The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-07-01
BY gibson GARDNER.

BY gibson GARDNER.
WASHINGTON, d. c., July 1.
Returning to washington after
nearly Ave months absence I have
! devoted a week to seeing what has
been done. l had been writing
before l went away of the Taft
program for legislation. Coming
back. was greeted with claims
that this program had been forced
on congress by the strength of
Taft and that loyal regular repuh-
licans had served their country
we'll. l find that the loyal reg
ular" is the member of congress
who has stuck to Aldrich and Can
non through thick and thin.
/ got out the old administration
bills as introduced and compared
them with the printed copies of
bills as passed. 1 am amazed.
The record of the administration
when thus view is rather short.
The record is rather different
from the program? Some good
legislation has been placed on the
books. But examination shows ft
vas placed there by the combined
forts of the republican insur-
cents and the more decent demo-
rats.
Some bad legislation proposed
md pushed by Taft has been kept
fl the books-also by the insur-
cents and the progressive demo-
rats. Some questionable legisla-
ion has been put upon the book
oy the united forces of Taft, Can
i non, Aldrich and the administra-
ton democrats.
The thing that strikes me
hardest is the absolute wip-
ing out of party lines. There
have been new lines drawn.
There are two new parties
stand-pat and progressive
and there are republicans
and democrats i'm each. Read
ing the rOllcalls / can see the
Aldrich democrats and the
Cannon democrats as plain as
day. 1t is the line that sep
arates the common interests
!, of the country from the spc-
/ cial interests of the few.
That line has grown since I
went away. It is getting
wider and blacler every day.
: Here's another curious thing:
1t is that the Taft program mas
been revised from week to weeh
and any piece of legislation tina
. was sure of passage has been Ia.
' bled as an item In the Taft pro
gram. Those doomed for derea
have been quietly dropped out O.
sight which paved the way for the
political game which is to claim
= all credit for accomplishment ant
to go before the country as tn,
greatest geter that ever got. TIL,
: big thing, the item about whfcf
the administration clique is pre-
pairing to make the most noise. I,
, the railroad bill.
] was in Washington when At
torney General Wickershaw sen
the railroad bill to congress. Nov
after five months absence I hav,
chance to compare that bill will
the new law. The law toda,
resembles the Wickersham-Taf
bill only in the enacting clause
The insurgents have rewritten tn.
law. They have struck out Wick
ersham's repeal of the anti-trus
law, his legalized railway merger
his plan to get the attorney gen
eral to override and veto the In
terstate commerce commission. hi,
permission TO water stock and val
: idate previous water and half .
' dozen similar jokers. They hav.
cut out the Wickersham jokers In
the paragraphs creating the com
merce court; have rewritten the
long and short haul clause and
have almost succeeded in givins
authority to the commission q
regulate rates.
But 1t is almost" after pro.
posed increases in rates have
been checked for a couple Of
months it is doubtful If the com,
omission has authority to preveni
the increases desired by the rail
roads. The new law has no val
uation feature. 1t creates an ex-
|pensive and rather useless court
and its principal merits consists
in its failure to do what the Taft