Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1908-01-17
WASHINGTON LETTER.
trrom our Regular CORES ponden, }

joiced over the recent exchange OF
courtesies between Rep. John Sharpe
| Williams and Rep De ArmoDd on the
floor of the House. 1t Was fearei that
the alteration which occurred between
these two strong Democrats would
result in a permanent enlargement
and would 80 weaken the minority. A
tritiing debate over the question of
what should be done with the report
of the joint committee on Revision of
| the laws afforded the opportunity
which Mr.. Williams seized, yielding
the floor to Mr.. De Almond and SO
peace was brought about. 1t was
naturally the place of MI Williams to
take the initiative in the reconcile.
ton. He had won the victory over
De Almond in the recent contest for
the House leadership and he has been
selected at the primaries of his state
for the Senate, to which be will be
duly elected. When he is, it is entirely
likely that Judge De Almond will
succeed him. as minority leader.
The Presidents efforts to have a
naval surgeon command naval vessel
seem destined to meet with failure.
He has assigned Surgeon Stokes to the
command OF the hospital ship Relief,
and Stokes Is now being addressed in
the Navy Department as Doctor
Captain, but 1t will take time and
800, 900 to fiji out the Relief and mean
while Senator Hale, chairman of the
committee on Naval Affairs has in.
PRODUCED bill forbidding the assign
ment of staff officers to the command
of any naval vessel. Mr.. Hale's bill
also prohibits the existence of the
Naval General Board, which has been
called into existence by executive or.
der and despite the fact that Congress
has never been willing to consent to it's
creation by law.
Joseph G Cannon, Speaker Of the
House, has been caught redhanded
playing politics with House committee
places. At the beginning of the SEES
sion, Mr.. Cannon declared that be
was utterly opposed to the creation of
the White Mountain Forest Reserve
and Of the Appalachian reserve and
that in order to prevent favorable re-
ports on these measures be purposed to
reorganize that committee on Agri
culture. This he did, leaving, how
ever, one vacancy to be filled later. at
a recent dinner in Washington a mem.
Der of Congress from New England
| said to the Speaker ''Mr. Speaker, l
| would dearly love to do something to
promote your presiden ial interests in
my section but it is impossible. Now
that it has b come generally known
that you are irrevocably opposed to
the White Mountain reserve your
name is like red rag to a bull in my
neighborhOod." dear me-" replied
the Speaker, II had 10 idea that your
people had that project so much at
heart. Two days later. the Speaker
filed the vacant place on the committee
by naming Rep. Weeks of Massa-
chusetts, who is the most ardent adj
vocate of the White Mountain reserve
in the country. Members are laugh
ing heartily at ~ ncIe Joe's politics.
and some people are wondering il the
New Eugland public is going to be
greatly fooled by this appointment Of
one Of their number on u committee
already packed against the reserve
project.
Senator LaFollette of Wisconsin il
seeing things again. He wanted te
, be appointed on the committees or
3 Public Lands and on Interstate Com
! merce. There was no vacancy on the
, latter committee. but Mr.. L,Follette
| whose conceit never deserts him
, thought one ought to be made because
of his long speeches on the Railway
| Rate bill. The Committee on Com
mittees did appoint him to the COM
mittee On Public Lands but Senator
Hansbrough made such fuss about il
! that they had to take him off as Mr.
Hansbrough is chairman. Then
merely to give him something, they
appointed LaF GILLETTE to the committee
, on Military Affairs. He was equally
unwelcome there but it took some in
genuity to get rid of the unwelcome
member. Finally plan was devised
which worked beautifully. The story
was whispered about that Senator La
Toilette had been made the victim OF
plot, that the Military Affairs COM
mittee would soon have to vote on the
Brownsville case. that il LaFollette
voted against the President 1t would
shatter his prestige in Wisconsin
where his chief strength has been bis
advocacy OF the Roosevelt policies,
while if be voted for the report declar.
ing the Negroes guilty be would stand
no chance of getting the southern dele
cations to the Republican national
convention, most of the delegates be-
ing Negroes. This story was whisper
ed in the proper quarter and finally a
discreet friend told LaFollette the
sorry, "in strict confidence" LaFolIet.
te, who takes bis own presidential
boom seriously, swallowed bait, hook
and sinker, and the next day arose in
the Senate and asked to be relieved of
service on the Military Affairs COM
mittee. Senator Warren the chairman
and Senator Lodge. another Republ1-
can mem Der. were 30 overjoyed that
they could scarcely restrain the in
clination to rise and do a cake walk
down the middle aisle of the Senate
oh O hAr