Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-09-25
TO VISIT THE WEST
ON SPEAKING TOUR
Senator Weeks in City En-
Route to Missouri and,
Other States.
is URGED AS AVAILABLE
PRESIDENTIAL TIMBER
Massachusetts Statesman Discusses
Politics, incidentally Condemning
the Seamen's Law.

setts, who, while not thus far finding
it eXpedient or necessary to declare his
candidacy for the republican nomina-
tion for President, is yet accepted in
political circles as towering high as
available presidential timber. is in
town today. The senator is on his way
| to st. Louis, where next Tuesday he
will by invitation address the City Club
and the same evening make speech
before the republican state committee.
| He also will make speeches at In
dependence, Kan. october II; Wichita
| the 18th and at Oklahoma City and
| Tulsa, Okla, the 18th and 14th. The
speech before the meeting of the Mis-
souri, republican state committee, which
will be the occasion of love feast
| of Missouri republicans, will be of a
| political character.
! Senator Weeks is not one of those
republicans who think that President
Wilson's popularity through patriotic
support of his stand in the Lusitania
tragedy has put the republican party
out of existence or destroyed the fund
amental principles upon which the next
national campaign is to be fought.
Fourteen months intervene before cleo
ton, and he thinks there is ample
time for the country to take into COLI
sideration the basic differences be-
tween the policies of the republican
and democratic parties.
Issues Of Next Campaign.
Among some of the issues which he
thinks will come to the fore for DELHI
| Grafton by the voters will be the tariff
question. the merchant marine, reasona-
BILE preparedness for national defense,
| the cooperation of government with le
gitimate business rather than oppres-
sive restriction, the alleged looting Of the
| diplomatic service by the present ad
| ministration in behalf of Office seekers
| and The Mexican policies.
In conversation with Star man at
the Capitol today Senator Weeks dropped
national politics long enough to pay
| tribrte to o. E. Weller. the republican
ca ndidate for governor Of Maryland.
| II have known Mr.. Weller intimately
for nearly forty years." said Senator
Weeks. He is one of the best organ.
izers and most thoroughly competent
business men with whom I have ever
had relations. One Of the best argu-
ments that could be made to sustain
! this proposition is the fact that demo-
cratic legislature in Maryland appro-
priated S6.009,000 to be spent under
Weller, a republican state official, and
| it is universally agreed that Maryland
| has received dollar Of value for every
dollar expended.
Says Seamen's Law Is Harmful.
| Senator Weeks in his recent speeches
has taken occasion to impress upon his
audiences the great harm which he
| feels has been worked upon the coun-
| try by the seamen's law, measure
enacted at the last session of Congress.
;-l1
amended at the forthcoming session.
THE seamen's bill seems to be one Of
the most harmful and disastrous pieces
| of legislation put upon the statute
| books at the last session of Congress-,
| said Senator Weeks. 1T was demanded,
| at the time, in the interest of labor,
| but l shall be surprised if any respon-
sible labor leader this winter will op-
pose the efforts to be put forward for
its reasonable amendment. as 1t has
| not only resulted in great harm to
those whom it was intended to beneht,
! but also resulted in great loss to
| llaborers in other fields, such as those
employed in the great lumber indus
tries of the west
| 1T is very evident. by this time, that
the effect of this piece Of legislation
has been to strip the American flag
practically from every transpacific
vessel. and to turn over great trade
routes that have been developed by
American energy " Inc JdpdhCSS.
there are many who do not realize the
harm it has done in other directions
through disrupting long established
markets for American-made goods in
the far east.
Lumber Industry Cited.
Take, for instance. the lumber in
dustry of the west. One large mill at
Seattle. 1 am informed, has just lost
an oriental customer who purchased
from it 800, 900 worth of lumber every
month, or S1.2o0.0OO year. 1t is
claimed that this loss is on account of
the seamen's law. This customer has
placed his future orders in British Co
lumbia, where he can secure transpor-
! tation facilities not subject to the rig
orous requirements of the seamen's act.
This represents an annual loss OF
more than a million dollars to single
lumber mill of the northwest, and as
this is only one instance it indicates
that the total loss because Of the sea-
mems act must be enormous. This cut
ting down of orders must necessarily
mean a cutting down of employment;
so the effect of the new law harms
manufacturer and employe alike.
That is why 1 say l shall be sur
prised to find labor leaders opposed to
proper amendment to the law. What
with the abandonment of the open door
policy in China, the passage of the I'm
adoption of the seamen's bill. it will
take us years to remedy the injury in
ficted upon American industry and
la bor by the present administration.