Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-12

10
worth more than a three-hour speech on
the floor OF the house or the senate.
Nobody has given a satisfactory explana-
ton OF Aldrfch's remarkable mastery over
the senate when currency and tariff are
up. He executes some mysterious influence
over the other senators beyond doubt. Men
Of acknowledged ability and leadership in
other issues. for some strange reason, bow
to the superior domination of Aldrich when
the subject of schedules and rates is men
toned.
ton the other day:
II hate to admit It, but it's the truth"
he said, that Aldrich knows more about
the tariff than all the rest OF us put to-
gether. We don't oppose him because we
don't know enough about the subject to
argue with him. We raise a question and
he comes back with a string OF statistics
of imports, exports, manufacturing values.
wages, foreign rates and other detailed
knowledge that makes us look foolish by
comparison. Rather than he shown UP we
stay In our seats"
There is a great deal of truth in this
statement. Everybody admits that Aldrich
10 'AhOu N pCtl III COfBTebb III the mdLtef
OF tariff knowledge. He has been in con-
gress for thirty years. He knowns all
about every tariff bill that has been en-
acted In that period. He can tell you
pffhand the rates in every important sched-
ule in all the tariff laws of the last quar-
ter of a century. Furthermore. he can tell
you how each important schedule has
worked out in the matter OF furnishing
revenues and protection.
This feeling of heiplessness before Aldrieh
when tariff is debated. cropped out the
other day. The democrats were all 'het
up because Aldrich. Hale and the other
republicans of the finance committee were
examining witnesses without admitting
democratic senators. Bacon protested
against the violation OF constitutional priv
ileges; Rayner Numbered against the throt-
ting Of public liberty and the venerable
Daniel lost his temper. In the language of
the street democrats ran around in cir
Giles" giving vent to their rage, and all
the time Aldrich sat smiling, calm and UNI
perturbed. Finally Senator Daniel let the
cat out of the bag when, rising and shak-
ing his fist at Aldrich, HI cried out In a
hopeless wall:
o are the only pne who knows what
is going on"
Senator Aldrich is one OF the simplest
men in congress. The popular idea that
he is a senatorial "high-brow," with so
much dignity that It hurts, given to stiff
and formal ways, is all wrong. He is the
one senator WIN never wears a frock coat.
He looks more like a keen. wide awake,
successful broker than a United States
senator. He has a tall. we'll built athletic
figure. h little hair he has is dark
gray. His mustache is white. The
Aldrich eyes are the color OF steel and as
clear and direct as a hawks.
As an orator, Senator Aldrich would rank
at the foot OF the senate list. When he
rises he talks. There is no attempt at
rhetorical flights. no fancy figures of
speech and no gesticulatlons or other
tricks of the orator.
III talks just like a business man would
at a meeting of the board OF directors of
a national bank" was the comment of a
man in the gallery the other day. as Aid
rich was explaining the intricacies OF the
metal schedule in the tariff bill.
Aldrich talks directly at his listeners.
and his words count. His simple addresses
carry more weight than all the florid
speeches of B~everidge, Doniver and other
real orators put together. AIdrich believes
in concentration. The tariff and currency
are his specialties, and he believes in
acquiring every bit Of knowledge about
them that he can. A democratic senator
said recently that he believed Aldrich had
read more on these two subjects than any
other man in the United States. He not
only intimately knows the currency and
tariff laws OF the United States, but is
acquainted with the same kind Of laws In
practically all the civilized nations. When
a new work by a financial authority is
published. he buys It and reads It. He
talked a veteran correspondent into a Sc
we're headache one afternoon when he was
asked to give his views upon the re-
organization Of the national banking act.
The Rho Island wizard is regarded
generally as an aristocrat. yet he is one
OF the best mixers in the senate. He has
mastered the knack OF controlling men.
He knows the subtle art of persuading
your opponent to vote with you.
That man Aldrieh spends more time on
the democratic side than in his own seat,
remarked an observant gallery attendant
a week or so ago.
II is the Aldrich habit TO hobnob with
Bailey. Rayner. Bacon, Tillman and the
others Of the minority whenever impcr-
tant legislation is pending. He fits from
democrat to democrat, telling them intor-
mally what is being done and getting them
to agree TO his program. Unlike Champ
Clark. he believes in compromise and con-
citation. Senator Allison said Of Aldrieh:
mot once in all the years Of our asso-
citation has there been anything like a Jar
In our relations; not once has there been