The Washington times., 1911-03-04
THE END-AND THE BEGIN.
MING.
FAREWELL and. HailI

! Farewell! and, Hail!
The SiXty-tirst Congress goes out, and
with it the long period of Republican
control of all branches of the Govern,
ment ends. The Sixty-second Congress
will meet in few days, and with ii
a new condition in national politics
! will be inaugurated.
1t needs no talent to prophecy or
divination to foresee that history will
mark well the change of political scenes
on this ides of March.
Not only the men, but the ideals,
that have given direction to the cur
rents of legislative progress for many
years pass from domination with to-
day. Aldrich and Hale, Burrows, Car
ter, Cannon, Tawney-the long array
whose names need not be recounted,
will leave either the life of Congress,
or their places of power in that scene.
New men with new ideas of the ser
vice legislature owes to the country
will come forward with the extra ses-
sion.
Though the new Senate will continue
Republican while the House changes
its politics, the revolution in the up
per chamber will he hardly less strik-
ing than in the lower. The Senate
has ever been peculiarly responsive to
the vigorous leadership that has made
II more and more the great power in
legislation. That leadership is pass
ing. 1t may be said that for the
present at least. no leadership is in
sight which can hope to hold the reins
as they have been held in the past.
That older leadership has been repudi-
ated by the country, in both houses;
and we are to see what capacity for
organization and construction the new
elements may develop.
A new group of first class public fig
ures must be brought forward. Great
responsibilities are 20 be loaded on
shoulders unused to them There vii
be hesitation and uncertainty at times
but the men who are coming into con-
troll have been brought by the impulse
of determined public sentiment.
There is every reason to believe that
on the whole they will maintain closer
touch with the sentiment of the ma
tiOn than has been the rule heretofore.
This applies equally to the Democrats
who will rule the House. and the more
progressive quality OF RepubIicanism
that will gain strength and opportun-
ity in the Senate.
The President ha, imposed upon him
in the latter half of his Admimistra-
tion, the task of breaking a new lcgis-
lativc team OF unmatched steeds. Per
haps he will break them, and perhaps
they will break him.
The SiXty-frst Congress goes into
history with long record of accomp-
lishments. and notable array of fail
urcs 1t will be longer remembered
for the Payne tariff bill and the Sen
ate's seating of Lorimer, than for any
more crcditablc performances. The
evil that Congresses enact lives after
them: the good is oft forgot The Six
ty-first Congress has passed good deal
of most useful legislation, of which the
railroad bill of 1910 was the most val
liable. In the House there has been
reform of rules and procedure, calcu-
lated to make that body more respon-
sive to public wishes.
Many picturesque and commanding
figures pass to the background of the
national picture, or entirely out of it;
but in the interest of getting ac-
quainted with the new men who will
be pushed to the front, the long-recog-
nized portraits will be little missed. =