The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-07-05
BAILEY MEETS
HIS MATCH
Hughes, OF Colorado, Puts the
Texan Senator on the
Defensive.
BY Ernest G.. Walker.
mail Special to the Advertiser.

Wlbn1n Cne1r clrcle VINO seems capaDIe
of combat with Joseph w. Bailey, Of +
Texas. An incident of the past week
brought him to the front and he bore /
himself so well that the satisfaction |
over the trimming he gave the Texan |
is still the subject of comment in the |
cloakrooms.
And while Senator Charles J. Hughes, |
Democrat, of Colorado, is stoically re-
ceiving congratulations over the out
come of his clash with the formidable
Bailey, the Senate is beginning to take
notice of the arrival of other Demo
Gratis, who promise to come into the
ranks of forceful and effective debat-
ers Gore, the blind man of Oklahoma,
has been getting into prominent place.
The Republicans have ceased to smile
| derisively when he speaks. His col
| league, Owen, is also becoming a SEN
ator of argumentative power. Accord
| ingly there is a galaxy of speakers and
analyzers on the Democratic side who
promise to make the minority more re-
spected
| AS debater Senator Bailey is prob
ably the most concise, aggressive and
| dangerous opponent among Democrats
| and Republicans. He knows his ability
| and seems at times to use it to tanta-
lie his less gifted brethren. He es-
says to lecture and to prescribe. He
tells others what they should do. He
attempted this upon the new Democra-
tic Senator from Colorado, a man who
has an angular face, crowned with gray
hair, and who seems to be sort Of
oldfashioned, plain but grouchy citi-
zen. He has been sitting in the rear
Senate row all the session, without
hardly lifting up his voice. Out in
Denver they know him as "Charleyn
Hughes, great expert in mining and
irrigation law and leading legal light
who has spoken before the American
Bar Association and the Harvard Law
School and dabbled little in politics
occasionally.
Senator Bailey undertook to criticize
the work of the Denver convention as
he had done previously several times
in the course of the tariff debate and
defined his ideas of what the functions
of a convention were. He stepped on
the toes of the Colorado Senator by
reference to the votes of that Senator
and roundly expressed his disapproval.
The Senate was greatly surprised when
the gray-crowned man arose unosten-
tatiously and described his articles of
faith. He was mixing it up' with
the Texan in few brief minutes and
the senate was all attention over the
unexpected proceeding. His language
was not quite as precise as that the
Texan uses but his sentences were well
chosen. His ideas were clearly formed.
He did not lose his temper but he ex-
planned why it did not look well in Mr..
Bailey to undertake to lecture him and
| why some of Mr.. Bailey s views about
national platforms were not orthodox
from the Democratic point of view.
The speech, well balanced and strong
" delivered, has opened the way for
the Colorado Senator to attain high
place at that end of the Capitol He
has not pitched into debate with Re.
publicans yet but plainly has the capa-
city for it and in time will be touch
| ing elbows with Bailey and Tillman
in combating the Republican doctrines.
He promises to be different kind of
an antagonist than either and may have
the opportunity to rise to greater
eminence than either of them as an
opposition force.
Senator Gore has taken upon himself
much the same class of criticism as
Senator Tilman has busted himself with
in the many. years of his Senate service.
But he is not as violent as Senator
Tillman often is and does not shock
the sensibilities of many possible sym
pathizers by vehement outbursts. Be-
cause of the loss of his eyesight Sem
ator Gore is greatly handicapped but
he makes surprising progress. His
memory is little short of marvellous
and he can follow an involved debate
of figures and abstract data quite as
readily and intelligently as any Sen
ator who has two eyes.
Senator Bacon, of Georgia, has been
something of a force as a critic and
opposition man, but he is so prolix that
he loses effectiveness. The bulk of
really able Democratic debating there
fore has fallen upon the two Texas Sem
| ators, Bailey and Culberson, and Ray
ner, of Maryland. The latter is the
Democratic Dolliver. but like Mr.. Dol
, liver, lie comes forth only occasionally
and when he has prepared speech to
deliver. The tasks of exposing the
weaknesses and faults of Republican
measures, as presented for considera-
| ton on the Senate floor, have been
left to two or three men and this has
been responsible for much of the com
ment about the deeadence of Demo
: cratic strength in the upper legislative
, branch.
Possibly a revival is at hand. The
work of the new Democratic Senators
seems to indicate as much. Shivefy,
OF Indiana, is credited with being an
: able man who might supply some
strength to. the personnel of his party
r in the Senate, but he has been i'll SO
much during the extra session that
there has been no opportunity to try
him out. He made one speech and
| +bo+ bo aoulH take care