Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-24

tial election and congress met first in
that state. The first congress at the
beginning treated North Carolina and
Rhode Island as foreign nations, but
before the two years was ended all OF
the thirteen states were under the
wing OF the constitution and had rep
resentatives and senators in congress.
The first duty of the first congress
was to count the electoral vote and,
under the rule then obtaining, declare
the person receiving the highest num-
ber of votes to be president and the
person receiving the next highest to be
vice president, each elector having Vot-
cd for two persons.
The congress met on March 4, but
there was no quorum in either house.
The presence of twelve senators and
thirty representatives was necessary
to organize the new government. Day
otter day the two houses met and ad-
Journed. Letters were sent out i'm
ploring the Indifferent members of
congress to hasten to New York. The
newspapers confidently predicted that
the government devised by the consti-
tuition could not be operated because 1t
would be impossible to get a sufficient
number of men to serve In congress.
After four weeks OF weary waiting the
necessary thirty was obtained and the
house of representatives on April
organized by electing Frederick Au-
gustus Muhlenberg to be speaker. FiVo
days later Senator Richard Henry Lee
of Virginia arrived, the senate then
had its necessary dozen members and
the congress was organized.
The two houses met together and
canVassed the vote of the electors and
declared George Washington president
and John Adams vice president OF th9
United States of America. Mr. Adams
IaaFW ~ a
preside over the senate. Messengers
were dispatched to Virginia to inform
General washington and request his
attendance at New York. 1t was
six days journey from Manhattan to
Mt. Vernon then-it is six hours now.
General Washington hastened to New
York and on April 30 was inaugurated
president and this government was
formally organized.
But congress had not waited for
president or an annual message" 1t
had already begun to legislate for the
infant government. On April 8, the
day after the electoral vote was can
vassed, the house took up legislative
work. The very first movement to-
ward law making in the American
congress was the introduction, two
weeks before George Washington be-
came president, of tariff bill. 1t was
presented in the form of a resolution
by James Madison, a representative
from Virginia, the Father of the Con-
stitution" and afterward twice presi-
dent of the United States. This tariff
bill was short only sixty-six words
being required to state its proposals
to place specific duty on liquors,
sugars, tea, coffee and cocoa and an
ad valorem duty on all other articles.
The debate on that first tariff meas
ure is quite as interesting today as IL
was then. Mr.. Madison of Virginia,
one of the fathers OF the Democratic
party, made the first tariff speech. He
declared, in substance, that all taxa
ton was burdensonne and onerous, that
all trade ought to be as free as pos
sible and that the only reason or JUS
tihcation for import duties was the
necessity OF raising revenue for the
federal government, direct taxation be-
ing quite out of the question. Then,
having emphasized his advocacy OF a
tariff for revenue only, he admitted
that he was not unmindful OF the fact
that even a revenue tariff would af-
ford, under certain conditions, incl
dental protection to certain industries.
The Democratic party has been accused
OF trimming and twisting and turning
with relation to the tariff question, but
u CdTeIul Sluuy VI MI nAelhAoOAl ST
speech Will aequit the party Of the
charge. That pronouncement pro-
claimed the doctrines advocated by
Jefferson, Calhoun. Pierce, Morrison.
Mills, Cleveland and Bryan.
Mr.. Madison and his Virginia notions
met with instant opposition. Mr..
Elias Boudinot of New Jersey objected
to the imposition of a tax on rum, de-
claring that the people of northern
New Jersey consumed great quanti-
ties of imported spirits and that II
this proposed tax of ten cents a gall
lon was levied 1t would compel the
Jersey people to purchase the raw ma
tive spirits from the Pennsylvania
stills.
Whereupon arose sundry representa-
tives of the state of Pennsylvania, de-
manding that the tariff on spirits be
placed at fifteen cents a gallon, or "as
high as can be collected" for the pro-
lection of Quaker stills. They sub
mitted protectionist arguments and
supported their position by presenting
a petition from the Philadelphia paper
mills praying for high tariff on paper
to protect the American-made product
from the pauper labor and the moro
abundant rags of Europe
That first congress had no po-
uIlCal party uiNiSlOHS ILO qu0SNlOh
of whether or not the constitution
should be ratified had divided the peo-
pie into Federalists and anti-Federal-
lists The Federalists were victorious,
and none but members of that faction
were sent to congress, the opposition
being opposed to having a congress at
all. But by the time the second con-
gress was elected there was a division,
the people naturally separating into
two sections, one led and inspired by
Thomas Jefferson and his doctrines,
the other inspired and led by Alexan-
der Hamilton and his deeds. The JEFF
fersonan party took the name of anti
Federalists, although it was not
the party formerly known by
that title. Eventually this name was
changed to Democratic-R Republican, and
finally, to distinguish the party from
the National Republicans, the popular
name became Democrats" But 1t
was not until after abe Civil war that
the party officially dropped the desig-
nation of "Democratic-R Republican"
President Washington came to the
senate chamber and actually discussed
executive matters-appointm and
treaties-with that body. AS there
were only twenty-six senators when
everyone was present it was more
practicable than 1t would be now that
there are ninety-two members Of the
upper house. The president usually
visited the senate at least twice a
week, and he always made a speech.
He discussed legislative as well as ex-
ecutive matters, and delivered in per-
son the views of the executive, such
as are now transmitted by message.