The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-11
NICK LONGWORTH
 TOBUY SOME HATS Forecasts 100 Republican
 Majority in House
GRILLS DEMOCRATS
Joins Other Republicans in Attack on Revenue Law as Exam pie of Democratic
 Incompetence
By HUGH w. ROBERTS

Washlngton, July 10-(Speci al )-Nicho- las Longworth proves every now and then that he does not depend for fame solely on his wifes family. His friends con tend that had he no place in the affec- tion of Colonel Roosevelt, he would win his way through his infectious and ire sponsible humor.
 There are some things regarding which Mir. Longworth will not talk. For in- stance, he does not relish a conversation in-law of the bull moose party. But he does find pleasure in criticizing the dem ocrats and in predicting that soon they will be turned out of office.
 The son-in-iaw is positive that the re- publicans will control the House follow Ing the fall elections. He is positive, furthermore that the republican majority will not be four or f. but at least 1OO
 As a matter of fact, MT. Longworth has formally wagered-and in the Congress sional Record the wager is recorded-that the republicans with majority of at least 100 will control the House in the next ses- sion of Congress. It is not known whether Longworth, having been irritated, spoke without taking due consideration of the national outlook. But it is known that through his own terms he subjects himself to the probability of loss without a chance of winning anything for him. self.
 When MT. Kitchin, as chairman of the ways and means committee, delivered his revenue bill, the republicans, following the lamentably old cue, cried to heaven. In their opinion, nothing so extravagant, nothing so outrageous nothing that so ''smelled" of democratic inclination to waste and democratic incompetency, had ever before been produced.
 HE'S A SPORT
 As a matter of fact all of the republi- cans made speeches which, at the cost of the government, will be mailed this fall as campaign literature. They made sirni- lar speeches when the Underwood tariff bill was presented, and the democrats, years before, made similar speeches when the Payne bill was pending.
 NICK'S OWN LANGUAGE
 And one of the republican campaign or ators was MT. Longworth. He was espe- cially blue as concerns the future fate of the nation. Tn the following language he expressed his ardent conviction Cor was it simply his hope0
 For this and other sins of omission and commission, the democratic party will  March next will relapse again into that state of comparative innocuous desue- tude as the party of opposition, in which position alone it can be real service to the country.
 "As ap evidence of the good faith of this prediction, hereby agree to furnish each of my democratic colleagues on the ways and means committee who are re- turned at the next election-and I hope that they, at least, will be fine new hat in the mode of the period if the repub lican majority in this House in the next Congress is less than 1oo'
 DEMOCRATS INTERESTED
 While other republicans made more bril- liant speeches, and other republicans made speeches containing more poison than MT. Longworth, it must be said to his credit that none of them aroused democratic interest to the extent that his expression of good faith did.
 The democrats as matter of fact. had permitted the republicans to speak with out interruption. Most of them spent the hours of the bombardment in the cloak room or in their offices.
 But when the news spread abroad that MT Longworth had offered hats contin- gent on republican success in a landslide, all democrats returned to the chamber, and by consulting the Ohioan or the ste nographer, anxiously confined the start ling report. And then the only democrats sorely distressed were those who are not members of the ways and means com mttee.