Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-06-30
THE CROAKINCS
OF The CR0AKER
Prophets of Pessimism Who
Would Destroy Business
to Return to Office
THEIR CRY IS CALAMITY
Mad Opposition Resort. to
Old Dugaboo Of Bond Issue
---No Regard for Truth

WASHINGTON, D. c., June 81
This is the season of the year when
the political croaker is abroad in the
land. This creature hibernates in
Washington during the long session
of Congress and as the heated period
approaches he crawls forth from his
obscurity and sets up howl of calam-
ity in an effort to drown the har-
monious hum of industry.
High temperature is, not the cause
which prompts this pestiferous per-
son to do this thing; it is not his
head that is effected, but rather is it
his heart. He sees the time ap-
preaching for the general elections,
and he realizes that he is one of the
"outs" and it is by assuming the
role of prophet of pessimism that he
seeks for himself and his party rein
statement in the high places of pow
er and influence. A term in the dun
geon of political oblivion has serious
ly affected his vision and he mis-
takes, for his own purposes, the ros-
cate hue which others see for the
red signal OF danger.
The political croaker is made up
of ninety per cent selflshness and ten
per cent gloom. The selfishness is
natural while the gloom is assumed.
He enshrouds himself in a mantle Of
despair and goes stalking forth to
spread feeling Of unrest and dis
satisfaction. Moreover, he is armed
with spit balls with which he assails
the Democratic administration and
with pop-guns from which he fires
blank cartridges at those In author
ity in the national government. He
ID the man militant whose prototype
is the wild woman Of England. Be-
cause he can't have his own petty
way he seeks to destroy. He spo,
his venom whenever an opportuntty
is afforded and attempts to poison
the public mind all to the end that
discomfort may prevail and he hopes
to benefit thereby politically.
This sort Of thing is to be expect
ed in the political campaign which
is just opening and it will be kept up
until election day. There is no real
issue upon which the Republican
Party can make a respectable fight,
and hence it must, in its melancholy.
beat the tom-toms Of despair. The
Democratic regime has been one Of
constructive legislation and it has
left it's opponents nothing which they
can successfully assail.
A few days ago a republican mem.
ber of the United State senate, one
whose term is drawing to a close and
who sees the necessity of doing some
thing to insure his return, in an at
tack upon the administration, declar-
ed that the revenues Of the Govern
ment were running behind and that
public expenditures would have to be
met "in the familiar Democratic way
of issuing bonds" This was a de-
liberate libel and false statement
which the distinguished senator could
not have failed to know was not tha
truth If he had but taken the small
trouble to make an inquiry of the
Treasury Department.
When the Underwood Simmons tar
iff bill was enacted, Representative
Underwood made q conservative esti-
mate Of the revenues which would
be derived and stated that the act,
together with the money received
from the income tax, the internal
revenue and the usual miscellaneous
sources, would provide a surplus OF
$18,0O0,000 year after paying all
the expenses of the government. The
actual facts developed during the first
eight months that the measure has
been upon the statute books show
that the Democratic leader was too
conservative in his estimate. Mr..
Underwood figured that the customs
under his bill would amount to $780,
100000 at the close Of the fiscal year.
June 30, 1914. The Treasury state
ment on June s shows that this
amount has already been exceeded and
the customs revenues received up to
that date amounted to $273,061 900,
or more than $4,000. 900 more than the
author of the tariff measure had es-
timated, with twenty-five days re-
ceipts yet to come. So that the total
customs revenues under the Under.
wood Bill will be in tho neighborhood
of fifteen or twenty millions more
than 1t had been figured they would