The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-09-11
WASHINGTON LETTER.

ial OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES prophets
who predicted that there would be a
constant clash between President
Wilson and his secretary of state
when he took William Jennings
Bryan into his cabinet have been
very effectually silenced. President
Wilson has had no more able sup
porter than Secretary Bryan. In the
loyal support he has given to the ad-
ministration' legislative program
and in his public addresses Mr..
Bryan has given the best evidence of
this. AS an illustration in a speech
at York, Pa, few days ago Secre-
tary Bryan said of President Will
son:
"The people had more than wis
dom when they elected Woodrow
Wilson. Every day increases my
faith in him, l am near enough to
get his point of view, and it is the
point of view of the people of the
country. He has a great singleness
of purpose. History will say Of
Woodrow Wilson that he did not
have to ask anyone what to think.
Since taking the office he has never
looked around, but straight ahead
He has never sacrificed public inter-
est for party.
president Wilson has looked at
the tariff from the view point of the
consumer. He knew that former tar
iff bills had been made up by log
rolling and that it was not for the
taxpayers, but for the taxeaters.
When the tariff bill went through
the house it was the best reform tar
if measure of half century. He
found a different senate to deal with
than in former years. When this
bill gets through the senate it will
be even better than that passed by
the house.
president Wilson took up the
currency bill, and when it is enacted
the people will for the first time rec
ognize that the government is the one
to issue money and not private COR
porations. l meet people every day
from all parts of the country, and
find that in every section of our
land the people are commencing the
administration"
Senator j. Ham Lewis of Illinois,
lection raised by Senator Root of
New York that his state would bear
the brunt of the income tax provi-
sions of the tariff law. Senator Lewis
said New York had failed miserably
to make it's rich men share their
burden of the government, and that
he was ready to make the rich pay.
who are the people from New
York for whom the senator is so So
licitious?' inquired the Illinois sena-
tor. Are they those who brood
around Wall street and flock to the
Waldorf-Astoria? Are they those
whose names are seldom found on
the assessors list, but who hover
around the Mediterranean in the
summer and the islands of the Carl
bean in the winter? Are they the
poor and humble of the state? Why
should the senator ask that my peo-
pie should be exempt from the bur-
den of government?
"The object of democracy is not to
make Illegal war on legal wealth,
but legal war on illegal wealth. We
would be the first to hasten to this
capital to have the army and navy
sent out? 1t would be my people
who would want the farmers sons
sacrificed to protect their property
and to prevent invasion of the coun-
try. Let them pay for the great
benefits of government which they
enjoy, and let not all the burden be
placed on the helpless that they may
become the hopeless, too"
' Congressman Pepper of the second
district, who as chairman of the
democratic congressional committee
has had the bulk of the work on
his shoulders of pushing the cam
paign for congress in the third
Maine district, is confident that
candidate Pettigall will be elected by
sweeping majority on the demo-
cratic ticket. The large list of DEM
ocratic speakers in the campaign, in
Guiding Secretary of State Bryan,
Speaker Clark and Leader Under
wood, have found the people sup
porting the democratic tariff and cur
meetings held by the third party
speakers, too, shows that the breach
in the republican party is far from
showing any signs of healing. The
activity of the organization in this
fight is an evidence of the fight the
democrats are prepared to put in
the congressional elections next year.
Congressman Kirkpatrick is find
ing the work of his Office so pressing
that he has been compelled to hire
an assistant secretary to help his Sec
rotary, Gordon Lathrop of Ottumwa,
out with the bulky correspondence.
Congressman Kirkpatrick has mail
ed out more than 10000 books and
periodicals to the people of his dis
trict. If the people of the sixth con-
gressional district do not know more
about the work of the government at
Washington in the future than they
have in the past it will not be the
ngressman's fault.