The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-04-10
OUR NASHINGTON LETTER

OUR WASH1NGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON, D. c., APRIL 4th, 1865.
Mr.. EDIToR:-John Sharp Williams,
Democratic leader of the House, played
clever politics this week when he show
ed up the hypocrisy of the so-called
Big five" the little coterie which,
headed by Speaker Cannon, runs the
House of Representatives. Mr.. Will
Iiams put the Republicans on record as
opposed to removing the duty on wood
pulp, despite the Presidents earnest
recommendation that this be done; to a
law prohibiting injunctions in certain
labor cases, and to the prompt enact
ment of an employers liability law. 1t
is perfectly obvious to those who OBJ
serve the course of the House leaders
from point Of vantage that Mr.. Can
non and his colleagues are at heart OPP
posed to ev cry reform measure advocat-
ed by the President. 1t is true that they
may try to enact some halfway meas
ures merely to save their own faces at
the polls next November, but whatever
thew deem it necessary as matter of
self preservation to do they will do
with wry faces. Speaker Cannon has
himself, for instance introduced a rsso-
luton calling on the Secretary Of Com
merce and Labor to conduct an investi-
cation of the combine which makes
wood-pulp papers and keeps the price
at an exorbitant figure to every publish
er in the land. But this resolution is
merely grand stand play" bid to
the uniformed, really intended to gain
time and avert the necessity of action
which would be offensive to the wood
pulp combine at this session Of Con-
gress. OF course All investigation will
take time and while an inquiry is being
made the Speaker and his friends will
assure the House and the country that
it would be quite improper for Congress
to take any action.
A little side light is thrown on the
Hypocrisy of the investigation resolu-
ton by the fact that Senators Foraker
and Crane and Speaker Cannon have
Just been bending every energy to Sc
cure the election of the head of the
wood pulp combine as an anti-Taft del
egate to the Republican national con-
vention from Massachusetts.
Speaking of Cannon, Crane, ct al,
Wednesday, April LIST, proved a great
A pril FOOLS day for the reactionaries in
Massachusetts. Senator Crane had been
assuring the reactionary faction of the
Republican party that he would place
Massachusetts at the head and front OF
the reactionary column with a solid
anti Taft delegation to the national con-
vention. The voters, however, thought
otherwise and as a consequence they
elected twenty two Taft delegates out
of total of thirty-two and made such
demonstration Of their approval of the
Taft candidacy that it is now regarded
as doubtful if the ten anti-Taft dele
gates will dare to vote against the big
0hioan at Chicago.
The extent to which politics is inter-
ferring with legislation is appalling.
For instance, all this past week. the
Senate has been ready to pass the Child
Labor bill for the District of Columbia.
This is a model bill and the opponents
of child labor regard it as of the utmost
importa nee that the national legislature
should pass such a bill which will prove
a most salutary example as we'll as a
model to every state in the Union.
Nothing has been done, however, be-
cause Senator Beveridge has been alb
sent attending the Republican state
convention in Indiana and before leav-
ing he asked that the bill be held until
his return so that he might offer his
national child labor bill as an amend
ment Of course the matter has been
held up at his request, despite the fact
that there is not the slightest chance of
its being adopted. Probably there are
few sincere and honest men who would
not like to see child labor abolished, but
those who have the interest of the Re-
public at heart are unwilling to see such
an overthrow OF the rights Of the SOW
ereign states as the Beverage bill i'm
plies and, moreover, it is SO obvious
from previous decisions of the Supreme
Court that the Beveridge bill would be
pronounced unconstitutional, as an in
reference with the police power of the
states, that sensible men question the
sincerity of the advocates of the BeYer-
idge measure. To pass it would mean
to subject the whole question to VII ole
course of litigation with ultimate defeat
for the measure and probably would
prove 3 grave set back to the movement
in the various states to attend to this
matter themselves.
Everyone who is interested in the
seal herd of Alaska will learn with
pleasure that there is some prospect of
the question of the protection of the
seals from pelagiac scaling being open
ed up by the Canadians. For years the
United States has been trying to reach
some agreement to stop this brutal form
of scaling but every time the Canadians
have presented some insurmountabls
objection. Now, however, the Japan
csc sealers have SO far monopolized the
industry, if it may be dignified by that
name, that it has become quite unproft-
able tuthe Canadians and it is expect
ed that they will themselves reopen the
negotiations with the United States
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