The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-06-26

aeted-PraIses the Insurgents.
The Democratic leaders Of the House |
DO not propose to let the Republicans
get away with too much credit.
They have been listening to the reports
going out Of Washington within the past
few weeks that President Taft has
achieved a wonderful record in the way
OF laws pat on the statute books. and
reports from other quarters that the sen
timent of the country generally was
turning in favor of the President
Champ Clark, of Missouri the mi
nority leader. last night, just before
adjournment Issued a statement, in
which he summarized the situation from
the Democratic point Of view, and said;
The Republicans have at last begun
their old game of claiming everything,
but Il Is another case of whistling to
keep their courage up while going
through a graveyard. They are now
Dragging that they have fulfilled their
promises Certain OF their minor prom
ises they have fulfilled TO a certain ex-
tent
Their biggest PROMISE. e.. the prom
ise to revise the tariff dOwnward-they
utterly failed to fulfill. On the contrary,
they revised it upward. and for so doing
are in for good trouncing.
CrIticIses Tariff Bill.
"An the hired arithmeticians they can
set to figuring will never convince the
people that the Payne Aldrich-Smoot
tariff bill is an Improvement upon the
Dingiey bill, against which the protest
was made. Everything that people con-
sume is higher, and the most ridiculous
document ever published by men holding
high position since Gutenberg invented
movable types is the Lodge committee
Senate report on the cost Of living, which
leaves out the tariff entirely as a source
OF cost: but nothing better could be
expected from the man who in 1893 de-
clared that the ultimate consumer is a
myth.
at Winona, Mimi, President Taft de-
clared that the wooden schedule is too
high and out TO he reduced IL is nearly
eleven months since the tariff bill was
signed by him, and yet no step has been
taken 10 lower the cruel rates of that
schedule. They can whoop Il up as much
as they please about fulfilling promises.
but nobody will believe them so long as
that schedule remains unreduced. And
there are others almost as bad.
Party Fails at Economy.
They started into this session with
loud pronunciamentos about economy, and
wound Up, as usual by increasing the
total OF the appropriation bills.
fs1sbo 5yunorfnuf hill parh
passed at this session was the railroad
rate bill The bill, as passed. is a very
different and much better bill than the
Wickersham or administration bill The
interstate commerce committee bill is an
Improvement on the Wickersham bill;
the House bill is an Improvement on The
committee bin, and almost every improve
ment was forced into that bin by the
Democrats and insurgents in the House
and Senate Three times we came within
one vote in the House of knocking out
the commerce court, an utterly useless
and most extravagant provision. Most
that is good in that bill we claim. What
is bad belongs to the regular Republicans.
But whether that bill is good or bad,
or whoever Is responsible for it, or
whether II carries out any promise made
by anybody the fact remains that the
Payne Aldrich- Smoot tariff bill is the
worst ever passed by the American Con-
gress. and utterly fails to fulfill the cam
paign promises Of the Republicans.
victory Against Rules.
at the beginning of the extraordinary
session much sport was made of Demo-
Gratis and insurgent Republicans because
they proposed to Iiberalize the rules Of
the House and emancipate the members
thereof; but time at last sets all things
even, and on March 10 we forced through
a resolution to elect an enlarged Rules
Committee, of which the Speaker should
not be member A few days ago. by a
vote Of 201 to !, the House adopted a rule
to prevent committees from smothering
or pigeon-holing bills. Certainly the reg
ular Republicans cannot claim any sort
OF credit for the new rule of March 10,
for every mothers son Of them not only
voted against it, but fought it tooth and
nail
The regulars cannot, with straight
faces. claim that they are responsible for
the anti-smothering rule lately adopted,
for they gave in their adhesion to it only
because they knew we had the votes to
adopt the rule, whether the regulars
voted for 1t or not They were simply
trying to save their faces
In passing. it may be stated with per-
feet verify that since March l9 the pro-
ceedings in the House have been con-
Quoted in a manner very different from
what they were prior to that time. For
example, the railroad rate bill and the
Porto Rican bill and other great bills
we're debated fully. section by section
with full power of amendment. other
reforms remain to be effected. and. there
fore, Cannonism remains as an issue on
which the people will pass in November. -