Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-01-19
everything that was suggested was

Idea had been smiled at, by members
of both houses of congress.
Things lay dormant for some time
and then during the Roosevelt ad-
ministration a tariff commission bill
was introduced into the senate by
Beverage Of Indiana The bill made
no Roadway and In fact a good many
Republican members, even those who
were of the low tariff persuasion, said
that the scheme was chimerical
After Mr. Taft came into Office he
and finally congress was induced to
create the present tarin board. "a
board" to which comparatively little
power was given. 1t is said, however
that both Democrats and Republicans
in congress admitted that tariff board
legislation was the entering wedge
for a tariff commission and that one
day the goal of the commission advo-
Gates you'd be reached. 1t seems
likely that 1t will be reached at the
present session.
Peculiar Customs Case.
Here is a curious customs case. A
week or so ago a Philadelphia woman
of high social standing, as the world
views society, the wife of a prom1-
nent club man, was visiting In Mon
treal, Canada. While there she was
shown some lace gowns which she
considered to be of rare beauty and
which were offered to her for sale.
One of these gowns she liked so much
that she ventured 20 ask the price and
was told that it was $500. She paid
cash for it on the spot and then she
smuggled it into the United States,
taking it to her home city Of Phila-
delphia.
Some woman friend" of the buyer
of the lace gown tipped off" the fact
of the purchase and the smuggling to
the agents Of the treasury depart
ment An agent called on the hus-
band of the woman and told him
what he knew. The husband of course
said 1t was impossible that his wife
could have been guilty of fraud In
an hour or two, however, the husband
was at the office of the customs agents
with his attorney, and he said that
his wife had bought the gown, but
that her failure to pay duty was mere
ly an inadvertence.
The customs authorities had the
gown appraised by experts and it was
found it could have been purchased
in the United States for SIS and that
the woman who paid $500 for it had
been done out of 1925. The husband
was compelled to. pay the duty on
the United States value of the gown
and also to pay penalty. When the
transaction was over he found that
he and his wife together had paid
1925 for something which could have
been bought for SIS at any Philadel.
phia department store
Billion Dollar Session Here.
Congress this winter will ap-
propriate about $1,000 000,0 900, to
enable the government to pay
its bills during the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1912. Years ago when bill.
lion dollar congress was spoken OF
the words were uttered in the irony of
by members of the party
which did not happen to be in power.
Ihe intention was to intimate that II
the extravaganza of the majority in
did not cease the first thing
the country knows it will have a bill
lion dollar congress Oh its hands"
Not only has the billion dollar con.
gres come, but the billion dollar ses.
sion has some, for each year about
that amount must be appropriated to
carry the government along. OF
course the revenues have increased If
they had not it would not take many
billion dollar congresses to bankrupt
the country. There is some fear that
the appropriation bills this year will
have to go through without as careful
scrutiny as usual, because both senate
and house have matters on their hands
which it could not Je foreseen were to
be the subjects of long debate. If the
Ballinger-Pinchot report gets into the
house 1t will consume much time, and
as for the senate the Lorimer case
Ter working part of many days.
Fathers and Sons.
Gov. Glasscock of West Virginia
lid what many people considered to
De graceful thing when he nominated
Davis Elkins, eldest son of the late Sen
Dhen B. Elkins. to succeed his father
n the senate. The younger Elkfns in
my circumstances could serve only a
lew days because the legislature Of
West Virginia is about to elect two
Democratic senators to fill the vacan-
cies caused by the retirement of Sena-
TOR Scott in March and by the recent
Heath of Mr. Elkins.
There are a good many men IN
prominent public life in Washington
whose fathers were men of national
stature. 1t is possible that the most
noted case of father and son was that
Of John Adams and John Quincy Ad-
ANS, both presidents of the United
States. John Quincy Adams, after
retiring from the presidency, was elect
I'd to the house of representatives and
served there for many years, finally
dying at his post of duty
President Taft's father was at one
time secretary of war. There are only
two portraits in one of the Offices of
the president; one g that of his father
and the other is that Of Theodore
and it may be said that the
latter has not yet been turned to the
wall.
When the president was secretary
of war his fathers picture looked
down upon him. 1t is not the same
portrait which now hangs in the
White House, for that Is the property
Of the war department which has oil
portraits of every secretary since the
time of Washington.
Figures.