The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1912-03-22
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Gem
eraI Topics from
the Capital.
Especial Correspondence to the Citizen.)
Washington, March Is. 1912.

| Congress Just now thatCan be considered
worthy of big news feature, the Demo
Gratis are going right along and following
out their progress as mapped out by the
| first caucus. Every time they submit a
bill reducing the tariff, they put one over
on the Republicans because whether the
Republican Senate kills the bill or a Re-
publican President vetoes it, it all
I amounts to the same thing so far as the
people are concerned and the people will
recognize the fact at the polls next No
vember
The Republicans are worse split today
| than the Democrats ever were and there
is no doubt in my mind, or that of anv
other Democrat who has been watching
the political game here for many years.
that Democrat is going to be elected
! President next November.
Senator Dixon of Montana. who is the
chief of the Roosevelt forces, and Repre-
sentative Mckinley of Illinois, who is the
representative of the Taft forces, are at
each others throats every day and calling
each other liars. OF words to that effect
The papers are filled with their letters to
one another and all those letters contain
is elimination and re-crimination as far as
| the Presidency is concerned in the Re
publican ranks
The Roosevelt people are bowling for
| preferential primaries in all the States re-
| gardleSS of the fact that many States have
no primary laws, and that Congress has
nothing to do with it, and each State is
law unto itself concerning primaries or
conventions. The Roosevelt people for
| get that in the campaign for the nomina
| ton i'll 1908, when Roosevelt was at
| tempting to nominate TAFT, that he play
ed the same game that Taft is now play
ing and which his followers are bowling
about, If they had held primaries. then
the chances are that some other Repub
lican would have been nominated at
Chicago instead of Mr.. Taft, but
Roosevelt used every particle Of his
| Presidential patronage to compel Tait's
nomination and the Taft people now say
that what is sauce for the goose is sauce
! for the gander.
The chances are that Senator La Fol
lette is going to get out on the firing line
and rip Roosevelt up the back for steal
ing his thunder and coming out and pro
claiming himself as the only original pro
progressive Republican in the United
States. 1t looks very much as though
the La Folotte Republicans will bolt the
nomination Of Taft and present third
party ticket at the head of it. If such is
the case, La Toilette will get two-thirds
of the progressive Republican vote, which
will elect a Democrat. So, whether
Rodergo kill Cassie or Cassie kill Rod
erigo it all makes for our good"
So far as the Democratic candidates for
| President are concerned, they are getting
along together very fine and there has
been only one discordant note in this
ante-convention campaign for the nomi
nation. That came from the Wilson
| headquarters in the shape of statement
that there was combination between
Harmon, Clark and Underwood to de-
feat Governor Wilson for the nomination.
Champ Clark Immediately branded this
statement as malicious lie" and so far
as anything that he has said or that has
emated from his headquarters he is alb
solutely correct. | personally know that
here has been nothing sent out from his
headquarters that could reflect on any
man who is named as d candidate on the
Democratic ticket, or whose name has
been suggested as a candidate or on any
Democrat of prominence in this country.
and am satisfied the same thing Is true
concerning Governor Harmon'S head
Oudt lCIS dllll lIhCWlSC CSGlIldllNC Oli-
derwood'S.
There have been things written and
said about Governor Wilson in a spirit of
criticism, but those things have been said
and written by individuals who are op-
posed to him and not by any candidate
or the representative of any candidate.
This is as it should be because the Dem
oCratS of the country do not know who
,yiU ha fhair candidate and IL urnn11 h.s
the greatest folly and piece of political
idiocy for any candidate at this juncture
to go to singing mud at any other Dem
ocrat because he must know, if he has
any common sense. that before being nom
mated he must get votes from that can
didate when the break comes in that
convention. Therefore, the Democrats
are pursuing a proper policy of absolute
harmony and there is no mud singing
and harsh criticism made by any Demo
cratic candidate against any other. The
truth ofthe matter is that they are all good
men and would be excellent Presidents
of the United States better than any
Republican on the face of the earth, al
though some of them might make better
candidates for President after nomination
than some others
There Is an old saying that no man is
without honor save and exceptin his own
country. The old adage has been proved
incorrect so far as the Honorable Champ
Clark is concerned, because he was given
an ovation in the City of Washington on
the occasion of his sixty-second anniver-
sary OF his birth at which 10, 600 men and
women Cheered him and his name to the
echo.
Although Mr. Clark is Missourian
and proud of his State that has so long
honored him, yet he is almost as much a
citizen of the District of Columbia be-
cause he has resided here the greater part
OF his life for the last nineteen years. The
people Of this District know HIM person
ally and know his record of good deeds
and the advocacy Of all the measures that
have been before Congress for the inter
est of Washington and the District of
Columbia. They appreciate what he has
done and, therefore, are very fond OF him
personally, and were glad of the oppor
tunity to do hlm honor at this great meet
ing.
Mr.. Clark's speech at that meeting was
in no sense of the word political speech
but one OF thanks and gratitude to his
fellow citizens in this city tor the. compli-
ment they paid him. 1t shows up mighty
we'll for man for those who know him
best to honor him most and these people
in this town feel that the Democrats
would make no mistake if they were to
nominate Mr.. Clark as their standard
]