Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-12-16
President Taft Conters
With Regulars.
Senator Hale Assumes Mantle
Of Leadership.
He Is Opposed To Tariff Changes
And Wants Economy.

| III us LTepdTdltoItS IoF CNe winter
business and incidentally making read,
for the holidays. On the surface Their
is little indeed doing on Capitol Hill
| but those who care to study the Situa
ton easily find that much is being &C
complished ard that many obstacles
| are being smoothed away and the patti
cleared for progress later on. For tina
reason the President is overlapping il
| Congress current interest. He is Yer,
busy shaping up the special message.
| which will outline the particular legis
| lation he desires of Congress. And be
fore he writes the last word on those
| special messages he wants to talk
things over carefully with the leaders
or Capital hill
| Hence the procession of senators and
representatives to the White House Of
| fees in recent days. Hence the numer-
| Gus conferences with Attorney General
WiCkershanl and Solicitor General
LLOYD Bowers, who are two Of the big
| lawyers Of the administration and who
are having big parts in framing up the
provisions which the President wants
enacted into law. They are the men
who nave been taking the lead, under
y
framing up amendments to the inter-
state commerce law, which will be
pressed for Congressional attention
soon after the holidays.
over at the north end Of the
Capitol, the developments of par
ticular Maine interest, pertain to
the leadership there OF Senator
Hale. He really comes into his
own there as the recognized voice of his
party al this session of Congress. Ours
ing the long period of his service as
acting chairman of appropriations, the
mantle of leadership was upon the late
Senator Allison of Iowa. During the
extra session of Congress last summer,
tariff was to the front and the tariff
bill, was under the charge of Senator
Aldricn of Rhode Island, chairman of
the finance committee where the Payne
bill had been revised. 1t naturally and
properlv fell to Senator Aldrich to have
the leading place in the direction of
Senate affairs, when these were con-
sIdered at a session exclusively devot-
ed to the tariff
But there is now new status. as the
Republicans Of the Senate recognize
and they look to Senator Hale as the
chairman of appropriations and as the
chairman of the Republican caucus to
exercise the authority which attends
the responsibility of his election to
those two places. He has promptly as
sumed that authority and will be the
one man in the Senate, whose final
word, when it is spoken, will be re-
spected. He wears now. accordingly
the leadership mantel that fell from the
shoulders of the late Senator Allison
and is called to the White House on
the same footing as is Speaker Cannon,
the head man of the House of Repre-
sentativeS.
AS soon as the Presidents message
was presented to Senate and House,
Senator Hale publicly announced his
approval of its features. Insurgents
nave tried to make it appear that the
Maine senator was out of step with the
administration on tariff issues, but
that is a part of their play with every
prominent Republican who stands in
their way of getting another tariff re-
vision.
perhaps the most practical and i'm
portant part of it (the message)' said
| the senator from Maine, sis that it
puts an end to the plans of the tariff
disturberS, as it announces that the
| tariff board will not be used for any
purpose of reopening tariff legislation
| or tariff discussion, as that would tend
| to disturb conditions and impede gem
| eral prosperity. I'm the same utter
| anCe the Maine senator paid his re-
spectS to the insurgents" who will
| not be satisfied with the message, and
| are already looking to Roosevelt and
| his return to the country. in order tc
| increase their importance by adherins
| to him and depreciating, as they are
| everywhere, the President and his pol
| icis.'
President Taft especially appreciated
| this statement from Senator Hale as II
| voiced his sentiments exactly with ref
erence to the "Insurgents." both of tho
Senate and the House. He has let il
be known anew, both by his words 2nt
actions that he proposes to stand by
the regulars of his party The regu'
lars are the men he is calling into con
ference. Because Of this the insurSent:
are already grumbl;ng. They claim j
| is next to impossible for them to Se
an opportunity to discuss public ques
lions with the President and Senator!
DoJliver OF Iowa ard LaFollette o
! Wisconsin have departed angrily iron
the White House offices, declaring tina
| when they go there again it Will b'
wien the President sends for them.
| Senator Hale is very much interested
in economy in voting appropriations a
this session of Congress. Economy Il
one of the Presidents principal watch
words. as the treasury funds are run
Ming low and a bond issue is already II
sight. as Secretary MacNeagh has de
clared it imperative in his annual re
port. In former times it was general.
the Senate that piled up appropriation
by amending the supply bills as the,
passed the House. In recent years
while Senator Hale has been the bl:
strong man in the Senate approprla
lions committee, he has done much L
change that and the responsibility TO
the voting of funds extravaganza.
rests in larger measure than ever be
fore with the popular legislativ
branch.
That line of activity on the part o
the Senate will be more emphatic thal
ever this winter. under Senator Hale
| 1:,,a.;o, hairr1an IF ammonia