The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1911-08-24

agination of the Senator from Penn.
sylvAnia" to decide who was meant.
However, it did not require a very
fertile brain to distinguish that a
group of ~progressives of the Senate
were the ones referred to by the Sena-
tor from Iowa.
1t may be that William Jennings
Bryan is a dead one" but there are
not many people in Washington who
believe it. Following his controversy
with Chairman Underwood OF the
Ways and Means Committee, Mr..
Bryan gave out a short statement in
which he denounced the secret eau
GUS and he wanted to know why
should the Democratic Members sub
nit to the secret c%aucus?" After max
ing a few apparently harmless re-
marks. Mr.. Bryan concluded with
these words. IF you are opposed to
it, write your Member of Congress
and urge him to protest against it."
And then the deluge began to pour
in by way OF correspondence to the
desks of the seif-same Members who
%applauded so vigorously at the recent
o%utburst of Chairman Underwood.
1t has been suggested in view of the
questions raised in the election Of
Senator Stephenson of Wisconsin, that
the question of the election of Senators
by direct vote of the people is being
placed on trial. The great eXpendi-
lures made by Senator Stephenson
were not in securing his election by
the legislature but in making a cam
paign of the votes cast at the polls
by the electors of the state. While
Of course it appears upon the face of
the matter that Senator Stephens n
spent an enormous sum Of money IN
securing his election, yet most people
seem to lose sight of the fact hat this
was not done in the ordinary sense
of controlling a Legislature but in max
ing a statewide campaign which was
The aged Wisconsin Senator has re-
fused to discuss the investigation.
The only comment hat he has made
and that has come from some Of his
friends, has been to the effect that it
cost him many times more to elect
Senator LaFollette than himself.
The Alaskan delegate, Wickersham,
just before plunging into the wilder
ness of his own country, sent a mes
sage from Seattle where he stopped
enroute, saying that Colonel Roose-
welt and Clifford Pinchot are radically
wrong and SO is the President, and in
consequence Alaska is being crushed.
He then proceeded to discuss the leas-
ing bill proposed by the Chairman Of
the House Committee, to find the price
to be paid for coal in Alaska. Mr..
Wickersham says he is going to run
again for the position of Delegate, and
a good many people here will watch
the outcome. Although from the far
away country and having no vote in
Congress, the gentleman from Alaska
has made about as much disturbance
around the Capitol as any man in it.
That very popular organ known as
the Congressional Record, has changed
its style of makeup, and hereafter
there will appear on the first pages
the proceedings of the Senate followed
by the proceedings Of the House, af-
ter which the real and cann"d oratory
of budding and full blown statesmen
will be featured in the back of the
book. Rivalry for first page headlines
became such a nuisance that the
gentlemen in charge of arranging the
Record decided to insert all of the
speeches, most of which have been
changed or never delivered, in the
last pages.
President Taft has been commended
for his great work in reference to the
treaties with Great Britain and France,
and the progress made for universal
peace has been something wonderful.
However, the United States Senate,
which is always jealous of any slight
p~rerogative, has proved 20 be some
thing of a stumbling block in reference
to the ratification of these treaties,
and the measure will 90 over until
the mex regular session Of Congress.
Mrs. Belva Lockwood, who many
years ago was the woman suffrage can
didate for President of the United
States and who is a practicing at
torney In the National Capitol, is again
willing to evidence her couragousness,
not In again running for office, but
the wonderful old lady has accepted
an invitation to fly in an airship.
Notwithstanding the fact that "some