The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-26
TOO MUCH MONEY
 APPROPRIATED $, 00O,000,000 Congress Is Coming, Says Tawney TAFT A HARD WORKER
President Is as Strenuous Man as Roosevelt, Despite His Obesity. Elm for Southern Commer- 
 cial Congress


 what's coming, if wc do not check up in Minnesota. As MT. Tawney has been for years chairman of the House commit-. tee on appropriations his word must car " weight
 In opposing the proposition to increase the membership of the House under the new census Mr. Tawney. out of his long experience, says:
 Members of Congress do not consider the question of appropriations from na- tionaI standpoint. They are more inter- ested in the sum of money they can se- cure from the federal government for expenditure in their districts than they are in the aggregate of the annual dis bursements that must be made oy the national legislature. They are more con than about being citizens of a sane and solvent republic. They have their ears to the ground, but they mistake the chirping of crickets for the voice of the people.
 ITO increase the membership of the House will be but to augment the demand
 
 to saddle on the federal treasury burdens that should be borne by the states. And by the same token the. standard of indi- vidual membership in the House will be lowered. In former days both rich and poor were wont to come to Congress without regard to the salary that went with the position At present the mere item of salary alone is an incentive to men who, in the natural course of events, could not make s750O a. year in any bus mess or profession to which they might turn. All this is regrettable but true, and is all intimately connected with the proposition to increase the membership of the House. The importance of this question cannot be exaggerated.
 Seventeen years ago we had for the first time a billon-dollar Congress. The country was shocked. But Tom Reid ex- plained then that this was billion-dollar If this reapportionment bill is passed, the annual expenditures of the government, which are already increasing at an alarming rate, will jump so much annually that soon somebody else will be called upon to explain that this is not a billion-dolar. two billion-dol,ar or four country, but a no-limit land. where the drain upon the federal treasury is limited only by demands of the necessities of number less localities, and the rapacity of mem bers of Congress. chosen, collectively, to represent the whole people"
 One of the misfortunes of too much flesh is that it's possessor does not get credit for what he Is or does % It is hard, for instance to cinyince any body that a fat man is really i'll, and the idea of a man of 25O pounds or more talk ing vigorous exercise excites hoots of de- rison.
 The statement therefore, that President Taft Is really more strenuous man phys, ically than was his predecessor will not be generally accepted.
 A glance at his daily schedule. however, shows that MT. Taft is really tremen- dous hard worker.
 He is up before o'clock, and with his physical director. Dr. Barker, he does some stunts which serve to give him an appetite for breakfast. Mir. Taft leaves the executive mansion for his office short- ly after o'clock, and from the time he arrives until 30 or ? o'clock he is con- stantly with the cabinet or with callers. Many day he shakes hands with scores of visitors and talks with members of Congress and other officials about import ant matters.
 After luncheon the President usually comes back to his office for an hour or more of work Then he goes for a long walk of several miles through the cap ital After the walk he sees more callers and frequently does not get into the White House until close to 8 clock, the hour for dinner.
 Although MT. Taft probably likes home lira other ha has accepted far more invitations to Ego out than did his predecessor. The Pres ident has almost completely forgotten a custom followed by MT Roosevelt of not attending social functions outside the White House, except those given by the vice president and members of the cab met MT. Taft has frequently attended receptions or balls given in honor of his daughter, Helen, a debutante of this sea- son. He has also lent his presence at many other functions Of the season at the homes of friends and at several public affairs In addition to all this social ac- tivity, the President has consented to make dozens of speeches and to attend many banquets of national organizations which lave met here In the winter months.
 Altogether, it is seldom that MT. Taft gets through the days work until mid night. His average Sleep must not be over six hours a night
 The executive committee of the South ern Commercial Congress, which is to be held at Atlanta, Ga, March 8, g and 10, has been informed by Col. Spencer Coz by, U. s. A., in charge of public build ings and grounds here, that he will con- tribute piece of the great American ,to1 tn, f1,ox +t, House by President John Quincy Adams as the handle of the gavel which the chairman of the congress will use.
 Sixteen pieces of wood will be used in the gavel, each representative of the greatest forest wealth of one of the southern states. A piece of long-leaf pine was the first donation. This came from Commissioner of Agriculture Graham of North Carolina. Georgia, Tex as and South Carolina also donated pieces of like nature. Kentucky contributed oak, Alabama persimmon and Maryland chestnut
 ] Congressman Engolbright of Califor- ria, is an observant and crafty republi- can, who did not reach another term last year, but continues cheerful because he lost by very few votes, and can hope for the future. He called attention the other day to the fact that California is the only state In which the election of delegates to the next national conven- tion was arranged for two years ahead of the national campaign
 Under the primary law of last year, the delegates chosen by primary to the last state convention were empowered to meet again next year and elect the four deiegates-at-large and the district dele- gates to the national convention that will nominate the candidate for President In 1o1o ThiS c slIoh an 1nIsual prOnocitiou