The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-02-03
MIXED IN WASHINGTON.

Matters look threatening IN WasulnE-
ton. President Taft has Cancelled his
southern trip, except as to one date,
Speaker Cannon announces that he
doesn u think much of the Canadian
reciprocity treaty. And right there is
a first class chance for a clash. Presi-
dent Taft is determined 10 have that
reciprocity agreement ratified, and it
is supposed that his cancellation Of his
southern dates, in March. means that
if tho present Congress fails to ratlfy
that agreement. he will call an extra
session Of the Sixty Second Congress.
This may be only an implied threat,
but it is certainly an imminent pos
sibility.
in the next Congress. il is stated,
there will be no bosses, no concentra-
tion of power There will be restric
tion even upon the Importance of in
dividual members of the House of Rep
resentatives by limiting the commit
tees upon which any one member may
be placed. But there. too, danger may
threaten. And it is intimated that a
number of Democrats are likely to OPP
| pose this reciprocal agreement with
Canada, II had been taken for granted
| that the Democrats would all be in
favor OF il by reason of their antipathy
to protection; but it seems that the
line as between protection and free
trade is no longer point of demarka-
tion for party men. There appear to
hn 70 prtI al IOpD1n.
Gratis as there are tariff-for-
Republicans. Still. it is confidently
expected that enough Democrats will
Join with the administration Rcpub-
llcans in the next House of Represen-
tativcs to ratify the agreement. And
certainly the next Senate will be very
much more amenable In this respect
than the present Senate.
Then, there is the threat of Senator
Brown. Republican, of Nebraska, that
he and enough others with him will
prevent the passage Of the appropria-
tions. unless the Senate takes a vote
on the Lorimer case. on the constitu
tional amendment for the popular
choice of Senators, and some other
measures which he has at heart, On
the other hand. Senator Hepburn of
Idaho is reported as saying that he will
resort to extreme measures of filibuster-
ing in order to prevent the amendment
for the popular election of Senators
being agreed 10. All this looks bad
for the close of the session. There are
less than four weeks now left of the
present Congress. With threats of this
kind, with disagrcements and taDgles,
these being chiefly as between the Re
publican President and the Republican
leaders in Congress, there would seem
TO be no prospect of any beneficial
legislation going through
Under the rules of the senate, it is
quite possible for Senator Brown, or
Senator Hepburn, TO carry out the
threats made. One Senator can do
wonders under the present rules; there
is no limitation upon debate, and the
privilege can be and has been at times
grossly abused. And yet, the Senate
prefers to suffer this abuse rather than
amend its rules by way of putting any
restriction upon the liberty of discus
sion. Taking this large liberty into
consideration, and viewing it in conncc
tion with the threats Of filibustering
tnat have been made. the outlook is
dark in Washington, even for the pass
age of the necessary appropriation bills
to carry on the Government. And if
these do not pass. an extra session is
imperative.