The National tribune., 1908-05-14
LEGISLATIVE UPS
AND DOWNS
CONTINUED from page one.)

I'VE will go home" the Congressmer
are saying in despair, las soon as W.
can get thru with the fights we canno
escape. We are sick and tired. Th'
President is pummeling us. The news
papers are pummeling us. The country
seems to be with them. Let's get ou
of this atmosphere as quickly as We
can. We won't pass the anti-injunctioT
bills, we guess. That won't do. We won
pass amendments to the Sherman anti
trust law. We are going to pass simply
the bills we intended to pass from tn,
very start, altho the President has beer
harping on those very bills SO mucf
that the country, of course thinks they
were his bills, and he will get all the
credit. But we don't care We dom
care about anything. Just give us 6
little rest. We don't mind about sun
shine. We want rest, even If We have
to rest somewhere off in dark cave
And in this don't care a rap atti
tude Congress is straining at the traces
to pull out the legislative loads tha
must be pulled thru. 1t takes for grant
ed that the President is going to fight or
one thing or another right up to ad
journment day, and then, perhaps
threaten an extra session. That he won
get. He knows it, and Congress knows
it. But the country is not aware of it
The general run of voters think what
the President says is ex cathedra, and
that something must be wrong wher
he is humping the wicked old Senate
and the poor old House.
So it goes. The curtain goes up or
the hill for a dramatic scene, and the
curtain comes down again. 1t really is
a holy show, as all the old timers agree
Nothing like it before in many long
years.
"a Series of Three.
The Senate is going deep into the
military question this week, and laying
all kinds of deep plots to get the series
of three (the three letters the Presi.
dent has written to Senators about his
authority as Chief
spread upon the broad pages of the
Congressional Record. Senator Rayner
of Maryland, intends to read his letter
before he concludes the speech he has
prepared to show that Col William F
Stewart, of the Coast Artillery, is en-.
titled to court of inquiry to determine
whether he should be banished to a lone
post in Arizona for pure cantankerous-
ness OF course, Senator Rayner is de-
voting himself to the case of Col. Stew
art exclusively. He wants nothing what
ever to do with the question as tC
whether the President ought to ignore
the Foraker bill, should Congress pass
the measure over his veto. But it should
be borne in mind that the Democrats in
the Senate, Mr.. Rayner among them
expect to vote against the Foraker bill
for restoring the discharged negro SOL
diers to the Army, and alike against the
Warner bill, which is much milder, and
which was introduced at the Presidents
Gil nah l- paF 1lai OF
purposes.
Senator Foraker is cunning around
to get all of the series of three into
print, and is making things uncomfort-
able for certain of the thick-and-thin
Administration Senators. He is going
to try to force the Senate to pass his
bill to restore the negro soldiers, and
will speak again to that end within a
few days. He proposes to call upon
William Alden Smith, Senator from
Michigan. to give his letter to the Sen
ate, and to make like request of Sen
ator John w. Stewart, of Michigan. OF
course, the controversy arising from
the writing of these letters makes more
improbable than ever the enactment OF
any legislation whatever for the relief
of the discharged negro troopers. IT
so far as it arouses fresh antagonisms
among the negros thruout the country
and puts the President further on rec.
ord against the negro troops, 1t Is &
thorn in the side of the Taft boom, fol
the Secretary of Wars candidacy i!
harmed by the opening of the Browns
vile case in such way.
When the news of the latest of th'
'series of three got around in th'
Senate some of the Republicans there
sought to have party conference call
ed. They reasoned that the Presiden
had defied the authority of Congress
''to make rules for the government anC
regulation of the land and naval forces,
as the Constitution prescribes that Con
gress shall do. But the old leader
promptly put their feet down on tina
proposition for a party conference. I
would make conspicuous the breach be
tween the President and the Senate
That would never do. The Presiden
and the Senate have had many a tif
fin the last seven years, but there ha
never been official recognition of it.
The Currency Bill I'm the House.
The doings in the House in the mean
time have been of very animated
character First of all, there has bee
the concerted effort to pass a compro
mise currency bill. The compromis
bill has been prepared this week, ant
will shortly reach the public. While tn
| special committee, headed by Repre-
sentative Vreeland, of New York, ha
been laboring to prepare the bill, tn
| Speaker has been laboring to get tn
votes with which to pass it. The mos
careful canvass ever made of the Hous
Republicans has demonstrated tha
there are so many rccalcitrants the Re
publicans cannot muster enough vote
on their side of the Chamber. Accord
ingly, they have been going over on tn
Democratic side to see who can b
picked off. AS the Democrats, after tn
long ilibuster during which they hav
been refused opportunity to secur
unanimous consents. are exceedingly
anxious to get a few personal bill
passed, the Republican leaders hav
been agreeing to pass some of thes
personal bills without objection, pro
vided simply that the favored Demo
Gratis will vote for the compromise cur
rency bill when it comes up. Th
Republicans certainly want to &c
their currency bill thru. Senator Al
drich has visited the Speakers roor
almost every day, talking things owe
and taking note of the progress bein
made by the porspiring toilers.
The child labor bill has been passe
by Senate and House, il should be re
marked, which IS one of the measure
that the President wanted. 1t apple
solely to the District of Columbia TIL
President wanted ii to be made a mode
measure for the rest of the countr!
but the bill was so emascuiated tina
Senator Lodge and other friends OF tn
President insisted that it would be bu
little more effective than no bill at al
ers have cleverly sidetracked the Pres
dent in his efforts 10 secure an ant