The National tribune., 1909-01-28

Feb 10. 1909, at / o'clock, has been
designated as the time for counting the
electoral vote in the House OF Repre-
sentativcs by the terms of a concurrent
resolution reported by Mr.. Burrows
from the Committee on Privileges and
Elections, and passed by the Senate.
The men who are being elected this
week and all others who come into the
Senate for new terms March 4 will
serve for six years. That means they
will have no cause to worry about their
own political futures till the middle
of the second Administration from this
For United States Senators are elected
for longer terms than any other Off
cials of the Government at Washing
ton, save only the Federal Judges. And
when a man gets an election for six
years term as Senator he comes to
Washington wearing a smile a yard
wide. He feels well, and nearly every
body else around him feels well be-
cause he has gotten such nice prize
that Washington generally estimates as
more precious politically than seat
at the Presidents Cabinet table.
Keeping Up With the Band.
One almost loses breath keeping up
with the procession of events these
days of a Washington Winter. The
Capitol is surely making history every
"a hours, and the volume of epoch
making material every seven days real
ly becomes quite imposing. And as
usual the White House is leaving the
Capitol far behind, altho 500 leSisla-
tors in Senate and House are trying to
imprint deep dents upon the scroll of
time. Then, there are the Presidential
messages issued almost daily to the
intrenched statesmen on Capitol Hill.
They get first place under the Wash
ington date line and reach first the
eye of the country
Congress, too, is trying to be defiant,
but who cares whether Congress is
right or wrong? The Congressman
themselves are beginning to think that
is the attitude of the country. They
do not propose 10 surrender tameiy, not
by jugful. And so it is that week by
week they proceed to throw up new in
trenchments, work out new schemes
for carrying the war into the Presi-
dents territory, and all that sort of a
thing They say they will not pass
bin that the President really wants,
and are giving a good imitation OF men
who mean what they say. They even
are going further than that, and are
racking their brains TO enact measures
the President will have to sign to his
own annoyance and embarrassment.
But it is all talk. Congress viii in the
end do exactly as the President wants
it to do.
Meanwhile Congress has been so oc-
cupied with all these war activities that
it has sorely neglected the work that
it must actually do before the 4th of
March arrives. There are IA appro-
priation bills, as nearly every one
knows, which must be passed. Almost
half OF the short session Of Congress Is
gone, only six weeks remain; but only
one of the IA necessary supply bills
has been approved by Senate and
House. All of which means sorry
mix-up in the closing DAYS of the ses-
sion-aIl-night sessions for week or
SO, hasty fegislalipn, mischieyous rid
ers on appropris lion bills, probably
heated controve ;es, yerging on fist
fights, and then eE:rly March days, when
25 or 30 men in the House, who do the
work there, end 10 or Is Senators, who
do the work there, will feel and act like
men dragged thru seven cities.
Pressing as all this work is upon the
Senate and House, neither body is too
busy to pause any day to hear speeches
in denunciation of he President. And
the President? He reads the speeches
and laughs and grows fat. Especially
is 1t true in the Senate, where for a
good portion of two days last week
to the President ard his doings. Sen
ator TillEnan, of South Carolina, had
tso innings, one that was not Of the
pi.chfork character and one that was
All the time he was explaining how he
was not mixed up improperly in efforts
| to purchase valuable timber lands in
Oregon at $3.50 an acre, notwithstand-
! ing the Presidents contentious to the
contrary. And then Senator Bacon, of
Georgia, took up lot OF time arguing
that the Senate could demand infcrma-
ton of Cabinet officers directly. wheth-
er the President wanted it given or not.
The House was not quite so lavish OF
its time in anti Roosevelt talk, but it
had its little fling also.
| Somebody Fooled.
| And in that connection there is an
interesting incident. When a resolu-
| ton was brought in from the Printing
| Committee 10 print 1000, 900 copies OF
| the proceedings of the House the Gay
THAT a rebuke was administered 10 the
President for his Secret Service Giss-
sage, it was tabled suddenly, because
some one stated that 1t would cost $685.
600 TO print 100000 copies and almost
as much more for the Post Office De-
par;ment TO Distribute them. It wa:
| supposed to have been circus stunt
largely for the purpose of emphasizing
iancw. along the line OF advertising thai
the President follows. Some of tht
House leaders were laughing in theil
| sleeves when il w-lJ all over and the
emphatic vote to lay the motion upof
the table had been recorded. But some
men are now asking now 1t was eyel
estimated that the printing would cos
s6S, ,009 There we're only about 81
pages of the Congressional Record Gov
ering the eight hours OF debate preced.
ensiager. an officer of the Republican
large experience in having millions o.
campaign documents printed, state!
that he can have 100000 copies o
these same proceedings OF the Hous
printed at a cost not to exceed $4,000
I And members of Congress are laughing
anew about that as showing how al
absurd statement can go unquestionet
in the House of Representatives.
| The Martinez
II is difficult to turn to any particu
lar activity in Government matters a
, washington without looking at TIL
: Presidents side of it and the Congress
sional side of it. The Navy is an ex
. ample. Last Autumn the President Is
! sued the now famous order Withdraw
ing the ramins from aboard ships O
war. II the President had done 1t grad
ualIy, without making any announce
ment, nobody would have thought any
Y thing about 1t. But he did ii with grea
= publicity, and a war was started upo
c hin, irnmediataiy for that action Tb