The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-06-12
WASHINGTON NEWS.


cratic congressman from Iowa are IN
favor of keeping congress in session
through the summer and fall ana up
to the time the regular session opens
in December in order to pass Presi-
dent Wilson's currency bill. with
the organization of the house com
pleted by the appointment OF COM
mittees that body is now ready TO
receive President Wilson's message
on the currency question, which. is
scheduled to be sent this week. The
administration bill, which the presl-
dent, members of his cabinet and
congressional leaders have been
working on, then viii be introduced
and the house will start to work on
the measure, which it is expected to
pass by the time the senate is ready
to vote on the tariff bill.
President Wilson insists that cur
rency legislation should be enacted
at this special session. In letter
to one of the senate leaders the presl-
dent said:
This is the time to pass currency
legislation and l think we are in
sense bound in loyalty to the coun-
try to pass it so that any attempt
to create artificial disturbances after
the tariff shall have become law may
be offset by a free system OF credit
which will make it possible Tor
men big and little to take care OF
themselves in business.
In spite of the presidents desires,
it is believed to be doubtful If the
slender democratic majority in the
senate can force through currency
legislation at this session. The SEN
ate will not be ready to vote on the
tariff bill until some time in August,
and the strong republican opposition
not only on the tariff, but to the cur
rency legislation, may prevent action
on the latter though President VIII
son and some of the democratic
leaders have expressed their Wiling
ness to fOrego vacations TINS year
and stay through the dog days to
pass the currency measure as COM
panion act to the tariff bill.
There is no doubt whatever that
the tariff bill will pass the senate at
the present session, and senate lead
ers insist it will pass in substantially
the same form in which 1T went
through the house, with provisions
for free sugar in three years and free
raw wool included. The bill now is
in the hands of subcommittee from
which it is expected to be reported
to the full finance committee by the
first of next week. 1t is believed
that the bill will be reported to the
seante about June %.
Congressman Pepper of the Sec
ond Iowa district was intensely in
terested in the charges made against
Frank II. Hitchcock, the former post
master general, by committee on
postal inquiry composed of Post
master General Burleson and the
four assistant postmaster generals,
as Congressman Pepper has just
been made chairman Of the commit
tee on expenditures in the postof1lce
department., which will investigate
these charges if they are brought be-
fore congress Postmaster General
Burleson and his aids charge that
Hitchcock, as postmaster general
during the Taft administration made
misleading reports involving almost
million dollars, that he withheld
promotions, allowed vacancies to &C
untitled to the detriment of the SER
vice, and made a deficit of $780,
900 appear to be a surplus Of $780,
600 by ''unjustifiable bookkeeping
methods. Postmaster General Bur-
Lesson had heard so much about thai
100000 surplus that, when he took
office, he was surprised to find there
not only was no surplus, but a big
| deficit. The report he has just made
throws another light on the econ
omy" program which, in the absence
of anything else to boast Of, was
made much of by the Taft admins
| tration.
| Congressman Pepper has reasons
to consider himself extremely for
tunate in landing the Craftsmanship
of the postal expenditures commit
tee, as it is one of the few cases or
record where a second termer has
wen craftsmanship, and the only
case on record, so far as the records
at hand show, where an Iowa demo
crat member has had chairman
slip. Congressman Connolly Of the
Third Iowa district was slated for q
position on either the military at
Ifairs or currency committees, either
of which carries with it a position OF
power. Congressman Kirkpatrick
the democratic member from the
| sixth district concentrated his eff.
forts on the invalid pension commit
tee, which he was particularly anx-
ious to land as he himself was a
veteran. ..... -../
Congressman Kirkpatrick was
prominent in the Memorial day &C
tivities in Washington last week as
he is one of the few veterans in con-
gress. He delivered the Memorial
day address at the exercises on the
battlefield of Antietam, Md, and
there met an old Confederate sol
der he had befriended on the field
at Corinth. A newspaper photo
grapher snapped the two veterans
after their chance meeting and the
Washington papers made much of
the incident ..,....e.
The. committee assignments have
been made by the republican minor
ity and the Iowa members have far
ed we'll. Judge Towner~ of the