The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-05-24
GLAD|ATORS
Of SENATE
CONTINUED From Page One.)


had asked for and with amazing
promptness. Considering the enormous
ate with every bit of information il
amount of work that the committee had
to do and the great range of subjects
| the tariff covered, there had been an
enormous amount of publicity in that
| conneetion-in fact there had been
more publicity about the making of
the present tariff bill than about any
of its predecessors.
| And when Senator Hale had taken
his seat, the effective group work was
continued by the appearance of Sena'
| tor Lodge, of Massachusetts. He is
one of the Senate s convincing speak
| ers and he hammered away for fifteen
minutes with as terse and convincing
English as the Senate has heard in
| many a day. He had been chosen to
emphasize the climax of the group
stroke and the progessives were
met by a movement like unto their
own. 1t was fine and dramatic clos
ing of a strenuous week.
There is promise of more of this kind
of group effort. The Westerners are
making their plans to work in com
panies. They have a well oraered lead
ership and whenever they want to score
a point they pick out a half dozen
men. Each is shown what is expected
of him and he studies on that particu-
lar subject. He reads all ne can find
about it, goes over the arguments pro
and con with other Senators who have
information in that line, consults ex-
perts for facts and for verifcation of
his assertions till he is in a position
to combat the wise brains of the FL
nance Committee. When the clock
strikes for him, he is on his feet and
occupies the Senate till the discussion
of the point assigned to him has been
exhausted. AS the Senate passes to
another paragraph, up comes another
Western Senator He has been "bon-
ing on that particular subject and he
takes the lead in arguing and question
ing. So it goes the round of the West
ern Republicans who have left the res
ervation. Sometimes the Democrats
''mix i'm but they are generally con-
tent to let the Republicans "scrap it
out, among themselves. Out in the
cloakrooms and the Hobbies the Demo
Gratis hasten to tell these Western Re
publicans what fine fellows they are
and how their speeches were enjoyed.
Senator Aldrich has his finance forces
toled off in like fashion, although he
is the captain of practically all of them.
The Senators of the committee who
gave special consideration to particu-
lar schedules are expected to be to the
front to defend them from attack, and
they have not failed thus far to make
good.
1t is a strange coalition the Demo-
Gratis and Western Republicans have
in the Senate over the tariff. The
Western Republicans will not admit
in the open that there is any coalition
at all They claim to be battling in
dependently and without any especial
regard for Democratic lines. And yet
they want Democrats to vote with
them. The Democrats are willing
there should be recognition of a
coalition and that it should be made
in the open. And yet they secretly
hope for too few Western Republican
votes to make a majority of the SEN
ate.
The reason is not far to seek. The
| CNiilpNAeNIo tAiliiN tIlCS "QttlN nav Z
| greater future advantage before the
| country if a very high tariff bill is
enacted into law. The higher and
/ more obnoxious it is to the country,
| the better the issue the Democrats will
| have with which to go before the vot-
| erS next year and the less likely the
| people are to forget their grievances
| before election time. And so, earnest
| ly as they talk for the lowering of
| duties, they are not unconsolably sad
| when the Republicans succeed in pill
| ing an occasional brick upon the tariff
| wall.
On the other hand the regular Re-
| pubhcans are very anxious to get as
many of the Western prOgressives a.
they possibly can. The entire cam
| paign of tactics in the last two OF
| three weeks has been toward winning
| over enough Western Republicans tC
make sure of passing every one of tbs
| Finance Committees recommended
tions. Indeed the wise old Finance
| Committee leaders will not allow any
special schedule to come to a vote til
they have made a careful canvass t.
ascertain whether there is any danger
| Oh tCI6dt. II the canvass Is unSatlS.
| factory, some one asks that the para.
graph in controversy be passed over
for a time. Then the campaign fol
votes is renewed.
| 1t Will probably be found when tht
closest tests come that the Democrat;
have lost little strength, because o.
| absentees. Senators. when away from
town, are supposed to have pairs, blu
in the hard fights of the Senate it i:
| sometimes difficult topair an absentee
The Democrats will make no tremend
Gus efforts to secure a full attendance
| of their members, which will maxi
. it all the more difficult for the Westerl
progressives to win an issue and al
, the easier for the Republican regu
lars to carry their program through.
| The case of Senator Jeff Davis o
Arkansas is to the point. He is ava.
from Washington and plans to sta
away all of the session. No Demo
cratic leader is chasing the Arkansa1
with kilograms to return and n
Democratic Senator is exerting him
self to be certain that the Arkansa-
has a pair on every tariff vote. TIL
| observed rules about pairing votes ar
somewhat Intricate, much more so i
j ! the Senate than the House. Then tn