The National tribune., 1910-05-26

Labor. As the Cabinet Is increased in
size. the meetings of the Cabinet lose
something of their character as gather
ings to advise with the President and
to furnish him with sound opinions
about the conduct of public business.
1t has been commented upon more and
more in recent years that the members
of the Cabinet as such are ceas1ng to
be the constitutional advisers of the
President in the old sense OF that term,
and that matters of most vital fmpor-
tance to the President and the country
are not discussed and disposed of at
Cabinet meetings. On the contrary, II
Presidents have extra important mat
tiers of State under consideration they
take these up with two or three mem
bers of the Cabinet in whose Judgment
they happen to have the greatest con-
fidence
President Roosevelt adopted that
practice, and President Taft has been
following in the same direction. Now
adays a matter of politics is more likely
discussed with certain members of the
Cabinet; matters of legislation with GER
tain other members. Matters of diplo-
macy are often considered with Secre-
tary Knox alone. and not brought be-
fore the Cabinet at all. President
Roosevelt was strongly of the opinion
that the Cabinet is now as large as 1t
ought to be, and stated more than once
tHdt ne II WOulu De W
create any more Executive Depart
ments. OF course, a Department of
Public Health would naturally come
under the supervision of physician or
sanitary expert, and. somehow or other,
the idea of assuring doctor place in
the Presidents Cabinet for all time has
provoked quite q feeling of hostility.
The proposed Public Health Depart
ment is only one of quite number of
Legislative episodes of the Spring sea-
son. This week exposition boomers are
again taking possession of the city, and
by all the wiles of men of their craft
trying to commit Congress to a plan for
a Panama Canal Exposition in 1915.
The Committee on Industrial Arts and
EXpositions of the House expects to set
tie the matter this week, and at least
will give exhaustive hearings to the
bomers. The rivalry is chiefly between
San Francisco and New Orleans, neither
of which is asking the Government for
any money-oh, no, but simply for a
little bit of legislation designating the
city as the official Panama Canal Ex-
position City. whereupon the city's pub
lic-spirited citizens will do the rest.
The ofdsters in Washington know
very we'll that that is only the prologue
to the play The time has gone by
when Congress can easily be brought to
vote money directly for an exposition.
That plea was worn out long ago, when
the leaders in the Senate and House
began to cry out. whenever appropria-
tions in aid of expositions were broach-
ed: Never again"
In these advanced legislative times
the boomers do it another way. They
persuade Congress to recognize their
city for some exposition by voting an
appropriation for a Government exhibit
and also by authorizing invitations to
foreign Governments to participate.
That is the entering wedge, and before
Congress is thru with a project of that
kind 1t takes some tens of thousands of
dollars and sometimes hundreds of
thousands of dollars. The essential
thing is to get the Government commit
ted to the Exposition and to establish
its official character.
The San Franciscans have already
done some very clever work in advanc-
ing their cause They have covered bill
boards In the city with their signs and
have whooped it up around the Senate
and the House. The New Orleans BOOM
ers did likewise some weeks ago, but
they are coming again in force this
week. and propose to blanket the fire
of the San Franciscans. The rivalry
has been pretty friendly thus far, a1tho
San Francisco boomers have been dwell
ing much upon the fact that New Or
leans had an exposition in 1884, and
borrowed a million dollars from the
Federal Government which was never
paid back
There has been some talk about two
expositions, but that is frowned upon
because It is claimed It would be i'm
possible to make two official Panama
Canal Expositions a success. Everybody
knows 1T is difficult enough to make any
one exposition success. and Congress
probably will designate but one city to
celebrate the opening of the canal For
eign~ Nations will be asked to send ex-
hibits there. and the Federal Govern
tnent will have a mammoth exhibit of
its own.