American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1914-07-16
CORRESPONDENCE
FROM WASHINGTON
WEEKLY NEWS LETTER WHICH
TELLS OF THINGS THAT ARE
HAPPENING AT THE NATIONAL
CAPITOL.
People Throughout the Country Are
Looking to the Republican Party for
Relief From General DepressiOns
Which Preyails-No Optimism or
BuOyancy in West.

Nhlch freYalls-NO Optimism or
BuOyancy in West.
Washington, ID. c. July 14-Judg-
/ ing by what one hears on the street
in the hotels, on trains, and other
places where men assemble, the ma
jority Of the people in the middle west
will welcome the opportunity to
change the administration in Wash
ington. Perhaps more than any other
part of the country, the central west
has suffered by the policies of the ad-
ministration. Reduction of the tariff
has not lowered the cost of living in
any respect, as a glance at the cur
rent prices of food commodities will
show. On the other hand. many fac
tories have curtailed their forces and
reduced the working time, so that the
great army of idle men has been in
creased and the purchasing power OF
those who have employment has been
reduced.
Feeling Of Apprehension.
Notwithstanding the fact that crop
prospects are the greatest for many
years, record breaking, in some in
stances. there is a feeling of apprehen-
sion apparent everywhere in the west.
There is no buOyancy or optimism, ex-
cept that voiced by certain politicians
The general course seems to be that
of moving cautiously, and to hedge
against possibilities While no one
will say it for publication, many per
sons who are in position to know ex-
pect hard times after the brief boom
caused by marketing the harvests IL
over. It is known that many enter
prises have been hanging on by al
most an eyelash, hoping that the pros
perity following the cashing in Of the
grain harvests would tide them over
In many cases it may do so; in many
other cases the relief will not be suf-
ficient.
RepubIican-PrOgressiye Compromises
In some western states deals are on
between Republicans and Progress
sives whereby they can combine upon
some candidate who is neither too
stand pat nor bull moosey.. Mutual
concessions have been made in Ne
braslNa and Iowa along these lines.
In some of the middle western
states the Progressive party has
dwindled remarkably since the last
presidential election. This is parti-
cularly true in North Dakota, where
the party failed to nominate a state
ticket, because they could not muster
enough votes to qualify for a place
on the ballot under the law
Michigan also affords an example
of the practical collapse OF the moose
ticket In the presidential election
the Progressives cast something more
than 152 900 votes, but unbiased esti-
mates now are that the vote probably
would not exceed 5000. The Michi-
gan Republicans, It is said, are GER
tain to elect all but one Of the repre-
sentatives, with a fighting chance for
the doubtful district They also ex-
pect to elect the entire state ticket
Turn to Republican Ticket.
Perhaps the clearest indication Of
what may happen in the next national
election is given by the recent primar-
les at Gary and Indiana Harber, Ind
great industrial centers. The Pro
gressives carried both these stee
towns in the last election. Since then
for various reasons, work has beer
"spOtty" and scarce The steel com
panies and allied industries have beer
unable to secure enough orders t.
keep the mills and manufactures busy
and thousands of men were laid of
These cities may be taken as typica
industrial centers. In the recent pri-
maries the Republicans received 81
per cent OF the vote IN Gary, the Dem
ocrates z per cent. and the Progress
sives 3 per cent. In Indiana Harbol
the Republicans received 80 per cen.
Of the vote, the Democrats s. and the
/ Progressives 2 per cent.
The people of these two cities blame
The Democratic administration 70
their condition. They say their onlJ
hope for prosperity lies in the Repub
lican party and it's policies The
argue that the Progressive party i
and they have enough OF ex
periments for the present. Hundred
of these men have been paying 70
homes on the installment plan and tn
depression which has settled over al
the big industrial district has made i
1cnntinnad On maze n