The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1909-06-03
Washington, d. c.

/
the general public has no idea of
how matters are really going, since
the actual work is being done quiet
ly in private conversations and by
political deals" concealed behind
the noisy but useless public debates
When the bill was first read by the
Senate reading clerk paragraph by
paragraph Senator Aldrich made a
note of each objection on. the part
of any Senator to any paragraph.
Thus he secured a list of the discon-
tented Senators, and found out just
what it was which displeased each
of them. Then he allowed the Sem
ate to amuse itself with oratory while
he set to work unobtrusively to Elk"
as many disgruntled Senators as is
necessary in order to pass the bill. In
all the six weeks of talk on the Sem
ate floor there has not bene single
important action taken.
This week the sugar schedule has
been the subject of the Senate ora
tors. The Finance Committee gained
four days of valuable time in which
to pursue its secret bargainings dur
ing the first of the week, when the
heated agitators had worked off all
the irritation and used all the am
munition for speeches which they
had, Senator Aldrich let the matter
come to a vote and his organization
defeated the advocates of lower sugar
duty overwhelmingly. Senator Nc
Emery of Louisiana, lifelong Demo-
crat, came out flat-footed in favor OF
high tariff protection on sugar, thus
adding another to the list of Southern
protectionists.
On Friday afternoon Senator Brad
lev of Kentucky made an eloquent
plea for his amendment TO enable
farmers to sell their tobacco without
taxation. His ability as a speaker
attracted attention even in so harden
ed an aggregatin as the Senate, and
the earnestness of his appeal for
the farmer secured much interest in
his amendment. Its fate, however,
depends not only on oratory but on
Sen. Bradley's ability to make friends
with the Senate gang" which
guides the destinies of Senate legis-
lation. If he can make concessions
the machine needs and can offset
the pressure brought to bear by the
agents of the Tobacco Trust he may
be able to succeed. The statesmen
here seem to think that his bill Is
good enough so far as it goes, but
that it would not hit the Trust parti-
cularly hard nor remedy the condi-
ton which brought on the might
riding"
Free lumber, that favorite policy
of Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Taft,
went down to an ignominious defeat
early in the week, seventeen OF the
Democrats lining up with the Repub-
licans to raise the price of our
lumber and increase the temptation TO
timber owners to cut and sell the
forests which ought to be preserved
for the future.
BAILEY A BULLY.
Senator Bailey of Texas jumped on
to a little newspaper man in the
Capitol corridor Friday afternoon for
an article appearing in the New York
Times accusing Bailey of selling out
TO Aldrich by directing the Demo-
cratic opposition into the lines least
annoying to the Republican organic
alton. In order to prove that he had
not done this Mr.. Bailey hit the
little chap two or three blows In the
face. and then to clinch the argu-
ment started to throttle him. Mr..
Manning put up game fight out
was saved only by the interposition
of Senator Clapp who got behind MIR.
Bailey and threw his arms around the
irate Texan. This will discourage
small newspaper correspondents from
printing stuff about any statesman
I
except those whom old age has In
capicated from fighting. Or perhaps
the newspaper men will begin 10
hunt in packs, as wolves hunt buffalo
The endless talk INDUCED in by
the Senate without action has re-
called here the memory OF the days
when the Senate labored and argu-
ed a whole winter about the Hepburn
Law three years ago, only TO nave
the Supreme Court declare that the
painfully prepared measure which the
great Constitutional lawyers OF the
Senate finally worked out was nell
Their sensible nor constitutional nor
useful. The Senate costs the country
a lot of money first and last; and
Judging from the amount of good 1t
has done In the past decade we might
better have blown in the cash in sup
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