Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1912-08-20
PETTY POLITICS.

PETTY POLITICS.
Congress Is playing the cheapest
kind Of politics in it's present openly
confessed attempt to put the presi-
dent in hole.' The pension bill and
big appropriation bills have been held
up while veterans and government
employees went unpaid. A wool tariff
bill based on the report OF the tarin
commission was rejected and radical
measure passed which 1t was known
the president would refuse to sign. A
Washington dispatch says cotton
bill based on the tariff board report,
was introduced as substitute for the
democratic bill President Taft had
indicated that he would sign this BILL
"Yet," the Washington dispatch said,
"the senate preferred to take no
chances on giving the president bill
he might sign and SO voted to send
him one he is not expected to ap-
prove" If this kind Of tariff revision,
based on nothing more than maneuver-
ing for political position, does not
draw censure down on congress rather
than on the president, who Is honest
" desirous Of securing sane tar1n re-
ductions, it will only be due to lack
Of fairness by the people who must be
the judges.
The maneuvering of congress In
loading down the legislative, executive
and judicial appropriation bill with
jokers placed in the bill for no other
purpose than that of insuring the ex-
ecutive veto Is as open to censure.
The Chicago Record-Herald brings
out forcibly the petty political meth
DDS adopted by congress in passing
that bill in the following editorial:
There were incorporated in the leg
islative, executive and judicial appro-
priatton bill two provisions which 1t
was known the president would con-
denim. One of them named fixed
: term for civil service employees. the
other was intended to put an end to
the court of commerce. That the bill
thus loaded would be vetoed was ex-
pected as q matter of course, in spite
of the fact that it is absolutely neces-
sary that supplies should be furnished
To carry on the work Of the govern
ment. For the action OF congress was
a deliberate challenge to battle. The
contentious items that were forced in
to the bill had to be accepted or re-
1ected with the measure as whole
and the president did not hesitate to
take up the challenge. He fulfilled
expectations, and In doing so attacked
both the provisions to which reference
has been made.
The house then voted again, but
failed to pass the bin over the veto.
The next step considered was the elm
nation OF the civil service provision
In the hope that it might still be pos
sible to destroy the court of COM
merce. But this would amount to a
second challenge, for the president
said in his veto message: II am ut
terlv opposed to the abolition Of a
court because its decisions may not
always meet the approval Of the leg
islature. It Is introducing recall OF
the judiciary which in it's way is quite
as Objectionable as the ordinary popu-
lar method proposed.
We believe that fair-minded men
will say that the president was right
IN both points. The civil service pro-
vision was spo1s device, and there
ia a manifest lack of square dealing
IN the attack on the court. If there
was any fear that it would proceed to
a DANGEROUS usurpation of authority,
that has been dispelled by the supreme
courts definition Of its powers. AS
we have said before: within its own
sphere It is useful. It saves time
and money to shippers and carriers
alike; it follows uniform rules; 1t is
bound to develop peculiar fitness to
try disputes involving points of COM
merce law. The attacks on 1t should
cease
TAe majority in congress has been
wrong as to the merits Of the case, 1t
has been wrong in its methods and it
has shown a very bad spirit in its mix
ad Hesitation. Though it has been
irving to hurt the president, the his
tory OF the fight over the bill should
do him more good than harm.