Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-05
HIS ABILITY RECOGNIZED
ON ENTRANCE TO CONGRESS
Colaborer With the Leaders o
Civil War Times.

| Shortly after his first election to the ma
tional House of Representatives. Senator
Allisons ability was recognized by his
appointment to the ways and means COM
mittee He Immediately won the conf
dence of the leaders of his party, and it
was Senator Allison, much any man
| then in the service of the people, who
planned and carried through all the great
measures for the conduct of the civil war,
the re establishment of the national credit
and the development of the national re-
sources. He was contemporary of and
a colaborer with every one of the great
men whose services now are recognized
as of inestimable value to the nation
Lincoln. Stanton, Chase. Sumner, Blaine.
Edmunds. Sherman, Garfield, Logan.
Trumbull, Morton and others.
Chairman Of Steering Committee.
For many years Senator Allison had
been chairman of the republican caucus
of the Senate, of the republican steering
committee and of the Senate committee
on aDprOpriations. He was also, and had
been for more than thirty years, a men,
Der of the committee on finance. and dur
| ing much Of that time held the second po-
sition on that committee BY virtue Of his
position as chairman OF the republican
| caucus. and especially of the steering
| committee Mr.. Allison was the technical
leader of the Senate. and by virtue of his
abilities he shared the real leadership of
that body with only one or two others.
| AS chairman of the steering committee
| he was permitted to select his own as
sociates, and thus The became. in a pc
culiar sense the arbiter of the fortunes
of legislation in the Senate, for. as is
generally known, this committee. although
not recognized by law, practically de-
| termines what important bills shall be
passed and what shall be either defeated
or allowed to die 1t was the steering
| committee. more than any other SUBJ
organization of the Senate which directed
| the legislation in connection with the
! Spanish American war Indeed. in latter
years there has been little, if any. legis-
lation of moment which has not had the
sanction of this organization.
Authority on Finance.
| As a legislator Mr.. Allison gave most
of his attention to the industrial and
financial interest of the country. He be-
came a member of the House committee
on ways and means during his second
term in that body, and first distinguished
himself in the assistance he gave in de-
yising means for the payment of the enor-
nous public debt which had accumulated
during the civil war. Immediately after
entering the Senate he was made a men,
Der of the committee on appropriations
and of that committee he became chair
man in 1881. He took his place on the
committee on finance in 1877. Thus the
vast appropriations which have been made
by Congress during the past twenty-seven
years have been made Immediately under
his scrutiny and supervision. He has also
given especial attention to all the reyi-
| sons of the tariff since that of 1893 and
| to all the financial legislation including
the country's dealing with silver and the
| resumption of specie payments, since the
| war of the rebellion.
At three different times. when Presi-