Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-08-29
TIE NATIONAL CAPITAL
When rrnrp~c Turned Rrformer,


schedules ana other features of the
Ia;iG bin il is plain that the admins
'ration plan will go through without
hitch, and the Underwood bin will
become a law within few weeks
Senator John Sharp Williams is en-
titled to credit for keeping good feel
ing alive in the senate. Williams is
the Wit of the senate, but he insists
that his humor is all argument. and
while he raps his Republican brethren
sorcly al times he always does it with
such a beautiful preface of friendly
feeling that the good nature of the
members is undisturbed.
Williams commented upon the ma
pie sugar industry of Vermont to the
effect that the sap would run" wheth-
er there is a tariff on maple sugar or
not. 1t was Williams who drew from
Senator Nelson Of Minnesota the con
to take the internal revenue off plug
and smoking tobacco, explaining that
lin my part of the country it is part
of the poor mans diet" and it was the
same Williams who reused Senator
Penrose to denounce the secret caucus
/ Then Williams replied to Penrose, and
suggested that cit would be well to
have the chaplain recalled for a mo
ment in order to render thanks to the
Almighty God for the conversion of the
senator from Pennsylvania"
He continued: I'm an old German
story early in my life l read sermon
entitled, Satan Rebuking Sin,'
and to hear the senator from Pennsyl-
vania rebuking secrecy and partisan
ship is almost equal to the devil re-
buking SIM" In the belief that the
conversion was that of "a Daniel come
to judgment" Senator Williams admit
ted that he could have borne the sort
of lecture that fell from the lips of the
Pennsylvania senator if it had come
from Clapp of Minnesota, LaFollette
of Wisconsin, Bristow of Kansas, or
Borah of Idaho. But he threw up his
hands when Penrose turned reformer
Safety Valve ON Mexico.
Perhaps at no time in the history
of the country has there been such
wonderful display of patience as that
exercised in the case of Mexico. When
the news came to Washington that
Huerta had rejected mediation, and
had again insulted the American gov
eminent, an effectual muzzle was put
upon every form of expression from
public officials. In Congress where
even conservatives like Penrose had
been accused of ''jingoism," and where
senators and representatives had dis
cussed Mexico with good deal of free
dom, it was noticeable that a safety
valve had been put upon the members
to keep down compressed air pres
sure of 100-plus. Senator Smith of
Michigan, who had entered into criti-
cism of the Mexican policy, remarked:
Somebody must have uncorked a bot
tie of chloroform around here"
With the patience born of school
master, President Wilson has gone
straight ahead in carrying out his pol
icy of peace for Mexico, and the good
natured Bryan has been on the job
night and day, disarming critics who
begrudged him a vacation during
which he might make little money
giving Chautauqua lectures. John
Lind, down in Mexico City, has proven
a mighty good customer for the tele-
graph companies, and has sent as high
as 1000 words in single report of
the situation. While a part of the
Mexican people are ready to go to
war with the United States, there is
not the least inclination in the capitol
to indulge in the pastime of spanking
Huerta and his excitable herd. The
situation is analogous to that of in
reference with naughty boys who have
been fighting at our dooryard so long
that they have mussed up the lawn.
Secretary Bryan Ii Sensitive.
Secretary Bryan has been "lectur.
ing" hard, making up for lost time,
and it is very apparent that the criti-
cism aimed at him because of his
statement that he could not live on
$4,000 year, has made him very
sensitive. In the course of his state
ment he declared that he would be
glad to give up all other places in life
to perform the duties attending upon
his position as secretary of state. Bry-
an does not say that he will not go a.
lecturing, and in his determination to
use the Chautaqua platform at times
he has been sustained by Senator La