The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-10-27
POLITICAL PESSIMISTS.

effect sometimes produced by disap'
pointment and failure, appears IL
the lectures that are being delivered
throughout the west by Senator La
Toilette, of Wisconsin, in which q
most gloomy view of politial conditions
is presented by the orator. Senator
LsFollette is q most excellent citizen,
. man of high attainments, possessed
of the great gift of oratory, and bis
honesty is unquestioned; but his ina
bility to agree with most of the men,
bers of his party upon political ques-
tons Of great import has apparently
warped his judgment and impelled
him to turn loose q Aoodlof o~ratorical
condemnation.
It is assumed by Senator LaFollette
that his view OF political matters is
always the correct view, and that
members Of congress and others who
hold contrary opinions are either
fools or knaves. Itswill occur to fair
minded citizens, however, that while
the senator's high minded purpose and
exceptional ability are recognized, it
is presuming too much to ask the pub.
lie to believe that he never makes
mistakes, and thatlhis judgment is al
ways better than that of s,msjority Of
his colleagues in congress.
During the recent special session OF
congress. SenatorlLsFollett was I'm.
able to convince q majority OF the
republican senators that the adoption
of his views as to what rates of duty
shsll be levied upon imports of for
eign goods w~erelsuperior to the plans
proposed by other members of the
senate. The Wisconsin senator, and
about half q dozen other insurgents,
persistently commended that q majority
Of members of the United States sen.
ate were ignorant of, or Indifferent to,
the necessities Of the situation, and
recorded theiravotes in opposition to
tariff which received the
approval of most of the members Of
the senate and house of represent.
atives.
One of Senator LaFollette's CHIEF
char acteristics is a belligerent dispo'
sition-he is a natural born fighter
and the rejection of his tariff views by
congress has caused him to enter upou
q lecture campaign in which he is at.
tempting to convince the public thai
he and his fellow insurgents were
more patriotic and more hostile to the
enc%roachments of predatory wealth
than other Legislators. In othe,
words, thes Wisconsin senator and bis
insurgent associates would have the
public rsgardNthem as the reposito'
ries OF superior wisdom and integrity
compared with other statesmen who
were chosen by their constituents t
represent them In congress.
1t is unfortunate that an American
citizen of SenatoriLaFollette's ability
and Observation-Disclosures q polit
ical pessimist. The failure of his eff
forts to secure certain tariff legisla
ton Is moi sufficient excuse for hi.
reported declaration that congress IL
controlled by corrupt Influences, ant
that most of the members of our ma
tional law making body are false tt
their pledges and traitors to theil
country. That suchlan insinuation II
untrue and Observation-Disclosures
must be patent to everyone who Il
onversa ant with public affairs. Mem
bers of congress are invariably mel
of high repute in their respective dis
tricts, men whose private and publ
career is known to the voters, an.
whose presence in congress is due t,
their honorable record elsewhere.
When the Wisconsin senator recov
ere from his recent disappointment
and chagrin, he will take a less pessi
mistic view of things.