The Washington herald., 1907-12-01
ATAVISM IN CONGRESS
HON. the Sixtieth Federal Legislature Promises to
Resemble It's First Great Grandfather

and Of their sympathizers among manu-
factu-ers of other protected products And
the discussion OF the question. with few
changes Of details. probably will be exact
" the same discussion that was had when
Congress was meeting in City Hall in
New York City, some hundred and twenty
years ago.
There were no political parties in the
First Congress. All the people had been
divided on the question of whether the
Constitution ought to be ratified. The
Federalists had won "A victory after a
strenuous fight but now that the Con-
stitution was in force. everybody wanted
TO try f. Therefore. the anti-Federalist
party passed out OF existence. never to be
restored. although the same name was
taken by one OF the first of the constitu-
tiOnal political parties After the new
government was thoroughly organized il
developed that there We're two schools of
political thought. This division began
in Washingtons Cabinet where Thomas
jefferson. Secretary of State, and Alex
ander Hamilton. Secretary of the Treas
ury. were at dagger's points. Congress.
although then absolutely supreme in pow
or, took its opinions from these great
thinkers. and the line Of division was
marked which has never been erased from
American politics. Go, into the two Houses
of Congress tomorrow, when the SiXtieth
Congress meets. and you will find that
the gentlemen OF the Republican majority
look to Hamilton Us the author Of their
faith. and that the gentlemen OF the
Democratic minority believe devoutly
that what Jefferson said IS worthy OF all
acCeptatiOn.
Yet through all these 80 years there
has been a constant trading and swapping
between these two sides They have thun-
dered against each other. they have de-
nOunced each other. and they have sworn
undying enmity in public. Then they have
met each other. agreed with each other.
and lunched with each other in private.
For this there is excellent precedent In the
First Congress there was a great fiscal
question. Hamilton wanted the Federal
government TO assume the debts of the
States. jefferson ana his followers opposed
it. jefferson wanted the Capital Of the
United States for the South. Washing
ton supported him, but Hamilton opposed
SO there was a popping OF champagne
corks- a gastronomic. discussion Of a fat
capon, and the deal was made The State
debts were assumed, and the Capitol
wherein the Sixtieth Congress will meet
tomorrow ovcrlOOks the Potomac River
and is in the South.
The First Congress. by Jumping the ev-
penses Of each department, managed 10
confine its one general appropriation bill
10 80 words. The appropriation bills
which viii be passed 10y the SixtIeth Con
Eress viii require more than 10000 pages
for their various stages. The annals Of
the First Congress. its proceedings. and
acts are al included in three small vol
times. aggregating 300 pages. The Con
gressional Record for the Fifty-ninth
Congress fills seventeen large quarto vol
umes Of a thousand pages each, while
the acts OF that Congress require three
qUarto volumes Of 1900 pages each.
Yet with ali the differences that have
come into our lives because of steam and
electricity, despite the fact that we are
thirty times greater I'm number three
times greater in area, a thousand times
greater in wealth than in 17S9; despite
the fact that we are constantly dealing
with new questions and meeting new
crises a comparison of the record Of the
First Congress and the probabilities Of
the SiXtieth Congress shows that human
nature is ever human nature and that
politics is politics. world without end.
Tomorrow - The Speaker of the
House.