators Foraker, Ell |
kins, Kean, Hale and others. who diff
fer from the president as to the wis
dom of his entire program on this |
subject, could not be expected to per-
nit amendments asked for by the |
president to go through without SUBJ |
mitting such material changes as
their judgment may think would also
make a better law. If the attempt /
is made to strengthen the act at this
coming session, the result may be a
weakening of the whole structure the
president has built up. The concen-
sus of official opinion seems to be
that the law should be left as it is
until it has been thoroughly tested
and the courts have adjudicated such
portions as may be ambiguous
Speaker Cannon's program contem-
plates nothing more than the passage
of the appropriation bills. This is the
usual program of the short session
and the long session of the Sixtieth
congress is to be made as short as
possible. No mistakes on the eve of
a presidential campaign are to be