The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-21
THIS CONGRESS HAS BEEN VEHICLE FOR
 DEMOCRATIC VIEWS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE n

CONTINUED FROM PAGE D lution, eliminating the recall feature, late, vas passed by both houses.
 In the Senate, with many of the old leaders missing. a remarkable alliance was formed between the democrats and lnsurgent republicans, led by I.sFollette. Cummins and Bristow. After the first few weeks of the session it worked har- moniousy until the closing week, when occurred one of the most spectacular leg islatlve upsets in many years.
 The severance of the coalition came on consideration of the cotton bill. When MT. Cummins withdrew an. amendment to attach iron and steel revision to the cot ton bill the democrats seized upon it as
 their own and were able to pass 1t when
 regular republicans refrained from 'vot-
 ing absented themselves from the chamber.
 Committees of the House on expendi-
 lures in the various government depart ments were directed, in special resolu- tions, 10 inquire thoroughly into the af-
 fairs of the government The democrats
 announced there would be general house
 cleaning, that extravaganza was ram
 pant and that economies would be pro-
 posed. Predictions of many sensations were made. For many weeks these in-
 vestigations have progressed and none of
 the committees has completed it's task
 Special investigations into the United
 States Steel corporation and. the Amer
 ican Sugar Refining company were un-
 dertalen to discover whether these in- dustral organizations operated in viola ton of the antitrust and interstate com merce laws. The inquiries are still In progress
 The predominant feature of the steel i inquiry was the emphatic public declar- alton of great financiers that the Sher-
 man antitrust law is too archaic to deal with modern business methods They in- sisted that there must be new legisla- ton to regulate the corporations of the country. Chairman Stanley of Kentucky l plans to resume taking testimony in the
 fall and proposes to have as witnesses
 Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan. For | mer President Roosevelt voluntarily ap- l pcared before the committee 10 defend | his course in approving the absorption
 of the Tennessee Coal and Iron company
 by the Steel corporation during tho flnan- cial panic of 1907.
 | Much other work started by commlt- | tees must await the action of the next session. The question of coal lands in Alaska. the Controller bay controversy,
 in which President Tafts name figured, and all the kindred questions of govern
 nent ownership and control allied there- with, will be inherited by the session which begins next December. The Alas kan syndicate charges made by Delegate Wickersham of Alaska against Attorney
 General Wickersham came to naught at this session. Bills were introduced pro- vidlng for coal land leasing system | One of the investigations which attract
 ed national attention because of it's rather
 startling and sensational disclosures was l the Day portrait voucher investigation | by the House committee on expenditures
 in the state department. As result of
 it's findings the icommittee recommends |
 the dismissal from the service of Will l liam H. Michael, former chief clerk of | the state department, now American con- snl general at Calcutta, and of Thomas Morrison, disbursing clerk of the depart ment. but finally the whole matter was
 referred to President Taft for such action | as he thought proper.