The Washington herald., 1913-05-18
Leaders in Congress See in This Milwaukee German
the Most Powerful Enemy of the Order on
Which Human Society Now Rests-He
Would Have Bills Written by Brcklayers,
Then Corrected by Newspaper Men.

mittees Of Congress II is not SO in
Europe. Maybe a bill is never heard of
again after II goes to a committee. II II
happens to be reported back the House
or Senate ordinarily follows the recon-
mendations which come with it. Pass
the BILL says the committee, and the
bill becomes a law. Kill the BILL says
the committee, and the bill is laid away
in the graveyard.
That being the American process of
legislation 1t would seem that the wisest
men in the House of Representatives.
which is the body / know about, should
be chairmen of the committees. Such,
however, is not the case. Chairmanships
are not the rewards of ability, but of
service. There are many mediocre men
in the lower branch of Congress who
have been In office for a long time. Mid
ding men-honest, yes-but Of no talent
whatever They head some of our most
important committees. while far ADLER
men sit in the twilight and are of no
importance. Thus we have legislation
by the value of seniority rather than by
the right of brains and intelligence.
81 have learned also that the President
of the United States has more power
than any Christian monarch on earth ex-
cept the Gar of Russia. Emperor Will
lam cannot veto legislation. He is strong
because he is the hereditary commander
in-chief of the German army. Nominally.
the King of England can veto the acts
OF Parliament, but no King has tried to
exercise the right since Charles / lost
his head, figuratively and literally. Nor
will any King try 1t in the future. There
is very little democracy, with small d.
in the American government. We have
an ingenious monarchy which, happily.
changes every four years by a vote OF the
people.
THE fathers of the country may not
have intended to set up a practical des-
potism, but that is the way the govern
ment they established has worked out.
I was with former President Taft in his
veto of the recent immigration bill. but
none the less he, by a few strokes of his
pen. nulified the vote of an almost unan-
imous Senate and the vote of a very
large majority of the members of the
House. My arithmetic shows that he
one man who happened to be President
had in the matter of that immigration
bill, the actual and visible power of IS.
100000 of our inhabitants.
Il am glad to say that l found more
personal honesty in Congress than is gen.
orally believed by readers of our periodic
literature. There were no grafters in the
House of Representatives. Yet when !
saw certain men arise and begin to talk
/ knew they were going to voice the
feelings and desires of the interests
In themselves. however. these men were
not corrupt. They were either mistaken
or they were arguing the cases of their
constituents, of those who elected them
to Congress.
Now, an honest man when wrong is
more to be feared than a crook. have
said SO more than once. A CRATER can
be exposed and made harmless. An
honest man. thinking illogicafly, only
grows worse the oftener he is rebuked.
He will argue longer and louder as OPP
position to him is increased. Uncle Joe
Cannon was infinitely more michievous
to the people than If he had been a taker
of brides. In the latter event, he could
have been put out of business. Instead. |
he served thirty-eight years in Congress