Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1908-04-16
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Prom Our Regular Corr espoudent.

SioViS iOouoi VI WIZ AtOuSS, Pi"y
ed clever politics recently, when
he showed up the hypocracy Of
the so-called "Big Five" the lit
tie cotere which, headed by Spea-
ker Cannon, runs the House Of
Representatives. Mr.. Williams
put the FIVE Republicans on rec
ord as opposed to removing the
duty on wood.pulp. despite the
Presidents earnest recommends
ton that this be done: to u law
prohibiting injunctions in certain
labor cases, and to the prompt
enactment of,an employers lia-
bility law. 1t is perfectly obvious
to those who observe the course
of the House leaders from a point
Of vantage that Mr.. Cannon and
his colleagues are at heart op-
posed to every reform measure
advocated by the President 1t
is true that they may try to en-
act some half-key measures mere
Ily to save their own faces at the
polls next November but whatev
er they deem it necessary as a
matter OF self.preservation to do
they will do with wry faces Can
non has himself for instance in
troduced a resolution calling on
the Secretary OF Commerce a n d
Labor to conduct an lnvestiga-
ton OF the combine which makes
wood-pulp paper and keeps the
price at an exorbltant figure to
every publisher in theland. But
this resolution is merely a grand
stand play, a bid to the unin.
formed, really intended to gain
time and avert the necessity ol
action which would be offensive
to the wood-pulp combine at this
t session OF Congress. OF course ar
] investigation will take time ant
while an inquiry is beng made
the Speaker and his friends viii
assdre the House and the coun
try that it would be quite i'm
proper for Congress to take any
action.
A little side.light is thrown OF
y the hypocrisy of the investiga-
ton resolution by the fact tina
Senators Foraker and Crane ant
Speaker Cannon have just beel
bending every energy to secur
the election Of the head OF tn
wood.pulp combine as an ant
Taft delegate to the Republican
" national convention from Mas
0 sachusetts.
Speaking OF Cannon, Crane, e
al, Wednesday. April l, proves
a great April Fools day for tn
reactionaries in Massachusetts
Senator Crane had been assurin
the reactionary faction OF the X
publican party that he woul
Is place Massachusetts at the hea,
!. and front of the reactionary CO.
!, umn with a solid anti-Taft DELE
= CATION to the national conver
ton. The voters, however, thou
otherwise, and as a consequenc
they elected twenty-five Taft deli
gates out OF a total OF thirty
two and made such a demon
stration of their approval OF tn
Taft candidacy that it is now n
garded as doubtful if the ten al
o ti-Taft delegates will dare to vol
o against the big Ohioan at Chict
N go.
:, The extent to which politics
u interfering with legislation is al
palling: Forinstance, all the pas
week the Senate has been read
to pass the Child Labor bill I %
the District OF Columbia. This
a model bill and the opponen
,R OF the child labor regard it as
the utmost Importance that Il
te national legislature should pa
nd such a bill which willproveamo
nd salutary example as well as
Is, model for every State in the Q
ion. Nothing has been done, ho
Ms ever, because Senator BeveridI
O. has been absent attending t
Ronnhl;can atate convention