The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1916-05-18
BY ARTHUR w. DUNN.

Reckon With the Peoples Vote.
BY ARTHUR w. DUNN.
Washington, May Is. - [Special.l l.
Analysing the votes in the house OF
representatives ON the proposition for
a greater increase In the regular army
and for the organization Of n volunteer
force, it is found that a wide strip Of
country in the middle west is evident
ly o alarmed about invasion and has
not been affected by the cry for pre-
paredness.
The representatives OF this large
area, almost without exception, and
without regard to politics, voted against
Il larger army and the proposed organ
of a volunteer army. This indi-
Gates not only the important fact that
the people of that part OF the country
not want a larger army, but that
the representatives have been In close
touch with the people and are con
WINGED Mt this time that there is no
great danger confronting the nation.
A Curious Warning.
A number of papers In the east have
issued a curious warning TO the repre-
sentatives who voted against II larger
army and the volunteer army. Look
out for your SKINS" is the substance
of these warnings which have been
tnnIn aud Tho nann Tho unfnd against
a lnrger army are told that there Will
be a day OF reckoning when the people
vote In November.
Now, that may or may not happen.
according TO the conditions which ex-
LIST when the election takes place. If
the United States ia I'm a state of war
and there is need OF troops, or If there
Is a threatened invasion, the people
will quickly turn upon those repre-
sentatives who did not have the fore
sight TO vote for n larger army, but
voted I'm accordance with the present
wishes of their constituents for a mod
crate increase In the army. But II 1t
should happen that the same condition
exists In November MS now there will
be no danger to the men who repre-
their people.
Wants All the Militia.
In calling out the militia along the
border the administration has done
what Senator Ashurst of Arizona rec
commended several months ago. THE
order does not go far enough" remark
ed Ashurst. "In addition to the three
states along the border we should have
the militia Of all the states called out
and put under arms to guard the Dor
der. There are ZOO miles Of Mexican
border, and 1t will require all OF the
troops of the national guard to prop
erly patrol that border and prevent
raids. There are stretches OF land for
hundreds OF miles without an inhabi-
tant ON either side, and 1t is easy for
the bandits to rush across that border
unless 1t Is properly patrolled."
The Bankhead Bill.
The good roads bill which passed the
house means a vast expenditure OF
money before the end comes, II an end
Is eve reached. There is n limit TO
river and harbor appropriations, and
expenditures upon small streams and
harbors can be criticised and some
times prevented. but there is no limit
about the building of roads. Every
community wants roads and those with
good roads want their roads improved.
The probabilities are that the appro-
p%riations for good roads will grow
something like the rural free delivery
service, which started with Il few hun
dred thousand dollars and has reached
more than fifty millions. One of the
strongest arguments made In behalf of
good roads IS that the farmers get lit
tie out of the expenditures OF more
than n billion dollars every year. With
rural free delivery, good roads and the
rural credits bill the farmers Will be
well taken are of in the future.
Changing OF Rules.
The senate has a way of changing
its rules as 1t goes along. 1t has
n rule which prohibits any senator
from speaking on the same subject
more than twice In a day, and 1t some
times enforces that rule, but at 9th
tr times it agrees To waive Ii. Ii
did that when Senator Kenyon opened
up on the river and harbor bill, evi-
Identity because the friends of that
measure believed that an attempt to
smother Kenyon mt that time would be
injurious to the proposition. This de
cision was not pleasing to Vice Presi-
dent Marshall. who wanted an oppor.
tunity to enforce the rules rigidly.
When There Were Real Salmon.
Senator Lane OF Oregon broke out
into n discussion of the salmon that
existed in the days when he was
young. For fifty years he had lived
on the banks of the Columbia river,
and he had seen the salmon so thick
that one could almost walk across the
stream on them. "ln those days a
fifty or sixty pound Chinook sold on