Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1912-03-29

Roosevelt held the highest office in
the land
Hit at Lobbying.
Members of both houses of congress
this year have been introducing bills
! to stop lobbying in its offensive form.
Lobbying is not carried on as openly
and as fiagrantly as 1t was a few
years ago, but it is still in evidence,
and 1t always viii be in evidence, no
matter what laws are passed, because
there is certain kind of lobbying
which is recognized as being proper.
There is nothing to prevent men and
women from telling members of con-
gress their side of the case upon
which it is proposed to legislate. The
kind Of lobbying which is aimed at in
the various bills is the '.pernicious ac-
tivity kind where representatives of
great concerns selfishly interested in
legislation use their influence to pro-
mote it or to retard it as it seems best
from their point of view.
Representative Charles b. Smith of
Buffalo, an old-time newspaper man.
has introduced the most recent bill
for the suppression of lobbying and
for the regulation of duly accredited
representatives of persons, firms, cor
porations and associations interested
in legislation before congress"
The Smith bill provides that every
person who is employed for compen-
sation az counsel or agent of any con-
Germ interested in legislation shall file
with the secretary of the senate and
the clerk of the house a paper stating
the name of his employers and the de-
scriptton of the legislation on behalf
of which or against which his services
are to be rendered. The bill also pro-
vides for publicity of expenses OF such
lobbying agents. Violations of the
law shall be, according to the bill,
punishable by Imprisonment or by a
fine of 1000 or BOTH
Congress has been asked to make
public acknowledgment Of the serv-
ices of Capt. John Ericsson, the engi-
neer and inventor who constructed
the Monitor, which fought tho Merri-
mac in Hampton Roads early in the
war between the states. The acknowl-
edgment of Ericsson's services is
based not only on his work of con-
structing the Monitor, but because, as
the resolution puts it his skill and
services effected a revolution in the
naval architecture of the world"
Renews Old Controversy.
The fftieth anniversary OF the fight
between the Monitor and Merrimac
has Just been observed. 1t brought
about a renewal of the old controversy
as TO which of the two vessels really
won the fight. 1t is claimed for the
Merrimac that 1t was an ironclad and
was built before the Monitor and that
therefore its designers were the ones
whose work effected a revolution in
the naval architecture of the world"
Whole volumes were written at the
time of the recognition of the fiftieth
anniversary of this sea fight between
the ironclads Some men take one
side and some another, and it might
be said in passing that there were one
or two northern men who took the
side of the adherents OF the Merri-
mac, saying that it is not altogether
true tkat the victory lay entirely with
the Monitor Most men. however, pro-
nounced the whole discussion fruitless.
The senate finance committee has
been holding hearings on the tariff
bill affecting chemicals which was
passed by the house not long ago. A
New York man representing a manu-
facturer of celluloid in New Jersey
said that he was responsible for the
celluloid collar. The committee was
discussing the question of the duty
ON things which enter into celluloid
manufacture.
Are you responsible for the ceIlu-
Ioid coliar?' asked Senator Kern,
sternly.
Yes. invented Them" replied the
witness, "and fixed them so you can
not tell the difference between them
and linen collars"
Il have been trying to locate the
-aSp0uEshiIffv for these cOllarg for