Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-09-13
cuRRENcYs ROUGH ROAD
Star Bureau,
Metropolitan National Bank Bldg,
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Star Bureau,
Metropolitan National Bank Bldg,
WASHINGTON. Sept. Is.
While the President and admins
tration senators continue to predict
entire Democratic unanimity and
early passage of the currency bill
the outlook at the capitol is not so
bright. There is much talk, grow
| ing in boldness among Democratic
| senators as to how long the President
will be able to retain his control Of
| Congress.
| While the House on several occa-
sions since March 4 has shown signs
| of insurgency the Democratic ma
jority there is so. big that it is thought
there is little danger but that Mr..
| Wilson will be able to dominate
House action through the party eau
Gus on almost any question. In the
Senate, however, the Democratic ma
| jority is narrow one, and II won't
take much of an insurgency to turn
| the balance.
Out of the twelve members of the
Senate committee which has the cur
rency bill in charge, seven are dis
satisfied with the bill now before III
| House. The five Republican men,
| pelS WANT II cHdHBeu very lnucl De-
fore they are ready to support it. and
of the Democrats, Senators Hitch
cock, of Nebraska, and O'Gorman, of
New York, have expressed anything
| but enthusiasm over the legislation.
| AS the administration plans its pass
age, however, this fact that a ma
| jority of the committee is against the
bill will not prevent a favorable re-
port on the measure to the Senate.
A majority of the House committee
was also opposed to the bill, but the
committee simply refused to give the
| Republican members any voice in
its considera ton, and reported it by
a vote of a majority of the Demo-
cratic members. This report was
made as a majority" report, al
| though the members who favored the
measure composed actually less than
a majority of all the members of the
committee.
If the administration has its way
1t is proposed to force a favorable
report on the bill In the Senate COM
mittee in the same manner. By shut
ting out the Republicans, the five
Democrats who favor the measure
will be a majority of the majority
members, and they will report to the
| Senate that the ma jority' favors
the legislation.
|
If such a course of action is at
| tempted the administration may have
to deal with Senator Hitchcock. The
Nebraska senator is a fighter. He's
a progressive in his views, but doesn't
| take kindly to the idea of being
"bossed' by anybody, whether it's a
party leader or a caucus. Hitchcock
owns and publishes the Omaha
| World Herald, one of the big and in
fuential morning, evening and sun
| day newspapers of the MiddleWeSt.
For years he and William Jennings
Bryan were close friends and allies.
When the ''Commoner" demanded
that the Democratic party in the
State stand for prohibition and Or
dered the political destruction of
Mayor Jim Dahlman, of Omaha. for
his refusal to stand for prohibition.
Hitchcock broke with Bryan. The
latter decreed Hitchcock's retirement
from public life, but in 1910 Hitchcock
ran for senator, and was nominated
and elected by a direct vote in both
the primaries and election, under the
Oregon plan, despite Bryan's oppo-
sition.
Hitchcock declared himself against
the yoke of caucus only a few days
on the tariff, as a necessarily parti-
san measure. He doesn't agree with
the President and some other sena-
tors that there is anything partisan
about the currency bill, or any need
for making it a caucus proposition.
If an effort is made to force it
through in this way there are many
people who look to see Hitchcock bolt
the caucus and start very much the
same kind of a fight against the
caucus system and White House
started on the Republican side few
years ago against the efforts of the
Aldrich leadership to enforce caucus
rule to pass Legislation sent to the
Capitol by President Taft
Without consideration of the merits
of the questions then and now at
stake the situation in Congress is not
vastly different now from what it
was as the beginning of the Taft
administration so far as the White
House dictatorship is concerned.
President Taft fairly we'll kept his
hands off tariff legislation in the spe-
cial session. but at the beginning
of the regular session following sent
to Congress a number of bills pre-
pared by Wickersham, his attorney-
general, with orders that they were
to be passed without amendment or
change of any kind.
LAS the titular leader of my party
said Mr.. Taft, Il shall not consider
any Senator a Republican who OPP
poses these measures or proposes
their amendment
That was the order that gave the
insurgent movement and the progress
sive snlit in the Republican ranks -
really big start.
The late Jonat than Dolliver. senl.
tor from Iowa, was a member of a
group of a dozen or more Republican
members of Congress who were st
the home of Senator LaFollette one
night when his message was trought