The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-09-17
Legislative Leadership.

/ Legislative Leadership.
| In the Sixty-fourth Congress oil
| North Carolina will cut a widt
swath. She will supply the leader.
ship of the majority in both houses
and l doubt if any such condition
ever existed before in our political
history. We are all glad that the
leadership of the Senate is in the
hands of Mr.. Simmons. In my time,
now more than third of a century,
do not recall when the Senate was
more capably led than during the
sittings of the Sixty-third Congress,
and l remember Senates of which
Sherman, Conkling, Blaine, Edmunds
and Aldrich were members and lead
ers.
When l first knew the Senate
Thurman was the Democratic leader,
and for assistants such men as
Bayard, Beck, Voorhees,, Lamar, Ben
Hill, Mcdonald, and men of that ilk.
1t is needless to mention Quay, Cor
man, Plat, and men of that kidney,
who were cunning rather than wise.
1 only repeat that the leadership
practiced by Mr.. Simmons was all
that any Democrat could desire, and
more than most Democrats expected.
Mr.. Claude kitchin may plume
himself if his leadership of the
House next winter shall be nearly
as successful as the Democratic lead
ership in the Senate. And I am
frank to say that the Hon. Claude
will have to mend his manners if he
succeeds. AS for the oratory, Claude
can be depended on to do his share of
that, but the older the government |
grows the cheaper congressional |
eloquence becomes. The real leader |
of the Democratic party and the ma
ton is now in the White House. Let
Claude get in full touch with that
leadership and all will be we'll.
Mr.. Mann is leader of the ,Repub-
leans in the House and he was made
leader because his party did not con-
slider the Hon. Payne fit for leader;
lust as Mr. Gallinger is leader of the
Republican side of the Senate be-
cause his party did not think the .
Hon. Penrose fit for leader Never !
heless, if the tariff should again be 9
Mr.. Fordney, of Michi- +
san, will be the Republican leader !
# the House and Mr.. Penrose the Q
republican leader of the Senate, for
dann and Gallinger are not strong
n tariff
The Republican party has pro- a
uced such leaders in the House as {
'haddeus Stephens, Robert C. t
James G. Blaine, James A. I
fairfield, Nelson Dingley and Thorn S
S B. Reed-all powerful personali- S
les and very able men. During I
luch of the time old Pig Iron Kelley G
'as the chairman of Ways and "
leans, but while the negro question a
,as on deck, there were a score of e.
lore prominent men on the Repub- n
can side of Congress than old Pig O.
'on. Ben Butler completely over b
1adowed him; so did John A. Lo- m
an. Even Colfax was more premi- a.
ent. al
In the lofty sense, the greatest Ii
ader of the Senate the Republican 81
arty ever produced was Fessenden, re
Maine. He it was who defeated tc
lie impeachment of Andy Johnson az
I'D thus save his country from Ice
eat calamity. After his death fca
DRILL and Sherman dominated the Ehi
lance committee until Aldrich got ESt
fe in the saddle; but during all the
ars reconstruction was on the Lea
'oks Morton, Sumner, Conkling, tn
lrpenter, Trumbull, Edmunds and nc
oar were the real leaders of the to
nate. pr
Congressional leadership in the he
lifted States is not what parliament fri
ry leadership is in England. With pc
every fellow who can deliver the
aims is leader, especially if he can