Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-25
SAYS Palatial Residences in Wash
ington Have Made Many
Backs Bend Low.
A Senator's Expenses for
One Day in New York

Tin to waiter. I bushel onions
Room. .......... =: car turnlps
Figures by senator McCumher.
Useless monuments of extravaganza
and ostentatious rivalry Senator Nc
Cunber of North Dakota today, in a
speech in the Senate, designated the
palatial residences along Massachusetts
avenue beyond 18th street He was plead
ing that the Canadian reciprocity pact
hurt the farmer to help the city people.
"If You will drive UP Massachusetts
avenue in this city from 18th to 9th
streets, passing around two OF our beau
tiful circles. you will find it d street of
palatiai magnificence. Senator McCum-
Der remarked. And if you make inquiry
you will find that practically all of these
homes are occupied not to exceed three
months in year.
Think of the backs that have been
bendcd low to produce these useless mon
uments Of extravaganza and Ostenta,ious
rivalry. Think of the waste human
energy that has been expenued. Think
of the thousands upon thousands who
have had to be supporter, clothed and
fed while all their energies arc being eN-
pended for that which is worse than use
less.
Sounds Note of Warning.
Let me .giYe one note. ei warning to
those senators who represent the great
cities with their enormous wealth, with
their palatlal homes, with their costly
editices, their galleries OF art, their great
libraries-all made possible because of
the advantages of city over country
earning capacity-let me say to them
who represent the great manufacturing
industries. with their millions of uepen-
dent laborers, that this protective struc-
ture of America which has enabled them
to prosper and deve.op during the last
forty years must either stand as a
whole or fall as a whole
Senator McCumber cried out against the
''monstrous extravaganza Of the city"
and continued Ito show how iniinitesima,
is the farmers share in these prices He
pictured reciprocity senator's visit TO
New York for a day and expressed his
expenses in their equivalent i'm farm
products.
His Bill in Farm Products.
LAS he leaves his cab (from tie station
to the hoteD he pays for fare, far having
been driven. say, eight or ten blocks six
bushels of oats" Mr.. McCumher cont,n-
ued, "and as compliment to the driver
for his very medium charge he tosses him
fifteen heads of cabbage. He registers at
| the hotei and is SHOWN by the bell boy to
the elevator. AS he nears the tenth story
he responds to the expectant look OF the
elevator lad with couple dozen OF eggs.
The beyy boy fingers at the door Of his
room and is rewarded for his anxiety
| over the comfort of the guest with a
bushel and half Of bar!ey. 1t takes a
quarter of a ton of hay for this senator s
| breakfast. And he gives the waiter two
bushels 'of potatoes. His noon lunch is
one sheep with bushel and a half of
/! carrots for the walter In the evening
| he consumes four bushels of we and the
waiter has bushel of onions to dream
on. And when he settles for his room
| the landlord is the recipient Of half a
| carload of turnips
| The Farmers Small Share.
! The actual cost of the articles tina.
| make up our diet is but the slightest per-
centage OF the cost of living. 1t is the
! service. 1t is the service that YOU nav
for Did 1t ever occur to you that the
| FARMER does not get cents out OF the
average meal consumed by you?"
f, Holding that the ratification of the
agreement would spell disaster for the
| agricultural interests the senator said
that their having lent their ears to tine
arguments that were urged for lower rates
| OF duty at the time OF the passage OF the
Payne-Aldrich bill and their having giyer
their votes in the ensuing election to the
opponents OF those members OF Congress
who had voted with the leaders in the
two houses had been the unuoing of tn.
farmers.
He declared that when a crusade agains
the whole tariff system was launched II
the press that natural conservation los
her balance and everything in the tariff
bill was condemned. THAT we needed
money! he continued, 10 run the gov
ernment was lost sight Of and wave o.
ifree-tradeism that would have destroyed
government without revenue swept ovel
the country.
! Country Divided, he Says.
Mr. McCumber referred to the sectional
ism that developed in the tariff situation
and the desire Of one part OF the countr,
to have it's own products protected whil
those Of another part should he made t,
compete with the free goods brought il
from abroad.
Under these conditions he said, ''mel
of the middle west were destroyed be
cause they allowed protection on fabric
!. and thereby increased cost Of living. TIL,
men Of the east were destroyed beca us
they allowed protection on food product
and thereby increased the cost of living
, Out of this turmoil a new politica
, creed was born, and the hero of eacl
locality was he who cried: Protection OIL
everything that We produce and free trad
on everything the rest of the countr,
CONTINUED on Second Rage.l