The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-10-06
MUCH HUM0R IN
CLOSING HOURS OF
TARIFF DEBATE
Resigned To Inevitable Republicans
Thrusted Political Darts At Dem
ocrats and Clashes Resulted
PENR0sE SHOWING HUMAN SIDE
Has Become Known As The Senate
Cut-Up And His Sayings Keep
His Colleagues in Laughter

His Colleagues in Laughter
BY Congressman Clyde H. Tavenner.
Washington, October 6.-There
was much real humor during the
closing hours of the tariff debate in
both House and Senate. Resigned to
the inevitable, the Republicans con-
tented themselves with thrusting po-
litical darts at Democrats, and there
were frequent clashes in which the
wit was scintillating. ~.
The metamorphosis of Senator
Boies Penrose is one of the pheno-
mena of the 63rd Congress. Hereto
fore Penrose, standpat Republican
that he is, has been to curious visit
ors in the galleries as the personifi-
cation of the brute force of big bust
ness. Shorn of power now and re-
lieved of much work, Penrose is
showing a much more human side of
his character. He seldom arises ex-
cept to inject some fun into the SEN
ate debates. He has become the SEN
ate cut-up, and his sayings keep his
colleagues, Republicans and Demo-
Gratis, in roars of laughter.
Nothing that ever happened in
the Senate was funnier than Pen
roses mock explanation of why the
Democrats put duty on Angora
goat hair and took the duty off WOOL
Penrose pretended to go to the en-
cyclopedia to find a reason. He said:
1.-THE authorities on natural his
tory say that this ruminant quad
ruped is about the same as the dom
estic sheep, so closely allied to it as
to have no real difference, although
frequently widely different in
appearance. Why then, if the
goat, the same as the sheep, is a
genus Of ruminant quadrupeds If
the family Bovidae, should this diff
ference be made? 1t is no more diff
ferent to ruminate in Texas than it
is in Wyoming"
Penrose then read from a descrip-
ton of the goat in an encyclopedia.
1T further appears that the goat
has a straight line in the face as
compared with the arched line in
sheep AS you often have to look
backward to see a goat, the writer
of this article was a keen observer.
Still another difference has been
noted:
"' And another constant mark
which is absent in sheep is the
strong smell of goats"
Penrose and other Republicans
have directed much sarcasm at the
Democratic differentiation between
sheep wool and goat hair. They have
pretended in their arguments thai
angora goats were protected" be-
cause the only considerable herds o.
them are raised in the district o
John H. Garner, of Texas, a Demo
cratic member of the Ways ant
Means Committee, and have thu!
brought the charge of log-rollins
against the tariff bill.
Of course, the Republican speak
ers have carefully concealed the rea
motive Of the Democrats in placing
this duty on goat hair. 1t was not al
the result of log-rolling. Although
the Senate wanted free trade in goa
hair, there is a good economic rea
son for duty on it and a reason
which does not apply to wool at all
The Democratic theory for plac
ing wool on the free list is that thu
sheep is a "double-purpose" animal
The sheep raisers produces boil
mutton and wool. The wool, there
fore, because by-product, and a
wool is prime necessity of life, tn
Democrats have given millions o
consumers benefit by putting thi
by-product on the free list. TIL,
farmers will pay the expenses o
sheep raising by the sale Of mutton
and whatever they get for wool viii
be clear profit. And this is view
which has been accepted by Sena
tor LaFollette within the last year
Prior to year ago LaFollette wa
an advocate of tariff on wool. TIL
Democratic argument has converte,
him.
The same theory, however, will
not apply to goat hair, since goa
meat is not an edible in this country
The goats hair is the product, no
the by-product.