Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-02
POLITICS BUBBLE
AS CONGRESS ENDS
The Good-by Love Feast in Wash
ington-Senator Burton Planning
a World Tour-Vice President
Marshall's Dangerous Little Joke.
BY ]. c. HEMPHILL

AS CONGRESS approaches its end politics
"A begins to boil and bubble, not the politics
of debate in the open by the members intent
only upon making a record" for the people
back home, nor of the caucus with the
majority beating down budding Instruction;
but the politics Of turning what has been
said in debate and caucus to popular" ac-
count.
OF course. on the last night Of the SEES
sion there will he a sort Of love feast at
which Minority Leader Mann, Republican,
viii rise at his place and say how much he
really thinks of Speaker Clark and Bull
Moose Leader Victor Murdoch on positively
his last appearance, and the Speaker and
Mr.. Murdoch will say how Mr.. Mann has
frightened their lives and made the days and
weeks and months and years of the present
Congress "one long sweet Dream There
will be tears and love for the Pops. and
love and tears for the Fops, and It will all
be just as sincere as anything this Congress
has done.
Underwood will be leaving for the Senate.
but kitChin will have n chance now, and
kttchin Is no SLOUGH. Murdoch will be going
back to Topeka, wondering all the way how
many people will be at the station to meet
him. Hobson will be returning Ia Alabama
with not "A wet eye in the House at his going,
with the hope, possibly, in his heart OF
coming back either to take Thomas Riley
Marshall's place in the Senate by virtue of
being William Jennings Bryan's Vice Presi-
dent on n straight Prohibition ticket, or OF
beati' & old Bankhead for his place in the
upper house. The most of those who will
pass out will never he heard Of again in a
national way, and the pity OF it is that more
of them are not going.
Before Kansas Was Discovered
The House is too big for a deliberative
body, it is big enough for a convention, but
1t is too unwieldy for effective work. This
Is what Representative Phil Campbell, of
Kansas. told the University Club last week.
lie would cut down the number of Congress-
men to about al, and that would he quite
enough to do good and thorough work If
there could be any way of assuring the coun-
try that the 141 would be less worthless than
the 435 who now cucumber the payrolIs of
the Government. How Mr.. Campbell hit
upon l4l as the right number is not known
the number of Representatives in the Second
Congress in 1900 was 142. and that was
some Congress- as the saying goes. But
that was 1l5 years ago, long before Kansas
was discovered, which is why 1t is worth
knowing that out Of Kansas in this age Of
' ''N ''AAA' VIC HpltIlll lllDlHlI
hat mere bigness Is not real greatness.
At the risk of giving offense it can be said
that the present Congress averages up
fairly well with the people who are RESPONSE
BILE for It, and it Is mainly valuable as Ex-
hibit A of what a pure Democracy would do
If it had the chance. There has been much
criticism of the President for compelling the
Congress to do his will, and many persons
think that he has gone too far; but it is only
fair to imagine, if one can, what might have
happened If Congress had followed its own
will.
When Benjamin Harrison was President he
was quoted as saying how hard he had found
1t to handle "the herd of wild asses up on the
or something like that. 1t is true that
the President has controlled the course of
legislation; but suppose he had not, what
might not have happened? He has driven
the team hard; but he has held it back some
or the country would be m with cot
ton currency, the Government would have
taken over the entire cotton crop of the
South at a price agreed upon by the owners
of the staple; woman suffrage would have
been submitted to "a vote on the amendment
of the Constitution; the country would he in
volved in entangling alliances which would
have meant the United States at war with
the world, so that in many ways the Presi-
dent has saved the country from Congress
even if Congress has not saved the country
from the President. The hand that has
driven has at the same time held back, and
for this the President is entitled to sincere
thanks.
When the Congressman Get Home
One Of the things the Congressman, par
-icularly those who are coming back, will do
when they reach their districts will be to line
Up their constituents for the presidential
struggle, and there is reason to think that
he President himself will not be wholly idle
Turing the vacation period. When he was
elected there was a popular misrepresentation
hat he was mot much of a politician that
he boys would pull the wool over his eyes,
hat he didn't know" The fact Is that he
las shown the old dogs a side of politics they
lever dreamed Of. and no President has ever
,een so absolutely the master of his political
,arty. lie has given offense to many who
pelped to put him I'm office; but he has made
riends OF his former opponents and held
rmly to himself the great majority OF those
Who supported him for the nomination with
'ut any thought that in voting for him they
we're doing something for themselves. There
8 no other Democrat who can win-the most
ctlve Of the Democratic leaders figure II
nut that he can win, hands down. But the
republicans do not think he can, and say so
S If they really meant 1t.
A Pennsylvania Republican who spent his
ghole time with the publicity end OF the
ecent contest in that State said yesterday:
Any Republican can be elected President
ext year, You can talk all you please and
mil Won are black I'm the face about +ba