Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1913-07-04

pears, generally In the heat OF debate
and under the stress Of partisan feel
Ing.
Senator Townsend said before the
senate committee which was investi.
eating the lobby matter that the in
fiuence welded by. President Wilson
and by the Democratic secret caucus
upon the making OF the tariff bill con
stituted the nearest approach to un-
que influence upon members OF con.
gress.
II is probable that the Oldest sepa-
tor or representative viii have no diff.
ficulty In going back In his mind
through all the administrations under
which he has served to find Quis Ely
recollections OF charges of this kind
made against succeeding presidents
and also against the secret caucus.
Every president" said an old mem
Der, has believed that any proper in.
fiuence which he could bring TO bear
on congress to pass legislation was
all right provided he felt that the leg
islation was demanded by abe coun-
try or by the party platform. This
may be lobbying in one sense but If it
Is, l guess all the presidents since
George Washington have been guilty
of it, and l am quite convinced that
the charge has been made against
presidents in every congress since the
country was founded"
Believes in Majority Rule.
Here's the way that another mem.
Der put his estimate on this so-called
lobbying by President Wilson and by
other presidents before him: You
see every president naturally thinks
that he represents the entire country
while senator represents only state
and representative only a district.
Now the president believes that where
four or five senators hold out against
bill they do 1t for local reasons and
that they are holding up legislation
which perhaps nine-tenths of the coun.
try wants Believing in the rule OF
the majority, all presidents have felt
that they ought to use such influence
as they can to make the few get the
view of the many"
There have been intimations in
| Washington from some quarters that
! President Wilson has been using pa
tronage to further his legislative ends
This charge is one also that has been
| aimed at every president since Wash
ington's time, according to the views
of men who have made study of pc
litical history. 1t is remembered by
the old-timers how President Garfield
refused to appoint a collector OF the
port of New York who was demanded
| by Roscoe Conklin, in behalf of his
| prerogative as q senator from the
state of New York.
Patronage matters and patronage
charges were prominent during the
Cleveland, the Harrison and the Nc
Kinley administrations and were not
at all unknown during the Roosevelt
and Taft administration. During some
Of the administrations they were more
scattered than during the others, but
1t is not hard to recall how Theo-
dore Roosevelt changed his mind in
patronage matter in order that he
might be certain to get the support Of
two senators for his railroad rate leg
islation. Mr.. Roosevelt argued that
the legislation was for the good of the
whole country and that he might prop
erly yield in small patronage matter
to secure for the country what he
thought was blessing.
Hundreds Of Cadets Graduated.
There has been an outpouring from
Washington for some days of army
officers and their wives and fam
lilies en- route to West Point to
see our boy" or some other
family's boy graduate. The Naval
aeademy's graduating exercises came
first, to be followed closely by those
of West Point Something like one
hundred new officers have just been
added to the United States army
through the exercises Of graduation at
the old Military academy.
At West Point Cadet Francis X.
Newcomer Of this city has just grad
uated. Moreover. his father. Col.
! Henry C. Newcomer, was present to
see the boy take first honors. and the
colonefs thoughts went back about a
| quarter of a century to the day
when he. like his son, graduated and
was given the laurel of first place.
The chances are that young New
conner will enter the engineer corps.
He can IL he wants to, because the
boy who graduates at the head of his
class is given the right TO take any
vacancy which exists in the lowest
commissioned rank in the United
States army. There are always some
vacancies in the engineering branch
at the time that a class graduates.
In the army today there are many
cases of fathers and sons" The
president of the United States has ten
cadet appointments a year at his
! command, and almost invariably he
elects to name the SONS of officers of
the service. It does not always fol.
low that a boy graduates as high or
as low as his father did. Colonel
Cocktails. who is building the Panama
canal, however. has a son in the sery-
ice who graduated pretty nearly as
/ high as his father. The boy is now
on the isthmus doing the work of a
lieutenant. while his father looks
down on him paternaliy from the
! height OF colonel's place.