The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1911-04-22
NEWS NOTES OF
NATIONS CAPITAL
Especial to the Silver State)

bow vows because the Democrats are
going to enlarge the free list and slash
some protective schedules to the bone.
But are they?
Does it ever occur to the prophets of
calamity that the senate has to be con-
suited before legislation can 90 on the
statute books, and that after the SEN
ate consents, if it perchance does, the
president has chance to use the
vetoe
OF course Wall street is not always
criterion, but Wall street has been
worrying far more about the decisions
in the trust cases than it has about
the tariff.
Senate Awaits Action.
Three progressive leaders in the SEN
ate-Cummins, LaFollette and Bourne
met newspaper man.
"What will the senate be likely to
do, asked the latter, with the privi-
lege of the craft to put leading ques-
tions, "with legislation that may
come over to this end Of the capitol
bearing the Democratic labelf'
The three progressive standard
bearers, who practically hold the bal
ance of power in the senate; who can,
within certain limits, determine what
legislation shall be placed on the
statute books at this session, looked at
each other significantly. They had
been comforting together only few
mments before that in the committee
room of the Iowa senator, and it is
no violent assumption that they had
been talking about the course legisla-
tion might take. Senator Cummins
% "a.
cit would hardly be possible to say
what We would do until we can see
the bill submitted to the senate for it's
consideration.
Senators Bourne and LaFollette ex-
pressed themselves in a similar vein.
1--WE can t tell what course we shall
pursue, they decared, "until the oc-
easion presents ITSELF
But the senator's looks were more
significant than their words, and looks
can t be quoted in cold type to prove
possible embarrassments in the future,
so they looked at each other without
restraint.
Power of Progressives.
People who have talked recently
with progressives in the senate say
that they will not agree to tariff
measures submitted by the house un-
less they consider them entirely unob-
jectionable. Especially are they wary
as to possible revision of the agricul-
tural schedule. Senator LaFollette
was asked what the people in Winscon-
sin thought about the reciprocity
treaty.
WELL" he replied, automatically,
sif you read the papers you will think
that they are unanimously in favor of
it," but he gave little laugh of un-
belief
A tariff bill which aims to emphasize
the work of the reciprocity treaty and
bear down harder on the agricultural
classes will not be warmly received by
the progressives.
Progressive Republicans and pro-
gressive Democrats may not form a
majority of the senate by themselves,
and so it may not be Improbable to in
quire whether they might hold views
so nearly identical on any question of
public policy as to vote in unison ON it.
Some of them admit that it might be
possible to unite all the progressives in
the senate on some questions, and then
with the votes they could secure from
the regulars or reactionaries on
both sides of the chamber, they could
"put something over.' The Republi-
can progressives are in pretty compact
formation already. The Democratic
progressives, as they like to be known,
claim to number twenty-one to the
Democratic regulars twenty, and they
have been getting together in sig
nifcant manner of late. With cohe-
will be less difficult to get them to
agree on some course of action-even
to butting the house program off the
track.
Realignments.
There is pretty complete new align
ment in the senate. The integral fac
tors have not quite found themselves
as yet. Old lines have been broken up
and new ones are gradually forming.
Every roll call will help to disclose the
alliance and antipathies of the insur-
gents and reactionaries, the progress
sives and the regulars. But the deep
currents are swirling under the surface
calm, and many political battle is
being fought out with neither spec
tators nor applause for the victors.
The situation is one to delight the
soul of such a master of political in
trigue, as, for instance, Senator Crane,
of Massachusetts, or John Sharp Will
liams, the new senator from Missis.
sippi.
1t has been said that Col. Bryan did
not help matters much by taking a
hand in the reorganization of the
Democratic senator's Several of the
latter have had the hardihood to ques-
tion openly whether the gentleman
from Nebraska did not call attention
to family troubles among the Demo.
Gratis with unnecessary emphasis and
publicity; whether he did not rub salt
into wounds not yet healed and cause
dissention that might have been avoid.
ed He made known once more his
position as a progressive, and he en-
couraged as much as he could the pro.
pressive movement in the senate, but
he was not able to promote entire har-
mony among those who accept his
tenets. Conferences since his depart
ure from Washington, however indi
cate that the Bryanites in the senate