Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1911-04-03
Action Of. Coming Congress
Predicted. Reciprocity and
Lower Wooden Rates
HAVE STRONG COMMITTEE
Tariff Legislation May Be the
Deciding Factor in Presid-
entail Election

A Democratic congress will assem-
BILE, for the first time in eighteen
years next Tuesday April 4. In pre-
paratiOn for the coming session, the
Democratic members of the Ways
and Means committee. the fourteen
men who, by virtue of their posi-
ton, will more or less dominate the
new Congress, have been holding
long sessions daily, beginning at elev-
en- o'clock in the morning and last
ing often until late at night. While
their proceedings have not formally
been made public, it is no secret that
in the extra session the Lower House
of Congress will do these things:
Pass the Canadian reciprocity meas
ure.
Pass a revision of the wooden sched-
ule.
These are the two important bills
that will be passed by the Lower
House 1t is easy TO predict that
they will be passed, in the Lower
House, with large majorities, and in
a comparatively brief time. If the
Senate passes them with equal speed
and Mr. Taft signs them. the COM
ing special session can be very brief:
if either the Senate or Mr.. Taft at
tempts to defeat one or the other of
these two measures, or to change
their spirit fundamentally, then the
special session can be just as long
as the determination of the Demo-
Gratis to be faithful 10 their pledges.
1t rests with Mr.. Taft and the Re-
publican Senate.
In addition to the two big meas
ures, the Democratic Lower House
may make some changes in certain
small and unimportant items of the
tariff; they will also inaugurate their
program of economy by a deliberate
sacrifice of patronage. by abolishing
certain Congressional committees
which have not met for decade and
getting rid of sinecures that have
been held by Republican heelers.
The Spirit Of the Democrats
No one can have watched the pre-
liminary work of the Democrats in
Washington, or observed the spirit
in which they are approaching their
responsibility, without coming to the
conviction that they are sure to Sc
cure the confidence of the country
soon and keep it long. The tempta-
tiOn to be sensational. to celebrate
their victory with bontires, to take
radical steps-a spirit that was nat
ural enough Immediately after the
election last November-has been
succeeded by mood of sober re-
sponsibility. The men who have been
pushed to the front as leaders are.
almost without exception. the ones
who are most prudent and wise. Not
in a generation has the business Of
making laws been approached with
such regard for the fundamental prln-
ciples of the science of government
In the making of the new tar'f
schedules there is due regard for the
stability of business.
Ono Thing Accomplished
1t is now pretty definitely settled
that the revision of the tariff which
is to be done by the Democrats will
be carried over reasonably long
period of time. and will be done one
schedule at a time The principle
of schedule-by schedule revision has
won. This is one of the facts that
marks the triumph of wisdom over
elation in the new Democratic re-
gime. The natural temptation was TO
smash things. to reduce all the tar
iff schedules at once, in the same
manner that the Republicans have
been accustomed to raise them. 1t
takes self-restraint to adopt the
schedule-by-s schedule course, but 1t Is
a self-restraint that will pay in the
long run. The essential virtue of one
schedule-at-a-time reduction is that it
does away with corrupt bargaining.
Men will vote on the wool schedule
with reference to wool alone, not
with reference to a promise that il
A votes for a high duty on wool. B
will in return vote for high duty
on iron ore. That was the essence
of Aldrich's system He was the
repository and stakeholder of all
these bargains. Probably. in the
course of time. schedule-by- schedule
revision will mean the end Of high
rotection.-Mark Sullivan, in Col.