The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-03-05
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington, D. C., March 2n

Washington, D. c., March 2nd,-
Special Correspondence Will
son administration is one year old
this week. The anniversary finds
the president and congress preparing
to take a breathing spell after year
of almost continuous work The only
respite was two weeks rest dur
| ing the holidays. The work was car
ried on during the dog days last
summer because President Wilson
conscientiously refused to sanction
an adjournment until real start
has been made in carrying out the
party's platform promises. There can
be no question raised as to the sue
cess of the administration in this en-
deavor during it's first years work.
! The tariff and currency legislation,
the good roads and hog cholera APP
preparations, the income tax and d.
rect election of senator amendments,
all placed in operation, and the trust
regulatory and farm land banking
measures, now under consideration,
form a wonderful years work.
The president, his advisers and his
aides in congress have the satisfac-
ton of knowing that the promises of
disaster so freely made by a partisan
press have failed signally of fulfill
ment. The Iowa republican con-
gresham, who told eloquently of the
protest of small banks against the
currency law, declaring that hun
dreds of Iowa banks would surren-
der their charters rather than join
| the federal reserve system, have
nothing to say now since the new
law has been accepted by the bust
ness and financial world as the most
advanced step yet taken to assure a
permanent settled financial condition.
And the fact that only dozen out OF
nearly 5000 national banks in the
country, representing more than 99A
per cent of the national banking CAPT.
tai. joined the new banking system
with enthusiasm, gives an added
proof of how much some of these
campaign scares can be discounted.
There has been the same expert
ence with the tariff. Although the
tariff law has been in operation only
since last summer, the same bene-
fetal results have been achieved. AL
ready substantial reductions have
been made in manufactured articles,
the latest announced affecting the
wooden trade. Secretary Redfield
has shown that the old alarms about
the competition Of the "pauper la
Dor of Europe" have proved false
alarms. Imports have increased, but
the great bulk of goods imported
have been raw materials for use in
manufacturing There has been no
appreciate increase in imports OF
manufactured goods. On the other
hand there has been great increase
in exports, and the balance of trade
in favor of the United States in
shown to be larger in report is
sued in February than ever before in
the country's history.
The effort to scare labor by
threats of idleness consequent upon
the reduction in tariff duties also
has failed. There has been no let up
in industry. No less an authority
than Samuel Gompers, who knows
more about labor conditions perhaps
than any man in the country, declar-
ed in a speech in Washington last
Thursday that 'the ranks of the un-
employed in the United States are
thinner now than usual" Il ex-
press my Judgment said Mr.. Com
pers, when ! say the present state
of unemployment is less than usual,
and will be of shorter duration than
those which ever marked similar
transitory periods in the past
The trusts are putting up deter
mined fight against President Will
sons trust policy, now before con-
gress in the form Of several bills to
strengthen the power of the Sher-
man antitrust law. The same
prophecies of disaster are being made
that were made by protected inter
ests when the tariff debate was on.
But it is possible to arrive at the
cause for some of these protests.
For instance when the house judici-
airy committee was examining the
manufacturer of a patented eye glass
bridge, who entered strong protest
against the proposal in pending anti
trust bills to prohibit price fixing, it
was brought out that this manufac-
turer sold his product to the jobber
at $1.25, to the retailer at 50, and to
the consumer at s., all through
price fixing agreements by which the
manufacturer, jobber and retailer
shared profits, and only the consum-
er was worsted. Legislating in the
interests of the buying public, men,
bers of the committee believed this
manufacturer gave the strongest evil
dence in the support of the bill.
Congressman Henry Vollmer was
sworn in last week, being escorted
to the speakers desk by his col
leagues, Congressman Connolly and
kirkpatrick, and taking the oath.
He was given noisy greeting Of
hand-clapping by the house when he
turned to take his seat. Mr.. Voll-
mer has been given membership on
the committee on invalid pensions,
claims and expenditures in the state
department.
Jerry B. Sullivan was in Washing
ton the last of the week to extend his
personal thanks to President Wilson
for his appointment as chairman Of
the appraisership board in New
York
J. X. Dougherty.