The Washington herald., 1911-07-12
SUTHERLAND HITS
PROGRESSIVE PARTY
Utah Solon Voices Notable
Senate Speech.
RAPs INsURGENT sooTHsAYERs
Progressive Plans Characterized as
"IngeniOus Devices for Realizing
the Millennium by the Ready and
Simple Method of Voting 1t Out of
Its Present State of Incubation"

Senator George Sutherland. OF Utah,
yesterday delivered one OF the most
notable speeches heard in the Senate
this session. 1t dealt with the present
day tendency to leave the moorings of
the past and to drift toward new-fan-
gled experiments in government, repre-
sented by the so-called Oregon idea. In
the course of his speech Senator Suther-
land, who is regarded as one of the
brightest constitutional lawyers in the
Senate, administered q fine drubbing
to Jonathan Bourne, Of Oregon. presi-
dent of the Progressive Republican
League, and drew a few Illuminating
comparisons between the views OF DR..
woodrow Wilson, president of Prince
ton University, and Gov. woodrow Will
son, Of New Jersey. 1t has been many
day since the Senate enjoyed a speech
more than It did Mr.. SutheFlands.
within the last few years." said the
Utah Senator, in beginning, the United
States of America has become the field
Of operation for an amiable band of in
surgent soothsayers, who have been go
ing up and down the land indulging in
cabalistic utterances respecting the initia-
and sundry other ingenious devices for
realizing the millennium by the ready and
simple method of voting It out of its
present state of incubation.
A Radiant Picture.
They direct our attention to the clouds
flying above the far Western horizon,
upon which the flaming finger Of the Ore
gon sun has traced, in radiant and opal
escent tints, glowing pathways, shining
minarets, stately temples, and castles
and palaces, pinnacles of gold and caves
of purple, and they tell US that these
are the visible signs which mark the ex-
act location of the new and improved
political Jerusalem, where the wicked
officehoIders cease from troubling and
the weary voters do all the work.
They bid US Join them in an airy
pilgrimage TO this scene Of pure delight
and assure US that here, high above
selfish and mundane things, is the land
'cverflowing with milk and honey where
every bird is a songster, where the ex-
quisite flowers Of political purity are
in perpetual bloom, where every pros
pect pleases' and only the standpatter
is vile, where all the laws are perfect
ana cOrrupIlOn anu NlChSOHeSS dTo LUZ
gotten legends.
"A good many people," Senator Suther-
land added, ARE accepting the invita-
ton without taking the precaution to
secure return tickets
Senator Sutherland described the ad-
vocates of this new-fangled idea also as
''balIoonatics'' who are carrying people
UP in q balloon. all gas and no ballast.
At Statehood Bills.
Senator Sutherlands speech was aimed
chiefly at the Arizona constitution, al
though he also included the New Mexico
constitution within his condemnation. He
acknowledged that it was not fashionable
to find fault with the new-fangled pollti-
cal fads which are being intemperately
advocated under the claim of restoring
government by the people.
ANY one" said he, who doubts the
wisdom OF the initiative and referendum,
the recall or the direct primary, is at
once set down by certain self-constituted
guardians Of the peoples rights as a
'reactionary' or a 'standpatter,' and
only those who accept the whole pro-
gramme, from prologue to epilogue, are
considered worthy to be called progress
sive.
Somebody has defined standpatter as
a man who has stopped and cannot
start and a progressive as one who has
started and cannot stop. If these defini
tions are to be accepted as accurate,
sensible people will avoid both schools"
Senator Sutherland declared that be-
tween the political quack who thinks
only Of himself and the political zealot
who does not think at all, the country
is in grave danger of having all the
stability and sanity ground out Of its
institutions.