Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-05-05
CAPITAL CHAT.
Tariff Building Makes
Multitude Of Books.
Thousands Of Dollars s. i Have
Been Spent in Printing.
Cong. BurIeigh Busy With Matters
..ReIating to Census Bill.

Washington, d. c., May 4.-(SpeciaD.
The present era of tariff building Is
characterized by multitude of big
government books. The publications
are sIoshing all around the Capitol,
like SO many fiOtsam on a river bank
in flood time. Many tens of thousands
OF dollars have been spent in the print
ing thereof, not to mention the many
tens of thousands of dollars that have
been disbursed in the preparation of
the manuscript. Enough "news print
and "book print" have been used at the
Government Printing Office in these
publications to keep a dozen modern
novellsts going in editions and press
notices for a life time.
Chairman Payne, of Ways and
Means, got out some pretty big books
when his committee was preparing the
tariff bill. There were tables galore,
paragraphs in parallel columns, ex-
hbitions of the language of the Ding
ley law and the language of the Payne
bill on the same page. amount of i'm
portations annually and total of rev.
enue paid and all that sort of thing.
But Chairman Aldrich and Senator
Hale and Senator Bailey and all the
other big wigs of the Finance Commit
tee have gone the House one better.
They have made the pages of the vol
umes broader and longer and more
numerous. They have had the Dingley
law and the Payne bill and the Aldrich-
Payne bill printed on the same page
in parallel columns. Even this would
not do and Senator LaFollette had an
her couple of columns added to show
some things he and certain colleagues
wanted to know about. This particu
lar volume, known as "Estimated Rev.
enues," is only about three quarters Of
all inch thick but it has grown so long
that 1t is about twice as big as an
elephants car and it flops according
ly as one attempts to transport it.
Senators have a special working copy
of the tariff bill almost as big as the
old fashioned unabridged dictionary.
The dear public are not in on the dis
trbution. for it is really an expensive
volume and combines mulitum in par
vo so that the Senator can have lot
of facts and figures about the thou
sands of rates where he can turn to
them quickly in the stress of debate or
Of hostile inquiry.
Two Maine Congressman. Repre-
Sentativcs Swasey and Guernsey. have
been jogging back to Maine to refresh
their minds about the aspect of things
at home Uncle John" Swasey has
returned and is bathing himself al
most daily in the sunshine of Senate
debate "Unc1e Amos Allen has been
sticking close to base and pegging
away about few errands in the De-
partments.
Representative Burleigh has been
unable to leave town, if he would.
That troublesome old bill providing for
the taking of the next Census has
struck more snags. AS one of the
conferees Gov Bureigh has been
tramping around to the Census Com
mittee room almost daily to talk it's
provisions over and see what was go
ing to be done with it. Just when It
seemed to be plain sailing once more
and when the work was apparently
done, some Western Senators "kicket
up" because there was no provision to
prevent residents of other states. re-
siding in Washington. from taking
Civil Service examinations. And then
there was kick up at the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor over the
amount OF authority bestowed upon
the Director of the Census and it
looked for a few days as though
Secretary Maggie. of Missouri. or
Director North, of the Census Bureau.
would have to resign. President Taft
IA Used a question as to whether tn"
terms of the Census bill could not be
modified so that the question OF au-