The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1910-04-13

Ing around the national capital as
there have been around Albany-more
indeed. since the American congress is
a larger body than the New York leg.
islature. No session passes that sto.
ries Of this sort do not float through
the highways and byways of the town.
Some OF the rumors get into the pa
pers. More Of them do not. 1t is a
rather serious matter for a newspaper
to make a specific charge of bribery
without the absolute proof to back it
up. and absolute proof Is exceedingly
difficult to get. AS for vague and gen.
eral charges, they carry little or no
weight. Yet in the very nature Of the
Ease they are the only charges pos
sible, even though there may be a NOR
al certainty on the part of every in
formed person that bribery is going
on. 1t is one thing to feel convinced
in ones own mind that legislation is
being bought and sold and quite an
other thing to prove it against specific
persons in a court Of law.
The bad blood owe the high prices
inquiry in the senate may produce ef-
fects in the future. Senator Elkins Is
hardly a man to be trifed with, and
he is not without power. Moreover.
he frankly speaks his mind. When
Lodge was placed at the head of the
high prices investigating committee,
although Elkins was the author of the
resolution which gave the committee
existence, the West Virginia senator
was indignant and openly said so. He
asserted that he had been "buffaloed"
and charged that the move was q
frameup to protect the tariff.
There is no wild scramble to mend
the hole in the corporation tax law.
Technical objections against doing so
have already been raised. One is that
1t is impossible in IN appropriation
bill to empower the secretary Of the
treasury to hire the clerks necessary
to keep corporation returns open for
public inspection. This would require
a separate bill, which would have to be
reported out by the ways and means
committee. VIII the ways and means
committee do it? Well, am not
making any rash predictions to that /
effect. As a matter Of fact, the cor
p%orations have raised such a howl
over the publicity clause that some
members Of congress and revenue Of
fcials seem only too willing to creep
out through the hole that has been
discovered. To plug the aperture
might embarrass these gentlemen. 1t
Is somewhat amusing the way the big
put forward the little
fellows as a buffer on the publicity
II the returns Of the little
chaps were made public, runs the ar
gument, it would enable the big trusts
to gobble them up. The sudden concern
shown for the small dealer is tear COM
OF course the big trusts have
objections to telling all about their
affairs and letting the dear public
know how they got the money. Their
whole anxiety is to prevent themselves
from swallowing the small concerns,
uncle Joe Cannon a certainly be
about the funniest thing that ever sue
ceeded In keeping out of the profess
humorist class. His talk on
hobbies before the National Press
club the other evening gave the merry
la-ha to Wiley, Pinchot, Peary and
pretty much everybody else in reach
who is trying to do anything for man.
Kind. Come to think of it. these peo-
Die who are trying to help their fellow
men do seem an excellent butt for q
certain kind of wit. Galilei, Column
Robert Fulton, s. F. B. Morse
nd others who made new eras for the
race were the laughingstock
II those they sought to benefit. We
re repeating the past. We have grin.
led at the Wright brothers and now
re snickering at "Pure Food" Wiley,
Conservation" Pinchot and Pole Dis
'overer Peary. Uncle Joe hands out
ONE little pleasantly about each, and
We split our sides. In a hundred years
he world will be building monuments
o men of the Peary-Pinchot- Wiley
lass. while most of us it will have
orgotten. 1t may remember Uncle
'oe Cannon, but If so 1t will not be to
'u1ld monuments to him.
The stricken Senator Tillman has
lad the unfeigned sympathy of every
about the capitol. The revolution
II sentiment in regard to Tillman has
.A.u'> Az