Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-02-03
Speaker of House Declares
Democrats Have Made
Good Their Promises
PRAISES NEW STATUTES
Declares Tariff Best Ever
Written, Believes Currency
Law Will Work

in what the democratic party has ac-
complished since it came into control
of the government less than a year
ago, and confidence in the program
of the administration to complete the
work of carrying out the promises OF
the party's platform, was voiced here
tonight by Speaker Champ Clark in
campaign speach for Henry Nolmer.
democratic nominee for congress to
succeed the late Representative r.
wing S. Pepper.
For 16 long and wearisome years.
said the speaker, "all the democrats
could do was to promise what they
could accomplish if they were given
power. 1t took us all that time to
convince the American people that
we were earnest in our profession
Now all that is changed We can,
with pride and pleasure talk about
what we have done and also about
what we intend to do
Defends Caucus Method
"At the election in 1912 every in
telligent man within the confines OF
the republic knew that if we carried
the election there would be an extra
session of congress and that the first
great promise we undertook to carry
out would be to revise the tariff. We
proceeded as promptly as possible to
the work of revising the tariff down
ward. In my judgment it is the best
tariff bill ever put on the statute
books. If there were no other good
features in it the income tax section
would make it rank among the very
best tariff bills" The speaker defend
ed the caucus method of putting the
bill through the house, declaring that
the bill was debated until everybody
in the house was worn to frazzle."
Referring to the currency bill. the
second great problem disposed of, the
speaker said the new law furnished
a substitute for "one of the worst cur
rency systems in the world"
"It provides a working scheme he
continued, "for increasing the cur
rency when the increase is needed
for contracting it when the public de-
mands it. In addition to this. it pre-
vents as far as human wisdom en-
tends, the gambling in stocks and
ponds it prevents the assembling of
all the money in the country in one
big city and leaves it at home where
it properly belongs: it authorizes the
farm lands, and it is believed and
hoped that it will, to very large ex
tent, prevent panics.
Prefers Power in Presidents Hands
ut is claimed that it lodges too
much power in the hands of the Presi-
dent and it will not bear the lightof
day. Power has to be lodged some
where. The only question in that re-
gard is whether it is better to lodge
the immense power conferred in your
currency bill in the President of the
United States, chosen by the people
and who has their interests at heart,
or in the hands of some private citi-
zen. So far as | am concerned. /
choose the former. We have had a
great variety of men in the White
House. but the honesty of all of them
has been above question.
I'VE intend now to proceed to re-
deem other promises in the demo-
cratic platform by enacting laws on
the subjects of the trusts, the farmers
banks and perhaps on the Philippines.
When we have done that we will have
put more constructive legislation on
the statute books than nearly any
other congress that ever sat"
Mr. Clark referred briefly to the
Mexican situation, saying that it was
being handled by the President, who
was in constant touch with things in
Mexico, and who knows more about
man in America"
ut seems to me-" he concluded,
that the people of the United States
ought to support him and his policies
and to remember that silence is gold
en- when we refer to these matters.
think that he deserves credit for
trouble with Mexico"