The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-07-22
THE BIC MEN
Of THE DEBATE
Personal Observations oil the
Tariff Takers in the
Senate.
By Ernest G.. Walker.
Mail Special to the Advertiser. J


Senate's oratorical fires during the last
ten weeks may be deserving some ne
tee now that the days of tariff conclu-
si0ns draw near. They are well toward
half of the Senate. Some of them
are Senators eloquent, although many
of them are men of no speaking gifts.
Most of them, perhaps, have contrib
uted little or nothing to the enlighten-
ment of the Senate and the country
on the tariff situation, except by hold /
ing peace to speed the hour for a final
vote and by helping make quorum.
On the other hand a few of them have
been most useful Senator Crane, of
Massachusetts,, is the bright and par
ticular star in that regard. He has
not opened his mouth to speak a word
for the Congressional Record beyond
giving his vote and beyond introduce
ing bills and petitions. But he is the
captain of the Macedonian Phalanx,
which he organized and which he mar
shalled for every test that seriously
involved the prestige and the success
| of the Finance Committee. 1t speed
| lily came about that many Senators and
others seeking tariff favors sought the
/ committee room of the Massachusetts,
Senators, rather than the Finance Com
mittee itself Senator Crane had pipe
| line of communication with the com.
| mittee and possessed rare qualities of
| divination as to what the committee
would do with any particular topic Of
/ tariff in which a Senator, whose vote
might be important, was interested.
The sphinxes Of tariff debate COM
prise a most imposing array. In the
interesting company is Senator Bank.
head, of Alabama, leonine of aspect
and huge in physical proportions. Hob
son, the hero of Santiago, defeated him
for a denomination to the House of
Representatives which proved to be a
kick up stairs for Alabama turned
around and elected him to the Senate.
Second to him on the roster alphabet
| ically is Bourne, of Oregon, the original
Roosevelt second termer, who, has got,
| ten into the good graces of President
Taft and who has been busy all during
the tariff debate serving in the PresI-
dents golf cabinet.
Briggs, of New Jersey, who is a New
Hampshire Yankee and received a
mil at D.,
another of the tariff sphinxes. as is
Burnham, of New Hampshire. Bur
rows, of Michigan, in his day and gen
Grafton accounted leading party ora
tor, the temporary chairman Of the
Chicago convention and a member of
the Finance Committee that framed the
Aldrich-Payne bill, has been emulating
the oyster ever since April IL last
when that bill was reported to the
Senate. Another of the Senate's fluent
orators in the earlier days Frye, of
Maine, has been sitting mute as an
Indian chief while the powerful demon
STATIONS Of tariff speech have been in
progress.
4 Chamberlain, Democrat from Repub-
lican Oregon, who again and again has
been able from the stump to charm a
majority of votes from a politically
hostile electorate, has hardly lifted up
his voice Clark, of Wyoming, a force,
full speaker, and Clarke. of Arkansas.
who can speak more words in min
ute Than any other Of all the Senators,
have been counting the proverbial
| silence of the tombs. Cullom, of lii
nois, like Burrows one of the Finance
Committee; Curtis, of Kansas; Dick.
of Chic, and Dillingham;, of Vermont;
Gamble, of South Dakota; Warner, of
Missouri, and Nixon, of Nevada. are
all in a group on the Republican side
of the chamber, from which group there
has come hardly tariff sound. They
have not spoken sufficiently to come
within the one-speech- during the tariff
debate class, albeit certain of them have
) qualified once or twice with a few re-
marks. Du Pont of Delaware presses
Wetmore, of Rhode Island, the cham
pion Sphinx of the Senate, for the hon,
ors of utter silence but he lost advan-
tage one day by feverish appeal for
an increase of sixty-five cents a bushel
in the duties upon potatoes. Guggen
helm, of Colorado, who like Nixon, OF
Nevada, is no taller and no larger than
! the lustiest of the Senate pages, broke
D into print with an observation or tive
. on the metal schedules.
One of the strong Senate speakers
;, who in former days, when he was {
q member of Ways and Means could hole
the House to attention, has said NJ
word on tariff. He is johnson, tn,
10 Norwegian from North Dakota. Fra
zier, of Tennessee, the tallest man il
i the Senate, since Fairbanks retired t,
| private life, the one who had a swift
ride from his hotel to the Capitol tn
other day, the while Bailey, of Texas
talked against time, so that he coul,
record his vote ON maximum and mini
mum, has been as quiet as docil
| giraffe ever since the tariff debate be
| gan to rage.
| Jones, of Washington, now in hi
first term after long and useful servic
in the House; Kean, of New JERSEY
who is in the Senate inner circle: Nc
Emery, of Louisiana, the Bourbon Demo
crat who has voted consistently wit
the Republicans on tariff questions
Paynter, of Kentucky, who seems t
enjoy the distinction of looking Xix
President Tart; Richardson, of Della
ware. and Stephenson, of Wisconsin