Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-02-07
STATES RIGHTS
MADE AN ISSUE
SutherIand's Plan for Popular
Election of Senators Meets
With Opposition.
FEDERAL CONTROL ITS AIM
Democrats VIII Be Confronted With
Legislative Demands Of Labor
Frye's Bill Providing for Re-
tirement Of Life Savers Is
lndorsed
BY GEORGE CLINTON.


Washington.-Opposition has come
In the senate to the resolution for the
popular election of senators from
what may be called states rights
sources. Senator Sutherland of Utah
| proposed an amer dment which gives
the federal government control of the
manner and form Of holding the cleo
tons. Under the law today the Unit
ed States has virtually this control of
elections for membere of the house of
representatives, and some of the Re-
| publicans say that the law as 1t stands
| will control the election of senators,
but some of the Democrats differ
from their party opponents in this
matter and object to the Sutherland
| amendment.
1t is impossible yet to tell definitely
whether the proposed constitutional
! change is to be authorized for submits
sion to the states at this session. or
not, but there can be no doubt that
] the pressure for its adoption Is get
ting stronger each day. Untold hun
dreds OF letters are coming in from all
! sections of the country to the SEN
ators urging that the resolution shall
be passed giving the proper authority
| for the states to pass on the matter.
The letters come from people of every
! political faith.
good many of the senator's at
heart are opposed to the adoption of
| the resolution and there are men in
! Washington who are bold enough to
say that the fault which Is being found
! with Sutherland's amendment is a
| part of plan to create excuses for
| putting off the consideration until a
later time
! President Taft and Red Cross.
President Taft has all kinds of legis-
| lative worries and some political wor-
ries also, and in this he is not in any
way better off than were his pre-
decessors in office, but the present
president finds time enough to take
what to some people seems to be
nothing less than an extraordinary in
terest in the work of the Red Cross.
Mr.. Taft expressed not only a will
ingness but desire year ago to be
made the president of the Red Cross
| society He is something more than
| its tttular chief, for he devotes a good
| deal OF time to the work. The secre-
! tary of the Red Cross is Miss Mabel
| Boardman, a Washington woman who
once lived In Cleveland, Ohio, and the
members of whose family have been
! intimate friends of the president and
| his family for many years. The
Boardman home is virtually the only
one in Washington at which the presi-
dent calls socially. Some little pique
! has been aroused by this fact among
| society people for they have said that
| If the president of the United States
! is going to make any personal visits,
! he ought not to discriminate between
! people. The truth is, however, that
Mr.. Taft goes to the Boardman resi-
| dence not alone to call on people
whom he has known for thirty years,
but to work on Red Cross matters.
Labor Bills Worry Democrats.
Long before they get together
in regular session as the control
ling majority in the house, the
| Democrats will be confronted by the
necessity of arranging for harmony
| program on labor legislation. The Re-
publicans have passed a number of
bills on behalf of labor, but there are
elements in the organizations of
working men which hold that the Re-
publican legislation has not gone far
enough. Other legislation asked by
labor has not been touched by the
Republicans, and the Democrats will
be asked not only to touch 1t but to
take it up, consider it and put 1t
through quickly.
There Is difference of opinion
among the Democrats of the house
about the form which some of the Ia
Dor legislation should take, a differ
erence of opinion which is very much
like that which exists among the Re-
publicans, but there are more Demo
Gratis in favor Of granting the re-
| quests of labor than there have been
in the ranks of the opposing party.
Next to the tariff, more perplexity is
| likely to come to the Democrats from
labor legislative problems than from
any other matter which it is thus far
known must come up for considera-
ton.
What Labor Is Asking.
Organized labor has been asking
congress for some years to pass an
eight hour bill, one that will limit to
eight hours days work in any in
dustrial concern which has secured a
government contract. An eight hour
law rules today on all work which is
done actually by the government, such
/ as ship building work in navy yards.
/ The law, however. does not apply to
work which is done by private bust
ness concerns which have contracts
with Uncle Sam 1t Is the desire Of
| labor that the law shall be extended
to cover such cases.
4 It is also the wish Of the labor lead
ers that an anti-injunction bill shall
be passed, one that will take away
| from the federal courts the right to