The Republican journal., 1909-04-22
Letter from Washington.
There will be Something Doing on the New
England Coast this Summer. The Census
Bill. Tariff Talk at the National Capitol.
Senator Hale.

England Coast this Summer. The Census
Bill. Tariff Talk at the National Capitol.
Senator Hale.
Correspondence of The Journal]
WASHINGTON, D. c., April 10. The salt water
along the Maine coast is bound to swirl with
activity this summer-during July and August.
The Navy, or good part of it, will be in that
vicinity for while. The President is going to
be on the Massachusetts coast. only few
hours sail from Rockland, Belfast and Port
land. There will be government boats galore
around in those quarters. The people of the
Fish Commission, of the Revenue Cutter Ser
vice. and several other going departments
of the Government will be buster than bees
this summer along the North Atlantic Coast,
and of course the Maine coast will catch occa-
sional glimpses. This is already apparent here
in the inquiries of official people about oppor
tunities for finding pleasant cottages and hotels
along the New England coast. There will be a
great rush to take vacations in July and August
and the do officials will flock to Maine
New Hampshire and Massachusetts, more than
ever before.
1t is altogether probable that President Taft
will take an occasional voyage along the Maine
coast before he concludes his vacation at Bev-
erly, near Salem, Mass. There is a revenue
cutter at Boston which he can use for an occa-
sional sea trip, but in all probability the May
flower or the Dolphin will be kept in North
Atlantic waters for the convenience of the
He iS
crossed the Pacific Ocean some half dozen
times and the Atlantic more than once. He has
been told much about the beautiful scenery of
the Maine coast and has expressed a desire to
look upon it before he returns from his sum-
mer vacation. If Congress adjourns early
say about June 1st-the arrival of the summer
population in Maine and other New England
States will be fastened, for there will be
great rush to get out of Washington the mo-
ment the President departs. This may result
in proonging the summer season along the
coast from Eastport to Narragansett.
Representative Burleigh has been touching
elbows with Senator LaFollette during the last
few days in an effort to adjust the final differ
ence between the Senate and House on the
census bill. The Third District Congressman
is one of the House conferees of that bill, the
only measure, apparently other than the tariff
BILL which will be allowed to pass and become
law during the extra session. 1t has become one
of the famous bills of Congress now, and the
general desire is to get it out of the way. The
makeup of the bill, providing for the selec
ton of census Office and census field employees
by competitive examinations, is in the form
that Representative Burleigh recommended
from the start. He was averse to antagoniz-
ing President Roosevelt in the matter of select
ing these employees and thought it better FOR
the efficiency of the census bureau, and from
ether points of view, to frame the bill about as
President Roosevelt wanted it and have the
matter removed from the field of legislative
and executive controversy.
Representatives Crumpacker of Indiana, who
is a member of the Ways and Means Commit
tee, and Burleigh, are the Republican conferees
on the part of the House. Senator LaFollette
who was recently made chairman of the Cen
sus Committee of the Senate, is the leading
conferee on the part of the upper legislative
branch. He and Gov. Burleigh have been of
the same mind about the features of the bill
for which President Roosevelt commended Gov
Burleigh has given careful attention to census
matters during his service in the House and
has contributed materially to the adjustment
of the difference in language and provision be-
tween the Senate and House bills.
Otherwise, since the passage of the tariff
bill in the House, the Maine Representatives
have had little to do and have been at liberty
to enjoy the splendid sunshiny days which
prevail in Washington at this time of year. 1t
is SO spring like, however, that nobody feels
very much in the mood of mental and physical
effort and probably nearly all the 391 members
of the House are entirely willing that the Sen
ate should do the working for the legislative
department of the Government for while.
Tariff talk dominates everything else just
now in Washington. The Senate is in full
swing with its tariff debate and the New Eng
land Senators are dominating that debate.
Not that they are talking much. 1t is not
their way. But they are shaping up the course
of the consideration of the bill, persuading
their colleagues of the futility of long discus
sion when the country is waiting for the enact
ment and the signature of the President and
seeking to adjust different schedules so as to
give the utmost satisfaction to the divers in
dustries that are looking to the Government
for adequate protection
Senator Hale is one of the foremost of the
New Englanders who are busy in such role
He and Senator Aldrich are the twin major
domos of the Senate situation. The Maine
Senator is much upon the floor, where he is the
recognized leader and keeps an eye upon the
developments of the debate. Senator Aldrch,
chairman of the Finance Committee, is in
charge of the bill. The Senate is meeting
earlier than usual and sitting later than usual
Between sessions these two New England lead
ers are taking all the time to be had in further
meetings of the Finance Committee. That
Committee is brooding over further tariff
amendments of great Importance, such as, for
instance, the restoration of the duty upon pulp
and print paper, in which Maine is so keenly
| interested.
Senator Hale has been devoting much of his
energies to that item. He hopes that the
restoration of the pulp and paper duties are
certain, but the fight is aggressive in its divers
phases. 1t will still be three or four weeks
| before Senator Hale gets "out of the woods
with that item. Lately the free hides people
Of Maine-those interested in shoe factories
and tanneries-have been coming down upon
the Senior Maine Senator and he has been
taking up their cause in conjunction with the
Massachusetts Senators-Lodge and Crane.
That is another subject which the Finance
Committee is considering and which is making
big fight between Republicans of the east
and Republicans of the west.