The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-04-09
JACK HARRIS LETTER.
WASHINGTON, April 9th

A NermOnter who was here on thu
excursion last week told me tina
the snow was six feet deep in hi
back yard. | always believe every
thing told me by any of the folk
at home, except in matters pertain
ing to politics and religion, and hi
story reconciled me in some degre,
to remaining here a little while long
er The danger of freezing to deatf
here is not yet past however. Wher
| aroused this morning the wine
was blowing a gale, and not clouc
in the sky. In thirty minutes il
was raining heavily, then it showed
as hard as l ever saw it for ten
minutes, then it hailed and the
thermometer dropped about twenty
degrees in the next hour. The NOR
al of this is that you should be
happy and content where you are,
and thank the Good Lord it is no
worse.
The papers here are ceaselessly
preaching that the tariff bill is in
such tangle in the House that con-
gress must necessarily be here for
months to come. They can see no
end to it, They think it has been
cut off, like the Irishman's string
They always talk like this as a mat
ter Of policy and force of habit.
They say things to cheer up the re-
sidents here, who live on congress.
When congress gets thru and goes
away, the hotels and boarding
houses dry goods stores are as dead
as hay till congress comes back
again. Therefore they prophesy
tangles and deadlocks and procras-
tination and obstruction and delay
genel ally. They live off the misery
of the country, and they want to
string it out as long as possible.
But it won't string out for their
benefit or for any other reason
whatsoever. There is no tangle with
the tariff bill, except in the sense
that the tariff is always in tangle
1t always looks dark and doubtful
to the unsophisticated. 1t moves
in mysterious way, its wonders to
perform. Anybody can look at it,
but it requires an expert to look in
to it.
The tariff is a science and a pro-
fession, and to have a familiar &C.
quaintance with it is the labor of a
lifetime. 1t has to grow on one
like a red nose. Sometimes people
become familiar with a few idioms
and think they know all about it.
Then they wade out into deep water
and never come to the surface. To
day the tariff bill looks like a china
closet after it has been totted ac-
ross three or four counties by an
Overgrown cyclone. Or a mere
man caught in the rush at a depart
ment store bargain counter. But
that is to be expected. 1t has Just
been planted. 1t is terminating
now. In a few days it will sprout, |
and in few short weeks it will bud |
md bloom in odoriferous beauty. |
It may not have just the smell that .
you admire tho most, but it will be |
| pretty decent job, nevertheless. |
It might well be compared to the
weather. 1t can't please everybody |
some want sun and some rain, some
leat and some cold, but on the
whole it is a comfortable average.
f the almighty's weather can't
please everybody, how can you ex-
,ect few men to make anything
hat can?
OF course it is possible that there
nay be serious delay and trouble in
he passage of the tariff bill, but
othing of the kind is yet in sight.
he local papers are having visions
f all manner of complexities, but,
S | have said, that is their chronic
ondition. Their predictions are
ever verified, bnt they keep it up
rom force of habit. Meanwhile the
Id timers around the premises feel
creme and confident and allow
allure to take its course. They
now that the most omnibus clouds j
surround a tariff bill. |
otherwise it would not seem natural
nd like one. But when the sky I
,oks the darkest there is always !
lie most probability of a sudden /
reeze to clear it. When the log S
rive is it the worst jam is the time I
hen a little manipulation knocks I
ut the key log and the drive floats
,renely on its way. So we don't Q
orry, knowing from the past that r
will all end up all right in due v
JASON. /
Regardless of appearances and b
redictions the prospect is now d
ven better than ever before that {
lie bill will be passed and become q
law in record time Everybody j
DIV expects to get out of here by Z
lie middle of June at the latest, and Fl
some little time before. d
is possible that some political b
may break out to delay C
Ie program, bu political earth d
lakes are not running on schedule b
me in this section. The senate n
,mmittee on Finance, which will t
I'VE the preparation of the House Il
II for presentation to the senate is Il
the bill section by sec "