The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-01-07
.ROOSEvELT'S
POPULARITY
His New Year Reception a Re-
cord-Breaker.
SIXTY PREGNANT DAYS
FOR CONGRESS


the History of the worid-The
Presidents Proaapt Measure for
ReIief-Taft and the South-The
Eastern Judgeship-The Postal
Savings Bank BilI-Efforts To Re-
duce the Country-Life Commission.
Special to The Caucasian.
Washington, d. c., Jan. 4.-Both
houses of Congress assembled to-day
with sixty days of the busiest work
that any Congress has ever had be-
fore it. There will have to be done
between now and the fourth of March
by the present Congress more work
than is usually done in the first four
months of long session of Congress.
The present Congress dies on the
fourth of March, and there would not
be another Congress to meet until
the first Monday in next December,
"hiCoo ait
call an extra session of Congress for
the purpose of revising the tariff,
which he has declared he will do.
Help for Earthquake Sufferers.
President Roosevelt already has
ships on their way to Italy with
100000 worth of food, medicine,
clothing and other needed supplies
for the relief of the earthquake suf-
ferers. He has also offered to the
King of italy to have the sixteen
American battleships which have just
passed through the Suez Canal to
hasten to the scene of desolation and
distress and render all the assistance
possible. In addition the President
has sent a message to Congress ask
ing for large appropriation of
money for further relief. The loss
of life and property from this earth
quake is the greatest in the history
of the world
The Postal Savings Bank Bill.
There is no one measure that Con-
gress will have to deal with in which
there will be wider general inter-
est than the bill to establish postal
savings banks. The Republican party
declared for this great reform in it's
last national platform, and the can
didates of the party and the speak
ers from one end of the country to
the other found that the masses of
the people took as much or more in
terest in this plank in their Republf-
can platform than in any other prom
ise made by the party.
The Democratic party proposed in
the place of postal savings banks
their scheme for guaranteeing bank
deposits and attempted to make that
their leading issue. The voters de-
cided that they were afraid to risk
Bryan's guarantee plan, but declared
in favor of the postal savings banks
instead. It would seem that a meas
ure so popular and one which has
worked with such wonderful success
in all other countries, would be
adopted at once by the party so
thoroughly pledged for its adoption;
but already there are signs that the
reactionary Republicans and certain
large corporate interests behind
them will organize to try to defeat
this measure. If they should succeed
1t will be bad day for the Repub-
lican party, for there is no one prop
osition to-day that is more demanded
by the masses of the people or that
would be of greater benefit to them
than postal savings banks unless 1t
be free rural delivery.
MFR. Taft and the South.
Much interest is manifested here
in the consideration which President
elect Taft is giving to the advance
ment of Republican principles In the
South. It Is at least beginning to be
realized, not only by Mr.. Taft, but by
Northern Republicans generally, that
Republican principles are already
very popular in the South, and ap-
peal strongly to thousands and tens
of thousands of the most Independent
citizens south of the Potomac who
have never yet voted the Republican
ticket, and they are further begin
ming to realize that there is some
cause other than the prejudices fol-
lowing the war and reconstruction
that prevents people of the South
from voting their convictions.
Mr.. Walter Page, in his speech in
New York, in introducing Judge Taft
at the North Carolina banquet, stat
ed the situation in a few words when
he said that Republican principles
were already much more widely and
deeply rooted in the South than was
shown by the vote at the last cleo
ton, but that the best element in the
South would not join the Republican
party or vote it's ticket where the
leadership of the party in the South
was in the hands of class OF pro-
fessional politicians who took trad
ing and trafficking delegations to the
National Conventions, and whose
chief desire was to perpetuate them
selves at the head of the so-called
Republican organization simply for
| the purpose of dividing the Ioaves
and fishes. In short, he said that the
Republican party in the South must
become a party OF character before