The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-04-16

WASHINGTON LETTER.

districts have refused to instruct
their delegates to vote for Gov
ernor Hughes. Three Illinois
districts have refused to instruct
their delegates to vote for Joseph
G. Cannon and one Illinois dis
trict has instructed its delegates
to vote for Taft. In Wisconsin,
at least one Taft delegate has
been elected. This trend of del
egates in ''favorite son" states
might be taken to mean that Sec
retary Taft and his managers
had decided to abandon the posi-
ton announced in the Parsons
letter, in which the Secretary
declared his purpose not to seek
support in states which had fav-
orite sons Of their own, but that
is not the case. No work what
ever has been done in favorite
son states by any authorized re-
preventative of Secretary Taft
the instruction of delegates for
him in those commonwealths is
merely the result of the almost
irresistible desire of politicians
to cast in their lot with the win
ming candidate. AS the returns
come in from one state after
another, showing a steady growth
of Taft sentiment, so that now
practically 300 of the $50 dele
gates to the national convention
are instructed for Taft, the eff
orts of those who are seeking to
promote the fortunes of the other
candidates become conspicuously
futile, and there is reason to be-
lieve that before the convention
meets in June, the force of the
tide will have become irresista-
bic. The President is delight
ed" at these results and is as ex-
uberant as a boy with a new sled.
The Senate, so often charged
with being slow and cautious,
has once more exhibited its abil-
ity to do things promptly and in
good order by passing the En-
ployers' Liability bill precisely as
it came from the House. A de,
cided effort was made to substi-
| tute the La Toilette bill but it
was defeated. Senator Knox
was anxious to have his bill
adopted, but when it was pointed
out to him that such action by
the Senate might result in the
defeat of any measure of the
kind in conference he cheerfully
withdrew his claims and permit
ed the House bill to go through.
Under the terms of the bill which
has now passed both houses, en-
ployees of common carriers en-
gagged in interstate commerce are
afforded every possible opportun'
ity to recover damages for injury,
while at the same time Congress
has carefully sought to avoid
L
those constitutional pitfalls which
caused the Supreme Court to de-
clare invalid the employers liza
bility act now on the statutes,
The passage of this bill is in ac'
cord with the earnest recOmmen'
dation contained in the, last two
special messages of the President
and constitutes the first step to-
ward carrying out the President
recommendations in this Con
gress. If the Aldrich bill can be
passed by the House that vii
constitute a second but the chanc
es are that no other Legislation
of Importance will be passed a
this session.
The Senate, however, has moi
been idle this year and a number
of important treaties have beer
ratified. Many of these are pur
suant to the deliberations of the
last Hague Conference, but 9th
ers provide for arbitration will
specific powers, for extraditiol
and other agreements with for
eign nations all of which viii
serve the useful purpose of max