Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-04-18
Names Democratic Con-
gressmen at White House,
Democrats Badly Mixed and
MuddIed on Publicity Bill.
Dan" and "Sam" strayed on the
Vote Gossip Of the Session.

Washington, d. c., April 17.-(Spe-
ciaD.-Thc Maine Democrats at the
Capitol are making little progress in
finding their way around. They live at
a hotel near the Capitol, go to bed
early and do not often get up town at
night. a few days ago they got as far
uptown as the White House offices,
where Representative Guernsey acted
as their escort and introduced them to
President Taft. 1t was their first ofii-
cial rleeting with a President and con-
sequeatly it WAS of no little interest to
them. Although they were of the oppo-
site political party President Taft
gave them very cordial greeting and
discussed pleasantly the. political sit
llatiOn in the Pine Tree state.
1t is expected that all senators and
representatives. on coming to town.
will sooner or later pay their respects
to the President. Consequently Senator
johnson and Representatives Gould
and McGillicuddy, under the escort Of
Representative Guernsey We're doing
The polite thing to call upon the Pres
ident and say Good morning. have
4 little conversation, and, departing.
say good bye. Mr. President" Since
then Senator Johnson has been to the
White House proper as a dinner guest,
when the President invited all Of the
new senator's To come and break bread
with him. AS most OF the new senators.
with three or four exceptions, are Dem
ocrats. it was distinctly Il Democratic
dinner. As a matter of fact. of course.
il was entirely a friendly social affair
The President knew many of the new
senator's but was glad of an opportuni-
ty to get acquainted with others of
them.
Representatives. McGillicuddy and
Gould are Well nigh inseparable at the
Capitol. Mac" usually walks ahead
and sam" follows a few steps behind,
if he does not walk right up close. But
these two political brethren strayed
when the House had the campaign
publicity bill under consideration on
an amendment to extend publicity OF
expenditures also to primaries. which
would nave hit the Southern Demo-
Gratis hard Mac" voted no but
sam voted yes" OF course the real
elections in most Of the Southern
states are the primaries. held weeks
in advance of the regular elections.
The Southern Democrats. accordingly.
care mighty little about publicity of
campaign expenses. They have to make
their big fights and spend their money
al the primaries and consequently all
the Southern Democrats voted against
the primary publicity amendment. All
the brethren. however, had not been
properly coached and it became neces-
sary to pull back" the amendment by
a parliamentary trick after combi-
nation of Republicans and Northern
Democrats had passed it. This left
brethren IN bad" because some of
them We're put on record as voting for
and against in the short space of less
than an hour. To be sure the second
vote by which they got their bird bacl
into The cage was on motion to re-
commit the amended bill to the COM
mlttee with instructions to report it
back Immediately with the objections
able primary amendment, known as
Section ., stricken out. But. in spite
of the verbiage. that was what 1t came
to and of course, some of the Demo-
cratic brethren will hear from that
when they come to run for reelection
in 1912.
Representative Asher Kinds is being
much commended for the straightfor-
ward and powerful argument against
Canadian reciprocity which he made
in the House on Saturday. He demon
stratcd his brain calibre in that speech
Ii e,t1 a iner mo
Der of the House from Maine Much
of whatever Republican sentiment
there is in Maine for Canadian reci-
procity exists down in the first dis
trct which Mr.. Kinds represents. 1t is
in the city of Portland that TINS SEN
tment finds its strongest expression.
but Representative Kinds had prom
ised the farmers of the district that
h would insist that they retain their
Just measure of protection and he dld
not think he was warranted in going
back on them, even for the sake of
supporting a measure which a Repub
lioan administration had sanctioned.
L. II. Wiley of Peoria. H., who has
long been an employee of the House OF
Representatives. has a list of q class
of u girls who graduated from the
Peoria High school July 9. 1868, which
is AZ years ago. His wife, Mrs. Alta
Wiley, is one of them. and Mrs. Leona
Ingcsol of Columbia. Washington
| county, Maine, is another of them. An
| interesting bit of history about this
Peoria High school class is that all of
the Il are still living and all but four
of ttem are married. Eight of them re-
| side at Peoria.