Middletown transcript., 1908-05-30
WASHINGTON LETTER

WASHINGTON, IL. u, May zou, 15oo'
AS the first session of the sixtieth Cor
- gress draws to close, the record
legislation is being anxiously scanned b
those who will have to defend the Cor
gress against partisan attacks in the com
ing campaign, and the most cursory eS
amingation reveals an amount of legisa
tion far in excess of popular supposItlo
and including many laws calculated t
reflect the utmost credit on the Republl
can party. Many important measure
have failed, it is true, and to the cursor.
observer it might seem that those mos
needed have failed of enactment, but re
Election will demonstrate that it is tn
measures which encounter opposition
and excite controversy which are most il
the public mind, as they are most promi
nent in the public prints, while thu
wise and carefully laws which the framed
Republican majorties have enacted with
out much publicity may prove OF ever
more importance to the country than Ger
tain mooted questions.
*x*
| During the past week the House has
made desperate effort to agree upon
some form of anti-iniunction legislation
which would be satisfactory to majority
of the members and the same time satisfy
the demands of the labor leaders, but
without success. Two long conferences ol
Republican members were held and the
whole subject carefully considered, but ii
was found that nothing which the legal
authorities in the party could sanction
would satisfy the demands of labor, as
voiced by the leaders of labor organiza-
tions, while the whole subject proved so
complicated and involved that the effort
had to be abandoned.
~
With adjournment momentarily pend
ing, the President and the House leaders
are making strenuous effort to secure
some form Of financial legislation. The
two houses have been in a deadlock on
this subject, the Senate willing only to
make such extension OF bond secured cur
rency as would guard against an emer
gency, while the House was determined
to embark on new scheme of credit cur
rency. 1t was finally determined to do
nothing further but to permit the tinan-
cial bills of the two houses to remain in
status quo until the next session. Then
the President sent for Speaker Cannon
and urged that a final effort to secure leg
islation be made. He pointed out that
the party could not but suffer if no pro-
vision were made against a recurrence of
the financial stringency of last fall, and
that without such provision such recur-
renee was almost certain. Did it oc-
cur again this year it would be on the
eve of the presidential election and might
work serious injury to the party.
~
Spurred by the advice OF the President,
who is regarded as the abIest politician
in the party, the House leaders are trying
to frame some sort of compromise which
they can present to the Senate conferrees
and under these circumstances it is i'm
possible to say when Congress will ad-
journ, although adjournment is possible
at almost any moment. All the big sup
ply bills have passed and only final agree
ments on measures in conference remain
to be reached.
~
The House has passed campaign pub
licity bill, providing that every political
organization must keep accurate record OF
all receipts, contributions and disburse-
ments and at given time must make
them public, and providing further that
the Director of the Census shall prepare
for the use of Congress record of the in.
habitants of voting age, in every Congress
district and a record of the votes cast in
each district at the last election, so that
Congress may read just the representation
in the House in accordance with the
actual number of voters. This means, oi
course, that the Republicans desire to cut
| down the southern representation, for in
the southern states the negroes ale SO
largely disfranchised that there are in.
stances of members of Congress being
elected with total of 1000 votes as against
%, 900 votes cast for some members elected
in the North. The Democrats, who have
heen clamoring vociferously for campaign
publicity throughout the session, with
two exceptions voted against the bill in
the House, and in the Senate, where there
is no limit to debate, they threaten to talk
it to death if 1t is taken up on the floor.
~
The contest between candidates for the
vice presidency goes merrily on. Thus
far there are only two in the field, one
being George B. Cortelyou. Secretary of
the Treasury, the other President
Fairbanks, whose friends are energetically
seeking to pledge delegates to his sup
port. OF course speaking for publication
the Fairbanks managers say that they
have not given up their fight to secure his
nomination for first place, but this is
purely for public consumption and behind
the screen OF their presidential fight they
are making a strenuous effort to secure his
nomination for second place, with some
| promise of success.
NEW REPORTS OUT
Insurance Commissioner George W.
Marshall has Just completed two interest