Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1911-05-05

Ior the election of senators by direct
vote Of the people For this amend
ment Mr.. Littleton voted. For the in
come tax amendment, which he, with
others, believes will be adopted, he
Will also vote, although he holds it
would be wiser If that method of rails
ing revenue had been left to the in
dlvldual states. But he holds that
lnese two measures, both of which
are certain of early acceptance mark
the beginning of the end of state
power in the United States and the
concentration of all power in the
federal government
1t is a strange thing" said Mr..
Llttleton, that what Alexander Ham
llton strove for, namely, the entire
supremacy of the federal govern
ment, should be gradually accom-
p11shed by the power in which Thorn
as Jefferson SO implicitly relied to
avert that very end. Yet it is so.
Jefferson believed in the people;
Hamilton distrusted them. But to-
day 1t is at the demand of the people
that We have taken the initial step
toward the great enhancement of fed
era1 power, which will be followed
presently by one of even more i'm.
portance. If the nation is to enact
an income tax it can in time prac-
ucally tax the states out of existence.
1t can tax their bonds and deprive
them Of the means Of anticipating
revenue, for example. Mind, do not
say that I oppose an income tax.
snail vote for it If it comes up to
me, though | wish the agitation which
mas forced it as a national measure
had been employed to compel the
legislature of every state to adopt it
as local measure. But in the end
1t will prove the greatest of all cen.
Trailing devices"
About the time Mr.. Littleton was
thus philosophizing on the new ad-
Yancement Of Hamiltonian ideas
through Jeffersonian forces, the SEN
ate in a. spirit of peace and harmony
was passing, by unanimous consent,
an appropriation of 100000 for stat
ues Of Jefferson and Hamilton. the
honors and the money to be equally
divided
Taft, LaFoIIette and Cummins.
Three states, all Southern and all
therefore Democratic, have at this
early season pledged their delega-
tons in the next Republican national
convention to President Taft. That
~
Taft is widely and deservedly popu-
lar, having avoided the pitfalls of bit
ter partisanship into which his prede-
cessor fell. Moreover, he has all the
officeholders in the south at his COM
mand, and well-organized political
machine to advance his cause If
nominated, as l believe he will be, it
will be eastern and southern votes
that Will accomplish It, Among the
western men, both representatives
and senators, now here, there is an
undercurrent Of antagonism to him,
the reason for which is rather diff
cult to determine. Much of it springs
from certain hostility to his reci-
procity program which his own party
IN the main repudiates, but which the
Democrats almost as a unit approve.
But out OF this hostility, yelled as it
is, will spring two other Republican
candidates. which will enliven the
next national convention of that
party even though neither shall be
successful-and at present there is
little likelihood that either will be.
This year the LaFollette presiden-
tial aspirations loom high upon the
political horizon. Since Senator Dol
liver died the hopes of the insurgent
Republicans, the Progressives if you
accept Senator Bourne's phrase, have
centered about LaFollette. And after
all he has been the real pioneer Of
the progressive movement. He be-
gan twenty years ago before Dolliver
had forced his way from the house to
the senate; when Cummins was hard
ly known outside his own state, Of
which he was later governor; when
Senator Bourne had not fought his
way out of Oregon's legislature to the
national senate and before Victor
Murdoch and Edmond Madison of
Kansas had been-to speak political
ly-invented Students of Shakes.
peare will we'll remember the classic
quarrel betwixt Brutus and Cassius
Ringing on the question whether the
former had declared himself the bet
ter or the colder" soldier of the two.
There can be no issue raised as to
LaFollette's being the oldest soldier
in Republican insurgent ranks. Out
Of that long service he has built up
national reputation which would be
of great value to his party should it
nominate hi1n-which 1t won't.
AS an independent candidate,
which I apprehend he may be, he
would draw heavily from the Demo
cratic party. Always in his Wiscon-
sin campaigns he has had the support
Of the more radical wing of the Demo
cratic party He has had the Bryan
tie support from start to finish, al
though I cannot recall his having