The Hawaiian gazette., 1913-01-24
TAFT IS ANGRY,
BUT HELPLESS
Democrats Have Power to Block
Appointments and Intend
to Exercise 1t.
By Ernest q. walker.

(Mail Special to The Advertiser)
WASHINGTON, January 4-The
gavels are pounding. Lawmakers are
Jumping up in their places and ges.
ticulating. Crowds are surging through
the corridors. Winter tourists ON the
wing to warmer climates are halting
at Washington for day or two. over
in tie White House offices there is at
| tention to duty We are all settled
down for the official winter, which is
Just triilo shy of two months For
that period there should be smooth
sailing.
Fresh from New Year festivities,
congress undertook to work. but for a
couple of days CThursd;ty and friday
vas exceptionally interrupted. Com
Gg together of a Thursday, the house
| had speedily to adjourn ont OF respect
TO the memory OF John McHenry,
Democrat, of Benton, Pennsylvania,
who had died during the holidays. That
was according to custom. The same
| Day the senate listened to the swa-
song of Senator Bailey of Texas, but
adjourned early out of respect to Ne
| Hcnry. The following day! Friday,
whcr congress had assembled at noon,
two more congressman had passed over.
! one was Senator JEFF Davis, of Arkan-
/ sas, and out of respect for him the sen
ate adjourned Immediately after the
chaplain S prayer. But the house, on
coming together, was informed that
| Representative w. w. Wedemeyer, Re.
publican, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who
had been on a visit to the isthmus of
Panama, had been drowned. Accord
| ingly adjournment out of respect to
| him.
But this week the program is full
| steam ahead. There is quickening
everywhera in congressional activities
Much remains to be done and men
charged with responsibility are up and
doing. 1t must be so. The big tasks
of the extra session are projecting
themselves into prominence and that
is warning to the leaders of the dy-
ing congress. Manufacturers and, le
gal representatives are trooping to
town and presenting themselves before
the house ways and means committee
rhe hearings upon the various sched
ules of the Payne. Aldrich tariff law
are under way this week to continue
for the remainder of the month. Hum
dreds of men are in Washington on
tariff errands.
Their War Paint On.
Some of those who keep their ears
to the ground profess tc hear war
throbs. While Governor Wilson was
away at Staunton, Virginia, celebra-
ting his birthday anniversary and talk
ing about Presidents needing to be in
war paint, Democratic senators seem
to have been putting n few daubs of
OGRE on themselves. They have come
back for the remainder OF the session
in very belligerent mood. Chiefly they
want those patronage plums and they
do not want the Republicans to "mort-
gage the future"
As much was expected from the
hungry horde' but it was thought
they would not be quite so forward
about it. President Taft has been
made to feel what the situation is.
The Democratic senators are actually
compelling him to back up. He voy-
aged down to the isthmus of Panama,
with the idea of nominating Colonel
, Goethals, the builder of the canal, as
its first civil governor. The Democrat
ic senators got wind of that. They
kicked up such n rumpus that the
, President had to reconsider. He com
missioned Senator Brandegee, of Con
necticut, chairman of the senate com
mittee on interoceanic canals, to re-
connoitcr and report to him. Senator
Brandegee found the Democratic sen
ators entrenched in force.
This aroused the President 8 ire ire
mendously. But what could he dol
Democratic senators there were a.
plenty, who would talk the nomination
of Colonel Goethals to death and there
was no power on earth to stop them
The President plan was also embar
RAISING Colonel Goethals. Word be
gan to circulate presumably from
Democratic sources) that Colonel Goe
thals had more or less difficulties witt
certain of his efficient suhordinates
lie would throw the hooks" into
them if he ever had the opportunity tt
30 so as civil governor. 1t required
only few days of this kind of agita
ton TO decide the President that the
lsthmian canal nominations would hav,
Y to 90 over to his successor.
!. A Few Concessions.
u The battles over patronage hav,
: been ON almost daily, with Senator
Hoke Smith, of Georgia, in suprem,
command for the Democrats. Their,
have been a few concessions. For in
> stance the other day the interstat'
commerce committee unanimously as
sented TO a favorable report on the re
!, nomination of h. T.. Clark as ipterstat,
commerce commissioner. But railroa,
organizations the country over ha,
y been petitloning their senators by tele
; grams and by Letters TO give Clarl
(whO used to be railroad conductor
another term. Aud IL is quite certail
= that Clark will be confirmed, as h
- ought 10 have been before the holidays
But there are the postmasters Of th
: presidential class. whose terms ure ex
= plring the last three or four months o
I, the Taft administration A grea
20 rush there WIS before tho holidays OF
/. the pare of these Republican postmas
tors and their Republican c0ngresslona
]. friends iu get the nominations iefor
hp senate. Tho President ana N