The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-09-02

Ok Company. All Rights Reserved.
uments would afford q very useful
source Of raw material.
Is there q remedy for such a state
OF things? The answer Is. yes; and.
moreover. it is a remedy which con.
gross can Itself Immediately provide.
There 1s no complete remedy, Of
course. No scheme can be devised
which can prevent such q request az
that OF the constituent last named
who wished public documents to use
In his private paper business. Re-
quests like this merely mean that in
every district individuals will always
be found who will request improper
favors. Az regards these people. all
that can be done is to create q vigor-
Gus public opinion-an opinion which
shall not only make 1t uncomfortable
for any man to demand such favors.
but which shall cordially support the
congressman in refusing them and
hold him accountable for granting
them. y
Congress has now, and has long
had, the power to rid it's members of
almost all the improper pressure
brought to bear upon the individual
by special interests-great and small.
local and metropolitan-or such sub
jects as tariff legislation, river and
harbor legislation. and pension legis-
lation. Congress has not exercised
this power; chiefly because Of what
am bound to regard az a very short
sighted and unwise belief that it is
beneath it's dignity to delegate any OF
it's functions. By passing rule which
would forbid the reception or passage
Of any pension bill save the pension
legislation recommended by the Com
missioner of pensions (this of course
to be rejected or amended as congress
saw fit, but not so amended as to
include any special or private legis-
lation), Congress would at once do
away with the possibility Of its mem
bers being subject to local pressure
for improper private pension bills, and
at the same time guarantee proper
treatment for the veteran who really
does deserve to have everything done
for him that the country can afford.
.
In the case of the tariff and the
river and harbor legislation, what 1s
needed in each case is ample provis-
ion for a commission of the highest
possible grade, composed of men who
thoroughly know the subject, and who
possess every attribute required for
the performance of the great and dif-
ficult task of framing In outline the
legislation that the country, as dis
t1nguished from special interests,
really needs. These men, from the
very nature Of the case, will be wholly
free from the local pressure of special
interests SO keenly felt by every man
who is dependent upon the vote Of
particular district every two years
for his continuance in public life.
Such river and harbor commission
could report, and probably would re-
port, great and comprehensive nat
ional scheme for river and harbor i'm
provements At to be considered by
the people as whole upon it's merits,
and not dependent for enactment into
law upon system of log-rolling
designed to placate special interests
which are powerful in each of many
score congressional districts Such
a tariff commission could get at the
facts of labor cost here and abroad
by expert inquiry, and not by the &C.
ceptance Of Interested testimony; such
a commission could consider dispas-
sionately the probable effect upon the
entire social and economic body of
all changes in any given branch of the
tariff, and it's recommendations would
| represent the exercise Of careful
judgment from q disinterested stand.
point Such a commission could work
in harmony with the commissioner Of
ers for whom the tariff is passed get
labor, so as to insure that the labor
the full benefit Of It.: for the major
part Of the benefit Of a protective
tariff should unQuestionably 80 to the
wage-workers.
Even under such conditions Of tariff
making errors might be committed.
but they would be merely those errors
of disinterested Judgment incidental
to every kind Of public or. for tho mat
ter of that, private effort, and the work
would not be hampered from tho be.
ginning by the need of gratifying pri.
vate self1shnees.
1t is only in this way that tariff
legislation, river and harbor legisla.
ton, and pension legislation can be
ciple and not from the very low stand
point of privilege and preference. The
| obstacle hitherto to the adoption OF
such a method of treatment has come
from the queer dislike felt by 80 many
| Congressional leaders to a course of
action which they (Quite Enthusiastically
feel would in some way be limitation
of their powers. I think this feeling
is passing. 1t IL simply another in.
stance Of the kind Of feeling which
makes some executive suspicious
about delegating their work to any
subordinate. and which makes many
voters, who have not pondered the
matter deeply, desire to elect great
numbers Of people on q ticket Of such
length that it is out Of the question
for any except professional Politician
to know much about them. .
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.