Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1909-02-25

sition of the old leaders.
When the post Office appropriation
bill was brought up on Thursday, Mr..
La Toilette asked that it go over Tor
one day, and in this he was opposed
and the Senate took it up Immediately.
In the course of the discussion Mr.. La
Toilette arraigned congress generally
for its failure to quickly respond to the
demands Of the people for passage OF
legislation.
1t was this arrangement Of Congress
that brought Senator Penrose's attack
upon La Toilette in which he character
lied his statements as clap trap states
manship and said that it was the unan-
imous testimony of members on the
Committee on Indian Affairs and on
other committees upon which the Wis
consin senator holds membership that
he did not attend to his duties as
committeeman. - The Pennsylvania
said that Mr.. La Toilette when in the
senate lis here but to delay the bust
ness of the senate, to hold up the trans
action of the public business and to
embarrass those who under the oath of
office and in the conscientious discharge
of their duties are endeavoring to carry
the burden of the senatorial Office.
ut is of little value, | presume, to
utter a contradiction here to much that
has been said, 1t puts the word of one
senator against that of another. have
not attended the meetings of some of
the committees to which was assigned.
| attended the meetings of the Commit
tee on Claims once or twice. 1t was
not committee upon which ] felt |
could render any service and | asked
the senate to relieve me from further
service upon it. The Committee on the
Census, in the early part of this session,
had legislation under consideration and
that is the only legislation that | have
been informed has been before that
committee since | have been a member
of it. | was absent at my home in
Wisconsin Immediately following the
holiday recess for about one week,
and during that time the bill was under
consideration and was reported think
| | have been reasonably diligent in my
attenda ,e upon the Committee on In
dian Affairs. | do not believe that the
Senator from Pennsylvania has the
warrant and authority of my associates
and colleagues upon that committee for
any such statement as he has made.
would have more confidence in that
statement if senators who are members
of that committee made the declaration
themselves. | was absent from the
sessions of this senate for two months
last session, confined to my home in
this city by illness. With reference to
the character of my work when | am
here, Mr.. President, the Record speaks
from Pennsylvania, with respect to
that, counts for nothing with me.
Against his coarse and vulgar assault |
put my record since | have been a
member of this body"
Mr.. La Follette's manner in replying
to the coarse and vulgar attack from
the senator from Pennsylvania was
calm and dispassionate. He was not
perturbed or disturbed. He went right
on with the work which he had in hand,
namely, to find out what was in the
post Office appropriation bill. He found
out some things. He found in the bill
a paragraph very much desired by the
railroads Of the country changing the
quadrennial to an annual weighing. He
asked the question as to how much it
would add to the cost of carrying the
mails. Senator Penrose and Senator
Carter jumped to the defense of the
amendment Mr.. Carter said that the
increased cost of the government for
weighing the mails would be about
Sis, 900 per year and that the annual
cost for carrying the mails would be in
creased about 7%, Senator La Toilette
read a statement from the hearing be-
fore the House committee which showed
that the amendment meant an increase
in the cost of transportation of mails
Of from 81, 500 600 to 5000, 600 annual
ly. He understood perfectly that the
extra cost Of weighing the mail would
be about $4,000 but the woodchuck
was the $4,000, 600 extra the railroads
would receive. That was what he was
after and he got it, He defeated it
with a point of order of course Sem
ator Penrose and Senator Carter were
angry. Another point to which Senator
La Toilette called attention was the
annual charge Of rental Of railway mail
cars which now amounts to 81, 500, 600,
an average of 81, 229 per car. He called
attention to the fact that as long ago
as 1887 Postmaster General Villas had
directed attention to the excessive price
paid for railway mail ears as annual
| rental