The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-12-11
THE OUTLOOK
FOR CONGRESS
Will There Be a Big Debate
Over the Tariff
Measure?
By Ernest G. Walker.
(Mail Special to the Advertiser

I
WASHINGTON, D. c., November %.
Extra sessions of Congress, such as
that which President-eleet Taft has
promised to call next spring, always
tower high in public interest Official
| ly they are called extraordinary SEES
| sions. - There has been hardly an
extra session that did not develop
something of historic Importance, to be
recalled and expatiated upon, long
| after the ordinary sessions of the Fed
eral lawmaking bodies have been for
gotten. For that reason the people
have been educated to look upon an
extra session as a very noteworthy in
cident of any administration at Wash
ington.
And vet an extra session of Con-
gress in action is generally very tame
and uninteresting to the 1ooker-on in
Washington 1t rarely has half the in
terest TO visitors, or even to- the case
| hardened residents of the national cap
| ital, that a regular session has. 1t
may not be 50 with the extra session
of the frst year of the Taft admins
| tration, but, all the same, the signs
point to many exceedingly dull, dreary
| DAYS on the hill where the Capitol
stands Manufacturers and merchants
Will be deeply concerned over the rails
| ing or lowering of duties on articles,
mostly of strange names. A fraction
one way or another can easily precipi-
| tate a,7protest of voiceful proportions.
| In the long run all these things affect
! the millions of plain people, who have
| to foot the bills, but the plain people
are generally very Indifferent to such
matters of legislation. If they have
any rearing and tearing to do, it will
probably come long after the revision
| law has been signed and after news
papers and orators have dinned it into
/ their heads that their representatives
down at Washington have given some
! body else the long end of the tariff
/ bargain.
Uncertainty About Big Debate.
| There may be a big tariff debate, but
( big debates in Congress can not safely
| be prognosticated. Those that are
widely advertised have an annoying
/ tendency not to become big debates at
all. On the other hand, few words
! spoken in the course of routine pro-
| ceedings often loose an avalanche of
| heated discussion. Should some Demo
crat get his knife into a creviee of
the Republican protection armor, as
may or may not happep half dozen
times during consideration of the forth
coming tariff bill, there would be
high old congressional shindy every
time the performance occurred. The
Democrats are already promising some
tariff oratory, especially the Senate
Democrats. but it is possible to put
too much faith in such promises.
An impression prevails in Washing
| ton that public sentiment in the Unit
ed States, after much rantankerous ac-
tivity under the prodding of Theodore
Roosevelt. President, is relapsing into
dormant and satisfied state, much as
| il was during the years of the Nc
/ Kinlev administration. The people
want To make money, lots of money.
and then more money, again. II IT
Turns out that public sentiment is be-
I coming Indifferent, it will be difficult
ia stir up much of tariff debate at
the extra session of Congress, for pub
| lie sentiment is a tremendous factor in
making legislators at Washington sit
mn and take notice. If their constit-
uents cease to swarm on the ramparts,
/ ConOressmen become lethaTgic and 1t is
easier to pat through big deals at
Washington.
House Will Speed the Bill.
No great tariff debating is looked for
in the House of Representatives during
the extra session. It can be put down
AZ certain that "Uncle Joe" Cannon,
who viii be reelected Speaker, and all
his Teutenants Will be very impatient
about the running of the sands by the
time the extra session has been organ
lied for business. They will give just as
few DAYS az they think will be safe for
discussion Of the tariff bill. Perhaps they
will allow the debate to be "wide
open'' for a week or whereabouts. But
the mutterings in the corridors and
cloakroons about the folly of staying
in Washington all summer, when men
might be home, attending to personal
business and making money, will be-
come rampant after a little. The
Sneaker and 800 other members Will
be making filings at their ancient
enemy. the Senate. Every Represen-
tative is an enemy of the Senate till
he himslf is elected thereto. The pros
pect of long talk on tariff at that end
Of the Capitol Will be emphasized and
then viii come the argument, old as
the application of the elOture rule IN
the House. that it is 10 use to waste
time talking when the House must wait
ANYWAY till the Senate talks itself out.
The tariff revision bill will be as
good as framed by the time the extra
session Of Congress convenes. That Will
probably be about the middle of March.
Mr. Taft has already said that he Will
call it lust as soon as he can. While
no lengthy notice is required by the
constitution, it is usual to allow about
two weeks. That gives Senators and
members time to get to Washington:
Even the delegates from Hawaii and
Alaska can travel from Honolulu and
Sitha in fifteen days.
Election of Speaker.
The senate and House must both or
canfze a. soon as Congress meets IN
extra session. for it will be the first
session If a new Congress. The House
viii proceed to that task speedily. 1t
has more TO do in the organization Ilne
than has the Senate. but generally does