The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-08
WATCH CONGRESS.
Sonic Reflections on It's Ability to
 Regulate Corporations.

Americans who favor the aholish- ment of State rights and Federal con trol of everything, upon the high ground that local self-govcrnment is a failure because legislatures are cor rupt and incapable, might proftably study legislation for the District Of Columbia by Congress
 Tho Washington Gasight company
 is just now watering it's stock under the shadow of the dome of tho Capi- ,tol. Golfers Weekly invites the nation to watch Congress to sec If the shell game is interrupted in its work of ileecing the people of the National Capital, and to judge hy the action of Congress It's fitness to control corpora tions throughout the land The Wash ington Herald quoting the paragraph here referred to- calls attention 10 the fact that Congress has made futile efforts for years" to regulate the Washington Gaslight Company, but has never succeeded Friends of the corporation, it'is pointed out, have al- ways stood guard over its interests in the House and In the Senate. Once a bill Co reduce the price of gas was passed In the House. hut soon thereaf- ter it entered upon soldiers sleep in a committee room "In humiliation and disgust, according to the Washington Herald, Washington has watched the scandalous performance year m and year out"
 rrt-
 The scandalous performance refer red to is, of course. not that of Con gress. but that of the Washington Gaslight Company. Congress has scan dalously not performed Many citizens of the United States. viewing the na- ional lawmaking body from a distance that lends enchantment. consider it far above the petty. and sometime paving, vices of a State or municipal laWmaking body Bourke Cochran, af- ter a score of years of close acquaint- anceship with Congress. says with the authority of long experience as m in ielllgent spectator of. and participator lh' national legislation, that there isn [, wasn't, and never will be such a thing as bribery in the House or Sen ate. Still, the corporations that light the homes of Washingtonians. convey Washingtonians to and from their homes, and perform other services for profit. have things much their own way on Capitol Hill. The triumph of the octopus where pulsate tho vitals of the Federal government is an ugly 1act that should loom large upon the horizon of every intelligent person who believes that the good old doc trlne of home rule should be aban- dohed, and that the Constitution is a document much out of late and it on- iy to he trodden under the feet of congress and the Supreme court
 Say of the integrity of the national government. and the incorruptibility ol congress what you will the scent ot gas and traction legislation in Wash ington hangs about 1t still NIT. Cock ran-and let us be thankful for it-is nearer right in his estimate of Con gress and members of Congress than i the muckraker who belieys that ev- erything is rotten in Denmark. Con- gress is very much like other lawmak- Ing bodies. Ii is neither sans sin nor sans virtue. When the inhabitants of I the District of Columbia rise up and call Congress blessed. and testify that It leglslates for the District of Colum- bia honestly, impartially, infalliblv, the l time to consider giving over to the