The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-04-30
DENOCRA<'Y'S NEXT GREATEST
TASK.

Representative Fitzgerald has
done we'll to rebuke the democracy
for the nonfulfillment of its promise
of economy. This is the next great
task before the party.
The two greatest questions which
confronted the Wilson administra-
ton have been disposed of. The
democracy has revised the tariff. 1t
has scrupulously kept it's promise in
SO doing. And in spite of the fact
that an opportune drouth and serious
financial trouble in Europe have com
bined to make the change in methods
Of tariff taxation specially riskful,
this has been accomplished with no
serious effects and with the mini
mum of disturbance of commercial
conditions:
A. Aahe currency system of the nation
/has been wholly recast. This bids
fair to prove the most important leg
aslative achievement Of the quarter
century. These two measures have
filled the thoughts Of legislators and
fixed the attention of the country.
Meanwhile, the usual appropriation
bills have been passing in the usual
way. 1t is now time for the democ-
racy to overhaul the system of hap
hazard expenditures of public mon
ey inherited from the wasteful re-
publican administrations of the past
with the same unsparing hand which
>dr mas laid upon the tariff iniquities
and the archaic currency laws.
In this matter of wasteful congress
sional expenditure the democracy
must do exactly as it did with the
tariff and the CURRENCY. 1t Built from
the bottom up, OH new ana sound
principles. 1t did not try to do what
the republicans had done, and Simply
do it little milder or more reason
ably; 1t took new start Our sys-
tenn OF appropriating public money
is called such by courtesy. We have
had no system; there has been no CO.
ordination between the taxing and
the spending end of the government.
If commercial corporation were run
with as little attention to the relation
between income and expenditure. it
would be handed over to the sheriff
within six months.
Here is a task of the first magni-
tude which can be vigorously prose-
cuted with no danger of alarming
the country or disturbing business
conditions One paean of JOY would
go up from Key West to Seattle and
from Fire Island to San Pedro if it
were announced that the congression-
al leaders had set themselves active
ly to work out the problem of gov
ernmental economy. Nothing would
more surely and more vitality assist
in the recovery of business from the
ill effects of the drouth and the Eur
opean period of hard times.
This is not partisan effusiveness.
The Republic challenges contradic-
ton of the statement that the adj
ministration leaders in congress have
proven their ability to disregard sell
fish considerations in legislation. The
tariff bill swept away favoritism to
the sugar interests in democratic
Louisiana Prophecies were freely
made that Oscar Underwood's steel
making constituency would find ways
to moderate the application Of demo-
cratic principles to the metals tariff
and that the democratic senators
from the wool states of the west
would bring to nothing the efforts to
reform the wool schedule.
And none of these things happen
ed The tariff was reformed as if
without regard to special interests
affected in democratic states The
democracy can do this next thing. 1t
can reform and systematic the hit
or-miss financial practice of our gov
eminent. This is the next great
task. The democracy should pick up
the glove which one of its dis.in-
guished representatives has thrown
down. 1t should do that thing whose
need President Taft so clearly saw,
the performance of which the prac-
tice Of his party for half century
had made SO impossible.-St. Louis
Republic.