The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1909-05-28
GLADIATORS OF SENATE
In GREAT TARIFF DEBATE

full tariff discussion Mr.. Aldrich has
been an interesting study. He does
not like to engage in debate. Although
fairly good speaker, as that term
is understood, he has neither the mo-
mentum nor the eloquenee of the
orator. His voice rings clearly and
when he speaks the Senate is all atten-
ton. There is no rush for the cloak
rooms and the corridors. He had pass
ed the word to Senator Tom Car
ter, the smooth one of Montana, to
be ready to open the moment he
(Aldrich) had concluded. Indeed SEN
ator Carter had been given little
time to prepare his wares for display
namely the dozens of big volumes of
information about the various phases
of the revision now in hand. Senator
Carter has long chin whiskers which
make him look more like a farmer
than he is. No one was ever known
to attempt to work the shell game
upon him. He is one of the speakers
of great precision in the Senate. His
sentences are always grammatical and
he uses the right word to fit the case.
Unctuous as a book agent, he told the
Senate all about the wisdom confined
within the covers of the tariff books
the House had printed since early last
December. 1t was interesting to hear
him, for Senator Carter is almost in
variably an interesting speaker.
Senator Hale, of Maine, was the next
in line to deliver blow. This was
intimated ahead of time by the ques-
tions that Senator Hale put to Senator
| Carter. The Maine man has been
holding his peace about tariff, because
| he feels that he has plenty Of talk to
make on schedules that come farther
along in the bin and on schedules to
which he has given more attention as
member of the committee than to
those Immediately under consideration.
He drove several nails before he sat
down, making it plain that the Finance
Committee had not been working in a
corner, that it had furnished the SEN
had asked for and with amazing
promptness. Considering the enormous
ate with every bit of information it
amount of work that the committee had
to do and the great range of subjects
the tariff covered, there had been an
enormous amount of publicity in that
connection-in fact there had been
more publicity about the making of
the present tariff bill than about any
of eits predecessors.
And when Senator Hale had taken
his seat, the effective group work was
continued by the appearance of Sena'
tor Lodge, of Massachusetts. He is
one Of the Senate Is convincing speak
ers and he hammered away for fifteen
minutes with as terse and convincing
English as the Senate has heard in
many a day. He had been chosen to
emphasize the climax of the group
stroke and the progessives were
brought to realize that they had been
met by movement like unto their
own. 1t was a fine and dramatic clos
ing of strenuous week.
There is promise of more of this kind
of group effort. The Westerners are
making their plans to work in com
panies. They have well ordered lead
ership and whenever they want to score
a point they pick out half dozen
men. Each is shown what is expected
| of him and he studies ON that particu
lar subject. He reads all he can find
about it, goes over the arguments pro
and con with other Senators who have
information in that line, consults ex.
perts for facts and for verifcation of
his assertions till he is in a position
to combat the wise brains of the FL
nance Committee. When the clock
strikes for him, he is on his feet and
occupies the Senate till the discussion
! of the point assigned to him has been
exhausted. AS the Senate passes to
another paragraph, up comes another
Ia hnn
ingp on that particular subject and he
takes the lead in arguing and question
| ing. So it goes the round of the West
ern Republicans who have left the res
| ervation. Sometimes the Democrats
''mix in" but they are generally con
tent to let the Republicans "scrap it
out, among themselves. Out in the
cloakrooms and the Hobbies the Demo,
Gratis hasten to tell these Western Re,
publicans what fine fellows they are
and how their speeches were enjoyed
Senator Aldrich has his finance forces
toled off in like fashion, although he
is the captain of practically all of them
The Senators of the committee who
gave special consideration to particu
lar schedules are expected to be to the
front to defend them from attack, and
they have not failed thus far to make
good.
1t is strange coalition the Demo
Gratis and Western Republicans hav,
in the Senate over the tariff. TIL,
Western Republicans viii not ADM
in the open that there is any coalition
at all. They claim TO be battling in
dependently and without any especia
regard for Democratic lines And we
they want Democrats to vote witt
them. The Democrats are willinI
there should be recognition of
coalition and that it SHOULD be mad
in the open. And yet they secretl.
hope for too few Western Republican
votes TO make a majority of the Sen
ate.
The reason is not far to seek, TIL
Democrats think they would hay
greater future advantage before IN
country II a very high tarifr bill
enacted into law. The higher an
more obnoxious 1t is to the countr.
the better the issue the Democrats wi
have with which to go before the vo
ers next year and the less likely III
people are to forget their grievance