Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-05-29
The New Congressman--E1e Has His Trials

against them at the polls next cleo
ton.
3. To live on a salary OF $500 a
year, and at the same time meet theI
expenses Of entertaining all he peo-
pie who come to see them from their
districts. ether socially or on pcliiea.
business.
4. To attend four or five committee
meetings a week.
5. To learn the routine Of con.
gress, such as the best man to see
and the best paths to follow in order
to have bills passed affecting their
districts
6. To keep up every day tremen-
dous correspondence.
Z. To go TO the postoffice depart
ment to have new postoffices or rural
routes established in their districts.
or to the department CT agriculture
TO send to constituents farming liter
AZURE or seeds or plants, or to do sim
liar errands at other executive de-
partments.
8. To attend the sessions of the
house and keep track of the public
business.
9. To try to get an appropriation
for at least one public building in their
district.
10. Finally. to help in revising the
tariff.
Tariff revision is the thing for
which Woodrow Wilson called the
new congress into session, and it is no
small job. The average citizen can
not conceive Of the immense amour,
of detail, ramifcation, tangled re
suits, and other unpleasant things
connected with remaking a tariff
| The average congressman knows more
about il than the citizen; but, at that
he does not possess enough informa
ton TO give away.
| In the making Of tariff, no matter
what party is doing it, there are al
ways two conflicting elements One is
the pledge in~the national platform
| and the other is the particular inter
ests of the district each man repre-
/ sents. In other words, irrespective o
/ loyalty to the democratic party and Il
/ the democratic promise Of much Lower
rates in the import duties on a.
! products, it is only human nature 70
/ those people who live in a wocl-grow
ing district to want the tariff kept VI
on wool. And, by the same token
those people who produce sugar in (;
/ southern state wan the high tariff OF
sugar.
That is where the big trouble be
gins, and that is the reason why ever,
tariff that is made consists inevitabl
Of a series of compromises, a long
drawn-out discussion tina. results il
! certain compromises, shavings OF
here and addiags on there. The bill
that Chairman Oscar w. underwood
and other members of the committe
on ways and means wrote may b
ideal in every particular. There seem
no doubt that it fulfilled the promise
of the party platform. But immediate
~ there came upon nearly every men
Der Of the house, particularly ever
new member, terrific pressure rroI
home.
Letters and kilograms flowed i
every mail. The congressman wa
told that all the people in his distriC
wanted a high tariff on lumber b.
cause they made their living out {
lumber. Another was told that the
wanted low duty or no duty on lun
Der because they lived in a timber:eS
country and mus. buy every loot {
wood they used in constructing the
; houses.
Thus the pressure goes on in II
! house. Frequently there are rumol
that enough democrats are so dissa
isfed and disgruntled that they VI
join with the republicans and bre1
up a schedule or defeat the bill @
l. tirely.
Then come he efforts and fights
Z the house leaders to keep their IT