The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-04-23
Editor HattleshurQ News.

Editor Hatttesnur0 news. - g 4
The writer is today one of number
of recipients of Pat Harrison's speech.
delivered In the House of Representa-. /
tives at the National Capitol; March,
%. 1914. in opposition to the repeal Of
the toll exemption clause of the Hay
Paucefort treaty. II Is a very pretty
speech; rich in rhetoric, we'll seasoned
with sophistries and sadly lacking in
logic.
However, from his opening remarks
to his preoration his language was
chaste and choice, his tribute to his
chief was as sincere and sweet as his
own sunny smiles, though opposed to
the stand taken by him in the matter
of repeating the tolls exemption clause
of the Baltimore platform. A gentle
man of refined instincts and polished
manners, he was incapable of adding
wanton insult to his honest opposition
and contented himself with the appro-
val of his own conscience in the mat
ter, rather than descending to Shiny
innuendo.
After paying glowing tribute to
Champ Clark and Oscar Underwood,
whose dissenting stand he felt himself
constrained to occupy and defend, for
reasons evidently satisfactory to each
and all of them, he opens his argu-
ments with this PREDATORY statement:
81. think that the President of this ma
ton is a patriotic, sincere and able
man. He is, in my opinion, the great
est President this nation has seen since
the days of Jefferson. believe that
the course he has pursued in this mat
, ter is prompted by the most honest
purposes"
If Mr.. Harrison was sincere, and
the writer believes he was, in his ar
IDENTIFY expressed estimate of the Presi-
dents patriotism, sincerely. ability
and honesty of purpose, he leaves Us
but one construction to place upon the
unrevealed motive that actuated him
in deserving the President he eulogizes
in such unstinted measure, and that is
that he discovered the Wilson type of
patriotism, sincerity, ability and homes
ty of purpose to be inferior to the type
of those attributes embodied in Clark,
Underwood, Harrison, Vardaman, et.al.
though voluntarily placing Wilson in
the class of Jefferson, his illustrious
prototype. =. IL >
Oppressed with forebodings of i'm
pending disaster, our princely paragon
delivers himself thus: 'If today you
pass this repeal bill and your views are
sanctioned by the American people, 1
believe 1t is the beginning of the end
Or party organization in this country,
from which have sprung, and upon
which have flourished every shape and
form of subsidy, protection greed,
graft and polluted politics that per-
nicious activities of the avarious could
evolve from their bad and busy brains.
Quoting from a letter written. by
Hon. A. Mitchell James, July 8. 1912,
to Secretary of State Knox, in which,
in concluding he says: eff the trade
could be SO regulated as to make 1t Ger.
tain that only bona fide coastwise traf.
fc, which is reserved for United States
vessels, would be benefited by the
exemption, 1t may be that no objec
ton could be taken" With impressive
JUNCTION our pretty Pat asks: docs
that sound like violation Of the
treaty . OF which, with equal proprie
ty 1t might be further asked: Does
that sound like the completion and
ratification of the treaty? The poor
little multimillionaire ship subsidy
seekers evidently must suffer much
from conditions that compliance with
the terms Of the treaty win impose
though coastwise shipping is now
and has been for many years enjoying
coastwise traffic free from competi
tion with foreign bottoms.
The United States has built the ca.
nal, will equip, operate and maintain
it and having spent 100000, 900 to do
it, every craft of every nation under
the sun, from fishing smack to a