The Republican journal., 1910-03-24
MEN AND AFFAIRS IN WASHING TON.


most interesting season of all the year IN
Washington is just at hand. Multltudes
of travellers and winter vacatlonlsts are
troouing to the Capitol to see the Senate
action and to catch some of the spirit
chat prevails in the vicinity where laws
are made for all the people. Several Name
folks are scattered in this throng of pill
grins that surge IN upon the federal city.
This large migration movement, an an
nual feature of life at the Capitol, has
lust set in. 1t will reach high water
mark at Easter, and then will rapidly
dwindle. But in the meantime tens of
thousands. possibly hundreds of thou
sands of people, will have been specta-
tors at the great governmental show.
MANY of them crowd the corridors OF the
Senate and the House, seeking a few
words with their member of Congress
and their Senator'S 1t seems like
home" when one is so far away, to
shake hands with the home people who
are participating in the Congressional
proceedings. They also crowd the ante
room of the remodelled White House
offices. for the climax of every tourists
visit to Washington is an opportunity to
shake hands with the President. Last
wear Representative Burleigh arranged
for hundreds of Maine visitors, most OF
them from the third district, to meet the
President in the East room. The other
Maine representatives in the House had
somewhat similar experiences. The at
titude Of the President at this season OF
the wear toward the reception OF visitors
accordingly becomes a matter of concern
to MANY lawmakers upon the hill. Some
wears President Roosevelt was so busy
that he had to put his foot down regard
ING general receptions to visitors. Presl-
dent Taft has generally sought to find
the necessary time by hook or by crook
and probably will continue the practice
this wear. He likes to meet people who
come to Washington, thus showing their
interest in the general government.
Whenever he can contribute to the pleas
ure of such visitors by greeting them, ne
has been very glad to do SO. Thus far he
has been holding no receptions in the East
Room. but the number of visitors, mere
" to shake hands, as the phrase goes,
has been increasing daily at the White
House offices.
Al! four Maine congressman are busy
ing themselves with something OF legls-
lative Importance at this busy juncture
of the session. 1t may be of most inter-
est in the third Maine district that Rep
resentative Burleigh is bending to the big
4ask-which is usually an annual task
of helping to get the omnibus public
building bill into shape. Not many days
ago, President Taft gave out the word
that be thought the governments inter
ests required the enactment of a small |
public building bill at this session. The |
advocates of economy, of whom the |
President is one, had hoped such legisla-
ton could be deferred till another year,
when the revenues would be larger and |
there would be more money to spare.
But the governments business is con-
stantly growing and the demands for
adequate quarters for postoffces, custom
houses, and court houses in growing
towns pile up from many quarters. Con-
gressmen get clamorous that something
he done to meet these demands for build
ings and the President and the Speaker
have come to believe that it may be in
the interest of real economy in the long
run to enact some building legislation
forthwith. The omnibus building bill al
ways originates in the House. The COM
mittee on public buildings and grounds,
Of which Gov. Burleigh is the second Re-
publican member, ''gets busy" as soon as
the word goes forth. The sub committees
thereof at once enter upon an eXamina
tion of the public building bills that have
accumulated from many districts. These
are gone over carefully, referred to the
Treasury Department for examination
and report, as the construction of public
belongs to bureau of the
Treasury department. The governments
business in the towns and cities where
buildings are proposed is scrutinized
and with all the data and the recon-
mendations of the Department on hand,
the subcommittee undertake to decide
whether any appropriation shall be voted,
and if so, how much. The subcommittee
of which Gov. Burleigh is chairman has
an allotment of States, including all of
the New England States. 1t is probably
The most important of the subcommittee,
in that it covers more populous territory,
where many of the larger public building
projects originate.
Purely Maine measures are not much
to the front these days in Congress. That
is partly because Maine is not asking
much this year, outside of appropriations
for the usual federal operations within
the State. The Maine men, as usual, are
keeping sharp eye out for these appro-
priations. The legislative appropriation
bill, which the House is lust disposing of, |