Daily Arizona silver belt., 1908-09-27
CONGRESS- And REFORM

CONGRESS- AND REFORM
We gather from the latest election man
ifesto Oyster hayward that it is the para
mount duty of the American people 10
elect not only president pledged to the
Roosevelt policies, but also a house of
Representatives composed of members
who have taken the Roosevelt pledge
1t is an impressive list of reform legis-
lation that Mr.. Roosevelt holds up to the
contemplation of the American electorate.
But by what process of reasoning has he
convinced himself that this batch of
statutes could have been extracted only
from a republican majority in congress,
and that democratic majority would
thwart and battle President Taft in clinch-
ing the Roosevelt policiesl Our recollec-
ton is that the democratic members of
both houses rendered Mr.. Roosevelt sub
stantial aid in wrestling from somewhat
reluctant congress practically every one
of the reforms that are the pride of the
Roosevelt administration. Our impression
is that the principal efforts to thwart and
battle the enactment Of the Roosevelt poll
cies came from the republican side of
the house and from the "old guard" in
the senate If we are not grossly mis-
taken, considerable quantity of legisla-
ton urged upon congress at its last ses-
sion in series of the most vigorous and
picturesque messages ever emanating
from an American president was quietly
pigeonholed and waste-basketed by the
republican majority, while the democratic
minority did it's very best to bring some
of that legislation to a vote, and went on
record as publicly as was possible in favor
of a substantial portion of the presidential
program. 1t was the republican majority,
led by the very congressional leaders in
behalf of whose election the president s
letter to Congressman Mckinley will be
used, that thwarted and bafhed Mr.
Roosevelt last spring. On the other hand,
the democratic minority has done much in
the last seven years to uphold those
Roosevetian policies that were in accord
with the party creed, or at least not out of
accord with it.
1t is at least an open question whether
a democratic majority in the house would
be more difficult proposition for Presi-
dent Taft than a secretly hostile repub-
lican majority was for President Roose-
welt. This being a fair speculation, we
may be pardoned for inability to fall in
behind the presidential idea that it would
be "folly" to elect democratic house to
carry forward the work of reform. We
should be very much surprised if Mr.. Taft
could not get along about as well with a
democratic speaker as Mr.. Roosevelt got
along with "Uncle Joe.' And we would
be much more surprised if democratic
house should every reform project that
a republican president proposed for mere
ly partisan reasons. Such course would
be politically suicide.
We do agree, however, with the presi-
dent that the election of members of con
gress is of much more than mere partisan
Importance. If men of the right stamp
were chosen as the representatives of the
people, neither Mr. Taft nor Mr.. Bryan
would have any serious difficulty with leg
islation really demanded by popular senti-
ment, no matter how the party majority
stood. unfortunately, there are too many
men OF the wrong stamp in both sides of
the house. These are the men who should
he left at home