The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1911-02-10
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Gem
eraI Topics from
the Capital.
(From Our Regular Correspondent
Washington, February ;, 1911.

W "Shi hihs-Nph3 ISbludiN - lJl 1.
An extra session of Congress after the
4th OF March is more than probable.
Congress is pulling in several different
directions. Certain Senators and men,
bers OF the Lower House are kicking and
baking. The lesson of the last congress
sional election is unheeded or misunder-
stood. Such selfevdent proposition
as the desirablity of reciprocity with
Canada is opposed by Senator from
Texas and the Speaker Of the House
from Illinois and by a recently elected
Senator from Massachusetts; and all of
them have some backing in Congress.
Senator Bailey, of Texas, and Senator
Brown, of Nebraska, have both given the
Senate to understand that they are itch
ing TO fiillibuster, and it is evident that
within the three short weeks remaining
the appropriation bills cannot be passed
without making concessions to recalci-
trant elements in Congress.
The President wants tariff commits
sion. The Democratic majority that will
control the House after March 4th wants
no tariff commission. but wants to pass a
tariff bill of their own invention and con-
struction, though how they can do it with
the Senate and White House in opposi-
ton, no man and not even any woman
knoweth.
There IS prospect of the passage of a
homeopathic parcels post bill WE'LL let
us be thankful for small favors. For
many years the monarchies of Europe
have enjoyed an excellent parcels post
bill, as have also some Of the semi-bar-
baric nations of Asia. In fact, it seems
that this blessing is possible in nearly all
the despotisms OF the Old World. But
in our own despotism of interests with
representatives in Congress it cannot be
had. With forty thousand rural mail car
riers with their pockets barely full of
letters and newspapers, many of them
driving carts or four wheelers, an excel
lent equipment for carrying packages of
eleven pounds each to the farmers and
other rural residents, this blessing neceS-
Sary TO country people and necessary to
the General in order to enable
him to eXtinguish the postolfice deficit. is
not attainabe. 1t is too good for Ameri.
can citizens.
Reciprocity as the next thing to free
int irrational trade would be the next
best thing in the world. With reciproc-
ity, fleets and armies might be discharged,
custom houses abandoned, taxes reduced
to one-hith their present enormity, and
living expenses turned back to the mini
mum cost of our greatg grandfather days.
The reason this country is superlatively
prosperous today is because of the un-
hampered reciprocity between the States.
Then why not little reciprocity with our
good northern ueighbor? Why? Because
of Congress, politics and the devil. How
long will Americans be beguied with the
lie that we are free country when we
are governed by bedlam legislative
body many of the units of which are in
capable OF looking much beyond the little
corners of the nation in which their
several districts are situated. But this is
not the whole of the ugly truth. Many of
them are under the influence and the pay
directly or indirectly OF the corporations
that have contributed to send them to
Washington. They are not the represen-
tatives of the people, but the attorneys of
trusts who serve their masters by robbing
the people. How otherwise could the
United States be so long behind the
monarches of Europe and Asia in the
enjoyment of cheap parcels post? Give
us reciprocity, give us a parcels post,
give us free coal, free lumber, free wool,
tree raw material and free cooked mate
rial Cease legislation in favor Of inter
ests. Discontinue the traditional Chinese
policy now abandoned even by the
Chinese of shutting out the rest of the
world in order that internal robbers may
have unrnolested play.
a Statesman Of the first magnitude has
APPEARED on the horizon, and the nation
i looking toward New Jersey.