The Washington times., 1911-12-03
SPEAKER CLARK OPPOSED TO
ADO-NOTHING SESSION.

"A DO.NOlHlN SESSION..
1t appears that Speaker Champ Clark
has been counseling with Democratic
members of the House who are arriving
in Washington for the opening of the
regular session of Congress Monday,
and telling them what he thinks about
the legislative program. The Speaker
has been hearing lot of talk to the
effect that this will be do-nothing
session, and that it will be the part
of shrewd and far-seeing politics for
the Democrats to make a great hurrah
about putting bills through the House
with the object, not of getting actual
legislation, but of putting the Admins
tration or the insurgents or the. regu-
lars, or all of them combined, in a
deep, dark, dismal political hole.
Now the Speaker has been going to
and fro and up and down the country.
He has been speaking in nineteen
States. He has been feeling the pulse
of the people. Moreover, he was not
born yesterday. He has been treading
the boards of the great legislative
theater at Washington for good many
years, and he has been in politics
longer than some of. his colleagues
have years. He thinks he knows q
thing or two about the American people
and about good politics and poor poll
tics. Gut of the fullness of the wisdom
garnered in these many years, the
Speaker is telling the "boys" that the
Democrats in Congress are going to
make a sad mistake and probably lose
the elections next year if they 60 to
fooling around and trying to play cute
politics. He is telling them that the
best politics consists in not playing
politics, that the American people want
legislation that will relieve them from
some of the evils they now believe
themselves suffering from, and that
they will not stand for any nonsense
about it. He is pointing out that the
Democratic policy this session should
be to do all possible to get legislation
passed and on the statute books for
the advantage of the public, and that
the matter of who is to get the credit
will take care of itself.
Speaker Clark is not patient with
the talk of exercising that ante.
diluvian political strategy which con.
sists in trying to embarras the other
fellow and in trying to preserve issues
in order to make use of them in the
next campaign. And he is telling his
fellow-Democrats so. He is emphasiz
ing the fact that what the country
wants is achievement, constructive
achievement in legislation, and moi
playing to the galleries, with barrer
record of results when the session ends
1t does not need a seer or q sachen
to see clearly that Speaker Clark ii
right about it. The Democratic party
is facing a magnificent opportunity il
the session of Congress that is nov
about to begin. If its record is really
constructive, if it shows that its mem
bership in Congress is animated by 1
common desire to get results in bene
fetal legislation, without strict draw
ing of party lines, and with due con
sideration of the great questions o
, the day on their merits, it will be tn
= gamer. This will be the course of wis
politics. Any other course will b
, ruinous.
1t need not be supposed by tn
Democratic leaders or the leaders o
g any other element in Congress or in tn
: Government that the public is not o
sufficient intelligence in these days O
= high-class and cheap daily newspaper
" and magazines, with rural free deliver
!. and other conveniences for keeping i
!. touch with the world, to be able t
q perceive the truth about what goes o
!. at Washington. Never before were tn
# people SO keenly alive to what goe
O on in Congress. They are watchin
the course of things here closely, an
!. if the House leaders and the Democrat
n in both House and Senate are wise the
# will take counsel of Speaker Clark
w sagacious advice.
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