Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1911-08-16

ence called the statement Of friend
Of the South Carolinian deliberate
and unqualified falsehood." .51@
Senator Winthrop Murray Crane Is
Mr.. Lodges colleague In the senate.
Mr.. Crane Is no orator as Mr.. Lodge
is, and he knows it. Mr.. Crane pales
in the presence OF speech predica.
ment and for the first time in years
the Bay State has one man In the
upper house Of congress who cannot
be eloquent when occasion demands.
Senator Crane, however, is a pacifi-
Gator who reaches high mark Of abil-
ity. He certainly Is worker. and
Massachusetts. and the country, Tor
that matter, at times needs works as
much as it needs words.
This touching upon the representa-
ton of Massachusetts in the upper
house of congress brings to mind the
last great speech of Senator George
Frisbie Hoar. 1t was upon the sub
ject of the, convention between the
United States and the Republic of
Panama That speech was doubly a
prophecy In it he spoke of his own
coming death, and then, quoting in
part from John Bright, he said: i
see one vast federation stretching
from the frozen North in unbrcken
line to the glowing South, and from
the wild pillows Of the Atlantic west
ward to the calmer waters of the Pa
cific main, and l see one people and
one language. one law and one faith,
and over all that wide continent
home for freedom and a refuge for
the oppressed of every race and every
cline
On closing the last speech that he
delivered in the senate of the United
States, Senator Hoar said: Il do not
expect myself to see the accomplish
ment of that vision, but believe It
is not far off. The eyes of children
now born, the eyes of men now within
the sound Of my voice will see 1t far
on its way to accomplishment. In
spite Of difference of opinion on one
great question, am confident that
the career of peaceful empire and OF
peaceful glory will be along the same
path, with the same chart and COM
pass, with the same guiding stars,
with the same rule of faith and
practice that this nation has followed
from the beginning"
In congress at times there is pre-
sented> fine. question of ethics to
which the higher moralists may give
answer If they can. Many repre-
sentative finds his conscience and his
apparent duty to his constituents at
loggerheads. Demand comes from
home that he speak in support of
measure at which his own sense Of
right revolts. Is lie to speak or is
he to keep silence?
Possibly the answer that springs
most readily to the lips is ''yes." and
the three lettered word has as a
basis for its utterance the thought
that a representative, being repre-.
sentative, should do as those whom
he represents direct. There are other
sides to this matter, however, some
of them Swallowed in doubt and others
of them clear in the sunlight.
Doubtless a representative should
vote as his district demands. but
have the represented ones the right
to expect their member to stand up In
the face of men to advocate meas
ure with reasonings and with argu-
ments in the truth of none Of which
he believes, and In the setting forth
of which he utters no word without
making his lips lie to his heart?
Flippant persons to the contrary
notwithstanding, most. congressman
have consciences. The house OF rep
resentatives is composed for the far
greater part of men of decency and If
hLnor-poor men in this worlds goods
they are in the main. and their pow
erty is their praise. 1t was limited
in press correspondence from Wash
ington time and again, and not infre-
quently plain statement was made,
that scores Of Republican repre-
sentatives were opposed at heart to
the railroad rate legislation urged by
President Roosevelt and demanded by
the people.
Those Republicans who held that
the law which was sought was better
off than on the statute books voted
for the law against their own in
clinations and belief because their
constituents demanded that they
should so vote, but may 1t not be said
to their everlasting credit that most
of the representatives who thought
the legislation wrong refused to play
the hypocrite and the liar in orator.
cal pleadings for that which they
held to be bad in principle.
1t is no hard task for layman of