New-York tribune., 1910-01-11

REMOVING THE L4BEI.


Too much Importance is likely to be
attached to the announcement that the
Republican whip in the House of Rep
resentatives has stricken from his list
the names of the Republican insur-
gents. This only means that in view OF
the vote in the House last Friday, when
the organization" was defeated on a
question Of parliamentary procedure, the
rounder-up of the organization forces
will not hereafter send hurry-up mes
sages to members who, as he believes.
are going TO vote to upset the "organiza-
tons" programme. It is the privilege
of whip to edit his own list in ac-
cordance with emergencies. But the re-
ception or non-reception of whip
notices cannot determine anybody's
party status.
1t would be different if the chairman
of the Republican House caucus should
undertake to rule that the insurgents
We're not entitled to invitations to sit in
that gathering. They were elected as
Republicans and still claim TO be Re
publicans, and unless they demonstrate
by some overt act that they have aban-
doned their party associations it would
be foolish for the Republican caucus or
any party committee representing the Re
publican membership of the House to
challenge their Republicanism. Voting
to alter the House rules so as to take
from the speaker the power to appoint
committees is in no sense violation of
party principle. Questions concerning
the parliamentary routine which the
House is TO follow have no bearing on a
members Republcanism or his lack of
il. The House insurgents cannot prop
erly be disciplined on that ground.
Many of them, it is true, voted against
the passage of the Payne tariff law. Yet
it has never been held that vote against
a single party measure destroyed the
party status of a Representative or
Senator. good many Republicans In
both branches have voted against party
measures in the past without severing,
or even interrupting their party rela-
tions. Other Republicans who were not
insurgents also voted against the pas
sage of the Payne bill. We have not
heard that ex-Speaker J. Warren Keifer,
of Ohio, is to be proceeded against be-
cause he affiliated with insurgents and
Democrats in opposing that measure. Is
Mr.. Southwick, of New York, to be dis
ciplined for a similar offence, or Mr..
Mann, of Illinois, whom Speaker Can
non recently eulogized as the most valu-
able member of the House?
Only two years ago the chairman of
the Republican House caucus attempted
to exclude from it Representative Peter
A. Porter, of New York, who demanded
admission ps Republican. The reason
given for barring him out was that he
had accepted a nomination on the Demo-
cratic ticket and had defeated Gn oppo
nent, James W Wadsworth, running on
8 Republican ticket. Mr.. Porter stated
that he was a Republican and intended
TO support Republican policies and the
chairman Of the caucus was forced to
withdraw his edict and abandon his
claim Of competency to determine Rep
resentative's party status. The House
caucus is no inquisition. 1t is not au-
thoriZed to pass upon matters of party
loyalty. The voters do that or their
representatives in national conventions.
The country laughed at Chairman Hep
burns attempt to freeze Representative
Porter out of the Republican caucus. 1t
will not take seriously similar efforts in
the House to prove that men who were
elected by Republican constituencies and
who say that they are now and intend
to remain Republicans can, without any
material evidence Of disloyalty, be de-
prived of party fellowship.