The National tribune., 1908-05-21

quick and the Senate began to deliber-
ate. The best guess right now would
be that the President gets the bill for
signature before Congress adjourns.
A Revision Of the Tariff.
But that is only solitary instance.
The President wanted something done
to assure revision of the tariff. He
wanted some initial steps taken at this
session, something ike an authorization
for the Ways and Means Committee of
the House to sit during the recess and
prepare a bill, so that the revision can
take place quickly after the election.
He gets It. The House and the Senate
have already passed resolutions author
izing their committees to put experts to
work, and even to grant hearings dur
ing the Summer if they want to. He
wanted Government employers liza
bilty bill He asked for it twice or
thrice in special messages. The House
has passed it. The Senate acts as tho
it were going to. He wanted a child
labor bill for the District of Columbia.
He already has that. 1t wasn't exactly
the kind of bill he would have drawn.
There are said to be some very big
holes in it. AS much is said to be true
of the Government employers liability
bill. But who knows just how much
each matter of Legislation may be worth ?
Perhaps one might wisely ask, who
cares?" And the answer, perhaps,
might correctly be not such great heap
in this Presidential and political year, II
only the record is made up so that the
campaign can be waged successfully.
Congress will stop up the holes in the
Presidents legislation later on. 1t com
mits itself to principle. 1t can't do fin
iShed work when there is such rush.
No one ought to expect it
For there are many more things the
President has been asking for and IS
getting an emergency currency law. If
the wranglers ever stop wrangling. The
Senate has passed something; the House
has passed something. The gentle read
er should not expect to know what they
have passed. The most he can expect
to know is that the two bodies have ac-
cepted something very different. The
bills nave been changed every night
Only double-distilled professional
banker can tell just what all the pro-
visions mean, and ont even the Con-
gressmen themseives-Senators and
Representatives-can tell just what their
measures propose TO do But. 10! 1t
does not make much difference what
either the Senate or the House has
passed in the way of currency legisla-
ton. 1t is now all under one title, Sen
ate bill No. 41144. or something like II:
Which means that now the Senate and
House have passed something, however
divergent in character, under an iden-
teal title, the conferees can get together
and make up a measure which will go
before Senate and House as matter of
the highest privilege, and be assured of
speedy consideration. Even If the Senate
had passed bill, No. 41144, to protect
National banks in time of financial de-
preston, and the House had taken Sen
ate bill No. 41144. struck out all after
the enacting clause and inserted some
thing about the regulation of chicke' !.
fights in the District of Columbia, tie
conferees would get together and make
up a good National banking bill.
Tug of the Conferees.
That is just about what Congress is
now doing. The conferees, five on the
part of the Senate and five on the part
of the House." as the parliamentary
phrase goes, are apparently in death
grapple as to whether the Senate pro-
visions or the House provisions shall
prevail 1t looks like terrible fight.
All of the matter under the Senate bill
title of No 4p144 is really the Aldrich
bill The House conferees are declar-
ing that will be disastrous. The Aldrich
name is not liked among the free West
erners. But with a few days more of
fussing and rowing probably the con-
ferees all wise men. Will come out with
a fairly high-class bit of financial leg
islation-as good as could be expected
under the circumstances, perhaps a
step or two in advance of what now is
on the statute books-people will forget
the travail in which the law was born,
and the President will be still again a
winner, and the country probably will be
that much better off.
The Brownsville Matter.
There is more to be said on the same
subject The President is getting in
the main what he wants. What he
does not want he is not getting. Lucky
mani He did not want the Brownsville
or, as some call it, the Foraker bill toj
pass. 1t is rot going to pass. The Re-
publicans were scared of their lives
some of them. They thought they would
have to vote upon the Foraker bill, di-
recting that the negros of the battalion
Of the 25tii Inf, who We're alleged to
have participated in the shooting up of
Tex, many, many years
ago-as it seems with the present ter