Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-06-07

ner in which Wilson's nomination was
accomplished at Baltimore last sum-
mer, and there is no secret in the
fact that Speaker Clark wants to be
INDICATED by being given the nomina-
ton in 1916.
There are those who compare the
tariff fight in the House with the
situation in the first year of the Taft
administration. Underwood was last
year denounced by the Wilson Bryan
forces as the candidate and repre-
sentative of special privilege. Still,
he controlled the majority of the
ways and means committee, and die
tated the terms of the new tariff bill.
He left a duty on wool and sugar,
and when the President demanded
that these be taken off. Underwood
agreed to it readily enough. The
President accepted the rest of the
bill without question, and the Wilson
Underwood alliance damned the bill
through the Democratic caucus and
the House without change, and al
most without a fight.
Underwood the Winner.
On the only test of strength of the
President and Underwood, however,
it is pointed out, Underwood won.
That was when Wilson demanded
open caucuses on the tariff. His per-
sonal representative, ]. Mitchell Pal
mer, the nominal Democratic leader
in the House, urged the open caucus
plan, and Underwood opposed 1t, and
the caucus stood by Underwood. The
Alabama man passed his bill, with
everything as he wanted 1t except
ing the wool and sugar schedules.
Now the President is forcing the
passage of the Underwood rates In the
Senate. 1t will be the Underwood
bill when 1t passes.
With the tariff out Of the way,j
however, 1t is believed that the Will
SON Underwood alliance is at an end.
In the naming of committees Under
wood has been supreme. AS chair
man of the ways and means COM
mittee, which carries with it the
making of committee assignments,
the Alabama man possesses as much
power as was ever held by Speaker
Cannon. And, in addition to the
power of naming committees, Under
wood controls the caucus. Under
present conditions the House does not
iegislate in the open. The legislation
is made in the Democratic caucus.
A majority vote in the Democratic
caucus binds all the Democratic
members and controls the action of
the House, even though the caucus
majority may be less than a third
of the total membership of the House.
Cannonism, at the zenith of Its
power, never gave the minority such
influence or placed so much power In
the hands of one man as Is held by
underwood and welded by the
Democratic caucus in the present
House.
Fight for Open Sessions.
There was a fight yesterday in the
committee on banking and currency
which may start a general revolt.
Lindbergh, Progressive Republican,
whose speeches probably had as
much effect as did anything else IN
starting the Pujo money trust hunt,
demanded that the committee hold
open sessions in preparing a cur
rency bill. 1t was time, he urged,
that the country was allowed to
know what was going onin connection
with currency legislation plans.
Somebody moved to table his motion
to hold open sessions and this mo-
ton was voted down.
Then a committee of five was ap-
pointed by Carter Glass, the chair
man, to consider whether IT was safe
to open the doors of the committee
room and let the public know what
was being done and talked Of the
currency and money question. This
committee is to report later. and
Lindbergh says he will force them to
report and get a showdown on the
omen door proposition