The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1911-05-05
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
Washington, D. c., April %, 10

MI. EQllOF.
An all summer congressional session
with great activity in the House of
Representatives and with characteristic
inactivity in the Senate is toreshadoW-
ed. The Senate is not yet organized.
The House promptly completed its or
ganization, passed the Canacian reel
procity bill, and has presented and
partially debated tire so-cailed farmers
free list bill. AS is we'll known, there
are complications and side issues. The
presidential question, the nomination
coming off next year, has much in
fuence in politics and in legislation at
the apitOI. There appears as yet but
little opposition to the nomination of
President Taft by the Republicans for
second term. Straws appear to in
dieate on the Democratic side turning
in favor of Gov. Woodrow Wilson of
New Jersey. The only apparent active
opposition to President Taft is from
the adherents of Senator La Toilette.
The friends of the Senator are active
and aggressive and there is of course
no telling what the next twelve months
may bring forth. Gov Harmon and
Champ Clark, the Speaker Of
the House, and of course, the
quadrennial Bryan are always
Democratic possibilities. But Gov.
Wilson of New Jersey has appealed to
the intelligence of the public in a re-
markable way. Last week at a banquet
in New York, toast was proposed to
the governor of New Jersey and the
future president of the United States.
Gov. Wilson interrupted and said,
''That, of course, means Gov. Dix. y
''No", replied Mr. Frielinghuysen, a
Republican, that means yourself.
Gov. Wilson has apparently converted
flinty, Democratic, TTust-strangled
state to the doctrine of progressive
pc ). he has apparently done it
by ,ne force of his character and his
will almost unaided and alone. He
had long been known as a gentleman,
scholar and a statesman, but only
recently has he been brought before
the public as a brilliant and practical
politician. His speeches are no less re-
markable for their brevity than for
their inclusiveness, their felicity and
their common sense. For matter,
terseness and condensation they are in
remarkable contrast with much con-
temporary American oratory.
1t ought to be a matter of great
satisfaction to millions of people in the
United States that the postal deficit
has been wiped out. Postmaster Gen
eral Hitchcock deserves the highest
credit and a bronze monument with
more metal in it than there is in some
of the equestrian monuments in Wash
ington. To have wiped out deficit Of
nearly eighteen millions of dollars in
two years is splendid achievement.
With the cooperation of Congress (and
the people ought to see that he has it,
! he can accomplish more. He has one
cent postage in view and it would be
easy of attainment if a parcels post
were established or if certain other re-
forms advocated by the Postmaster
General were carried out.
A bill for one cent postage backed
by the administration may be introduce
ed in the present extra session and if
not it will almost certainly be brought
up in the regular session. The P. NJ.
| General will continue to urge the in,
creases of rates on second class matter
from one to four cents a pound. It is
refreshing to know that the wiping out
of this eighteen million deficit has been
reached without in the least impairing
postal facilities. The service has
actually been extended along desirable
lines. Over three thousand new post
offices have been established, delivery
by letter carriers has been extended to
one hundred and forty-tWo thousand
new rural routes covering over fifty
thousand miles in length have been
| authorized.
Anything that concerns the capital
of the United States ought to be of
interest to every citizen of the United
States, but the citizen is so much alb
sorbed in the politics of his hamlet Or
his metropolis that he gives not much
attention to Washington affairs. Vic
tor Berger, the only socialist member
in Congress, has been made a member
of the District Of Columbia Committee
and it is said has taken upon himself
to reform the Constitution of the
United States and "Willow Tree
Alley, in Washington. "Willow Tree
Alley" is a capital slum section. Mrs.
Victor Berger finds the Washington
schools a field for reform, and not with
out reason. Washington has long been
the dumping ground Of inefficient teach
ers and poor text books such as are
compile r. 81 by callow educators.
The could not be foisted on
community that had the privilege of
voting. But Washington is disfran-
chised district governed by an ever
shifting Congress, Congress without
responsibility to the citizens of Wash
ington.
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