New-York tribune., 1912-04-07
POPULAPTZING REAL STATESMAN

Senator Hepburn. Of Idaho, has a
grudge against the newspapers, which,
he thinks. do not take seriously enough
the sort of craftsmanship for which he
himself stands day in and day out IN
the Senate. He has brought forward
again his favorite scheme for reducing
the price of The Congressional Record
TO 81 a year and urges that lessthan
cost rate on the high ground that were
1.-The Congressional Record suppressed
''Munchausen's record Of travels would
"be mild in comparison with the news
paper accounts of the proceedings OF
Congress
The Tribune has commended Mr.
Hevburn's crusade for the dCllar-a-year
subscription rate because ii believes that
the country would be greatly benefited
by a study at close range Of states
manship as it is now practised In the
chambers of the two branches of Con
gress. 1t would be worth any new sub
scriber's dollar 10 get an intimate daily
view Of Mr. Hepburn himself in opera
ton Ii is regTettable, for instance
that the Washington correspondents ana
news agencies neglected to present TO
the reading public two scintillatlng IDEAS
which the Idaho Senator imbedded into
last Tuesdays issue Of "The Record.
Here is one Of them:
That is the bane OF this foolish direct
primary do not know why l should
hesitate to mention IT. but that Is the
bane Of It. Nobody knows what the can
ddate looks like
If that idea had been conveyed in
the nick of time TO the legislatures Of
Massac achusetts and Illinois. which re-
Gently rushed through laws providing
for the direct election of delegates 10
the national conventions they might
have furnished an antidOte 10 Senator
Heyburn's bane by requiring that every
nominating petition filed in a candi-
dates interest should contain a repro
duction Of his features and that half
tone Of each would-be nominee should
appear on the official primary ballot.
As il is, the voters Of these states and
Of others where the primary system al
gates Of whose physical attractions
they remain In baneful ignorance. The
Photographic guild ought TO be eter-
nally grateful to Mr.. Hepburn for
throwing off the idea that no candidate
should stand for any office Of whose pull
chritude the public is not in position
to take an intelligent measure.
Again, discussing the proposal to give
the people of the United States the bene-
fits of a modernized parcels post such
as are enjoyed by the people Of other
leading civilized countries. Mr.. Hepburn
said:
If you want to send the districts out
side OF the big cities back into the will
derness. lust establish such a ridiculous
system as this so that every man Will
have to send to Chicago or some other
central place for his daily bread by and
by. Nobody will support stores for the
purpose of trading off eggs for sugar.
The result is that we will have none Of
the small. beautiful centres that we call
villages and towns, and we will have
two or three big trading points AT which
commerce will seek to supply the whole
body OF the American people.
So far as can be observed there still
exist a few villages and towns in Great
Britain. Germany, France. Switzerland
Denmark and other countries which
have developed the parcels "oSt. Yet
the American people ought probably 10
he warned that such n development
here would send the whole area outside
the big cities back into the wilder
ness" and Mr. Hepburn il at his best
in giving out such creepy warnings.
Long may he continue TO wrestle with
the oracle in the Capitol sub-basement.
let why In the world doesn't he try TO
pass a law distributing "rhe Congress
sional Record free and compelling all
voters before casting their votes TO
make affidavts that they have read
each issue for the year preceding from
cover TO cover?