Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-03-09

| as finance chairman provided he is
not made the leader.
| There will be a Republican majority
in the next senate of only about six
members and the progressives of the
party hold the balance of power
| There has been an intimation that
they might join with the Democrats
to the extent of preventing the Sc
| lection OF Mr.. Penrose as chairman OF
the finance committee
Talk of Compromise.
1t seems most likely that all the
| Republicans Of the senate will go into
| a caucus and that some kind Of a com.
| promise will be reached by which the
| nsurgent-progressive minority will be
| gwen good representation on many OF
| the important committees and that in
exchange opposition to the naming OF
| old-tfme regulars as committee chair
men will be withdrawn
President Taft, it Is said, is looking
forward with a good deal of anxiety
to the probable legislative course OF
the next senate. There are Democrats
in the house Of representatives who
believe that If they are moderate in
legislation the progressfves In the sen
ate will join with the Democrats to
put the legislation through. Presi.
dent Taft has intimated recently,
through an interview given out by
Representative Mccall OF Massachus-
etts, that he would use the veto power
| to prevent the enactment of tariff leg
tslatton Of nature to undermine the
principles Of protection
Before Mr.. Taft would enter the
field as candidate for the Republican
| nomination for the presidency he said
that he was to considerable extent
a downward reTisionist and that he
wanted his party to understand dis
In advance. There Is a feeling in
Washington that the president might
sign a tariff bill Of Democratic origin
provided it simply cut sohe of the
schedules which are supposed to az
feet the price of li7tng. Mr.. Taft's
concern about legislation under q
Democratic house has to do principal
~ with the thoughS that legislation
may be put through which from t,1e
point Of view of some Republicans
might be moderate snd yet from the
point of view Of the president might
not be moderate enough.
Minority Lead ership.
Senator Money of Mississippi, who
will leave the senate on March 4, has
been the Democratic leader through
the present session The question OF
the minority party leadership is agi-
tating the Democracy t'1st as the COM
ing leadership Of the majority Is agi-
tating the Republicans It is possible,
perhaps probable. that Senator Bacon
ship, but this matter is still undo
cided.
John Sharp Williams of Mississippi,
who for several years was the leader
of Democracy in the house, will sue.
coed Senator Money in the senate
Williams is able and aggressive, but
the fact that he Is a new member of
the senate will prevent his assum-
ing anything like leadership for long
time to come.
Democrats Plan Revision.
Final and definite statement can
be made in regard to the tariff
revision plans of the Democratic
majority in the next house Of repre-
sentatives. If there is an extra session
the Democracy in the house will fol-
low one of two outlined programs.
There Is at present a difference of
opinion among the party leaders as to
which of the two schemes is wisest po-
litfcally and legislatively speaking, but
an agreement will be reached soon.
If President Taft should call con-
gress together in extraordinary session
the Democrats Of the house may put
reciprocity through and reserve the
tariff revision legislation for the regu.
lar session. The other plan is to re-
wise four or five of the cayne-Aldrich
schedules and to tack reciprocity on
to the resulting bill. This would put
likely to secure considerable Republic,
an support, and thus Democratic rev.
enue measure might go th8ough the
senate, and If the revision was not toe
drastic In form, President Taft might
sign it.
If there is no extra session the Dem
ocrats of the house at the next reg.
ular session will revise tho tariff in a
number Of its main schedules, but will
not attempt general revision The
idea of the Democracy is apparently to
go rather slow in the matter of chang.
ing the schedules. The leaders have
preached the advisability and the wis
dom Of this, and they hope faat even
on the eve of a presidential campaign
some Of the senate republicans will
support a measure which meats to a
considerable degree the views express
ed by them when the Payne Aldrich
bill was under discussion In tina house
Tablets for Washington Shaft.
The states of Oklahoma, Idaho, Colo
RADIO and Washington are to be- asked
to place memorial tablets In the Wash,
ington monument. Every state In the
Union except these four is represented
in the great stone memorial BIZ tab
lets.
Persons who walk up or down the
stairs in the Washington monument
are given an opportunity to stude the
inscribed stones given by the vasious
states and By organization of citizens
of all kinds. Some of the tablets which
have been put fnto the walls have not
only inscriptions Oh them, but sculp-
tured records Of historic events. The
vandal who Is present everywhere a;
some time or another, has not re
Trained from his desire to desecf ate
even in the case of memorial erected
by a great republic to its greatest
man.
Until close watch was kept vanEal
relic hunters were In the habit Of
chopping pieces from the memorial
stones which form part of the lima,
wall Of the monument
In the morning. Shortly before the
train pulled out the sheriff of that