Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-03-28


The fear is expressed that with the
President triumphant the complete
harmony that obtained up to- yester-
day is not likely to return in the life
of the Wilson administration. In fact
RepublicanS, chuckled as they re-
marked: ~Well, the Democrats are
up to their old tricks of spilling the
beans 1t was bound to come sooner
or later and here it is
Right in this connection Democratic
critics of the President are beginning
to ask about the attitude of Mr.. Will
son toward the one term plank in the
Baltimore platform.
| They point out that Mr.. Wilson rec
commended the repeal bill in spite of
the specific Endorsement of free
tolls by the platform upon which he
ran as a candidate, and they want to
! know IL he intends similarly to ignore
the one term declaration of the Bal
timore deliverance
The Clark adherents express great
interest in this proposition. Whatever
| may be the mental attitude of the
Speaker toward the President, Mr..
Clarks followers are hostile to Mr.
Wilson and insist that the Speaker will
enter the lists for the presidential
nomination In 1916. Apparently they
are not dismayed by threats of repre-
sentatives of the administration that
MIR. Clark should make his plans for
Speaker of the next House before he
thinks OF the party convention of
1916.
The House Leadership
All this hostile talk is in striking
contrast to conditions that have pre-
vailed heretofore in the Democratic
organization. There is another angle
to the present state of Democratic un-
rest. Mr.. Underwood is a candidate
for the Senate and will retire from
| the House at the end of this Congress.
Representative kitchin, of North
| Carolina, was supposed to be selected
for the succession, but Mr.. Kitchin is
also opposed to the President on the
J tolls question, and accordingly the
administration spokesmen are groom
ing another for the leadership in the
next House.
Leader Underwood yesterday de-
clared, among other things. that the
sovereignty OF the United States over
the Canal Zone is ut issue in the
pending legislation: that the passage of
the measure means the surrender by
the United States of the right to as
Sert control over its own properly.
Mr.. Underwoods Queries
Are we now to yield the sovereign
rights of the nation, and for WHAT
| asked Mr.. Underwood. Can any one
tell us plainly why we surrender, and
what is to be accomplished by it?
Are we to yield merely because the
sentiment of Europe is against us:
| When has the sentiment of Europe
ever been with us about matters Of
| moment?
Was Europe with us when we pro-
tested against the British government
taxing us without granting represen-
| tation i'll the Parliament? Did Eu-
rope protest against the unlawful
seizures and search of vessels in the
second decade of the last century?
When will the time ever come when
we can expect to maintain and pre-
serve our rights, political and COM
merclal, with the acquiescent SYM
pathy of European governments?
These concluding remarks of Mr..
| Underwoods speech, which directly
challenged President Wilson's plea for
| repeal on the ground of our foreign
relations, were greeted with loud ap-
plause by the House and galleries.
| Referring to the plank in the Dem
ocratic platform which declared for
the exemption from tolls of American
ships engaged in coastwise trade Mr..
Underwood said;
"There can be no contention as TO
the meaning of this language. No
one can raise the issue that the bill
now pending before the House is not
in direct conflict with the Democratic
platform.
The Party Pledge
Personally, l believe that the party
pledge should be lived up to in good
| faith by those who claim allegiance
to party principles, but as there are
many who differ from me in reference
to the binding effect of a party plat
| form | will not at this time endeavor
to discuss the pending bill from that
standpoint"
Un-American Spirit of Surrender
"Our whole difficulty in this mat
ter" said he, ''arises froh the un-
American spirit of surrender that some
of our own people have exhibited to-
ward this important question from the
very beginning
Speaker Clark, taking the same
view, said: Il do not question your
honesty, but you are making serious
mistake IL YOU adopt this rule, and
would not be worthy of the commits
sion you have given me as your leader
| if | did not have the courage to stand
| here and tell you So"
Palmer Follows Blindly''
! When Congressman Palmer, of
Pennsylvania, rose to reply to Under
wood on behalf of the administration,
he, too, addressed the Democrats ex-
clusively, declaring that the Repub-
| licans are the common enemy and
| that the Democrats must settle this
question among themselves.
Mr.. Palmer'S speech was an elabo-
ration OF the remarkable statement he
issued the other night, declaring that
the House should follow the President
blindly, because ii does not know why
the President has asked for the repeal
of the eXemDtiOn law
Wilson Has "Own Reasons,
| Mr.. Palmer repeated that the Presi-
dent has his own reasons for demand
| Ing this repeal reasons which he can
not communicate either to the public
or to the legislative branch of the
| government.
F! So far as ne could, without becom-
ing actually sensational. Palmer gave
the House to understand that unless
there is repeal of the tolls exemption
there will be war between the United
| States and some foreign power. He
did not appear to know what power
but he was apparently very certain
that the President would not have
said that the repeal must be accom-
| plished unless he had some very grave
reasons for such an assertion
Bryan Servile. Too
Secretary Bryan indicated that he
was not only for the bill to repeal the
exemption of American coastwise ves-
sells from payment of Panama Canal
tolls, but also in favor of the speciaI