The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1911-02-02

Of more Importance in congress than |
common sense, right or morals. The |
old precedent has been that bribery |
proved in an election for United |
States senator does not invalldate that |
election unless 1t can be shown that
the number Of votes bought were es-
sential to the nomination. In the Lor-
inner case, when In response to the In
fiuence OF Roger Sullivan Of Illinois,
81 Democratic votes we're cast for the
present Republican senator only four
votes were proved to have been pur-
chased Lorimer did not need those
four. Hence. say the Lorimer advo-
Gates, there is no reason why the sit
ting senator should be dislodged from
his comfortable seat.
Spelling the Apples.
A member of the senate. who sits
not very far from Senator Lorimer
in the circle of statesmen wEo look
wise and once in a while act wisely,
said to me, when was a boy was
taught that to put one rotten apple In
the middle of twelve good ones would
result in the speedy corruption OF the
good ones, not in the publication OF
the one that was bad. 1t is little
bit like that in this Illinois fight Not
that l would refer to Senator Lorimer
as rotten in any sense, but there has
been enough of rotteneness shown in
the course of the investigation OF his
election to justify our taking that par
ticular apple out Of the box"
Two Billion Dollar Congress.
Lincoln once said that God
must have loved the common
people because he made SO many
Of them. But that divine inter-
est seems not to proceed to the pro-
lection of the common people as Lin
coin would have protected them in his
time. In the last two congresses moth
ing has been done in the direction OF
reducing governmental expenditures
everything possible has been done
to increase them. Probably not one
half, not one-quarter of the voters Of
the United States pay any serious at
tention to the appropriation bills OF
congress. Yet when you have a two
billion dollar congress, as we had last
year, it means a direct cost to every
head of family Of five of not less
than $400 the year. The indirect cost
through the increase in price of the
domestic goods he may buy, woolens,
shoes, carpets, ETC., must leave to
Mr.. Taft's tariff commission to esti-
mate.
1t is absolutely amazing that the
average voter, particularly when he Is
the head of family, does not under
stand that when a 2S,000-ton battle
ship costing some $3,000,000 Is
launched, or when the president de-
mands, as he did the other day, some
!$16,000,000 for guns to fortify the
Panama canal, it is the plain ordinary
common citizen who has to pay the
bill.
Huge Military Expenditure.
| 1t cannot be too often repeated
that today nearly 73 per cent. of all
appropriations made by congress are
expended in paying the cost Of past
wars or in preparing for new ones.
We think ourselves a peace-loving
people, and for that matter we are.
But Great Britain, on which we look
as a warlike nation, spends this year
on its army and navy $341 100000;
Germany, $313,O0O,O0O; France, $780,
100000; Italy, about $81, 100000, and
Russia about $250,000,000. We Of
the peaceful United States, unvexed
by hostile neighbors, appropriated for
the army last year $100,330,1S1, which
does not include any Of the expense
laid upon the several states for the
maintenance of the national guard.
For the navy this year the estimates
are $203, $780, ,000 In addition we pay
to pensioners Of past wars $159,964,-
900, and the further the wars recede
into the dim and distant past the
larger seems to be the pension roll.
For a peace-loving people, we Amer
leans surely seem to be paying high
price for martial glory.
West Virginia Senatorial Tangle.
The senatorial situation in West
Virginia will be hailed by the advo-
Gates of the election of senators by
direct vote of the people as a strong
argument in behalf of their cause.
And certainly it is. At the moment
of writing the legislature of West
Virginia has swinging Democratic
majority. The state election was
fought very largely on the senatorial
issue and as result the people voted
into power a party pledged to elect
a Democratic senator. That senator
might be Watson, Chiffon or McGraw,
but he was to be Democrat. Mark
what happened. Although the legis,
lature in joint session had Demo.
cratic majority-the state senate was
evenly divided-15 Democrats and Is
Republicans-the Republicans absent
ed themselves from the senate hall
Those who were newly elected re-
Trained from qualifying. All was done
for the purpose of preventing a aln
rum and avoiding a senatorial cleo
ton. The Democratic leaders IN the
state senate declared their purpose OF
sending the sergeant-at-arms to ar
rest absentees and bring them to
the capitol. The Republican governor
has announced that he will call out
the militia to prevent any such &C
ton. Perhaps in the end West Vir
ginia may be left without Sny sena
torial representation whatsoever.
Copyright. 1911. by Joseph B. Aswles)
Oak, Come Off!
Jack, dear, when you are gHne
shall pine away"
. mDnnIt nina AWAY. Snrl1cn nnln