The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-04-06
BY ARTHUR w. DUNN.

Washington. April 6-[Speclall.-
We. the people OF the United States.
CT "A part of us. have been growing
somewhat Gdgety or a little uncom
Portable about this Colombian bust
ness. For more than Il dozen years
we have secuted the claims of Co
lombia. They were preposterous be-
cause Colombia attempted TO hold
Us up" after we had offered more han
the canal right was worth. and so In
the language of Colonel Roosevelt we
took Panama"
Well, 1t has been going on for years.
The Taft administration was favor
able to making a recompense. and the
Wilson administration made a treaty
with an expression of mutual regrets
for what happened in 1903 and the
payment of $25.000.0O0.
military Necessity"
Our people have had much 10 say
about the ruthless manner I'm which
Belgium was overrun at the beginning
Of the great war. Germany could not
comprehend why we did not accept
her explanation that 1t was a mill
tary necessity"
Colonel Roosevelt has several times
said II took Panama." explaining that
Colombia tried to hold Us up and hence
the new republic on the isthmus.
The United States did not sacrifice
lives and property, but to all intents
and purposes 1t accepted the e.neces-
sity" view when the republic OF Pan
anna was established.
May Be Colombia Has Rights.
And now we begin TO wonder II
Colombia does not have some rights
In this controversy. The property was
hers. Suppose she did think Ii was
worth $10.OO0,O0O more than we were
willing TO pay. Suppose she had said,
You can't build a canal for any price"
That would have been her just and lie
gal right.
And SO, knowing how we have felt
about the ~overrunning of small ma
tons, u people have begun to wonder
about this Colombia Panama business.
Just as a guess | will predict that
Colombia will get her $25,O00.O00, and
that shortly.
Rules Committee Less Powerful.
The house rules committee during
the Sixty-fifth congress will be less
powerful than 1t has been at any time
since the Fifty-frst congress-. when
Tom Reed made IL the iron hand of
the speaker that controlled the house
of representatives.
The reason for this falling of in
power has been the division of powers
In the house. In shearing the speaker
of nearly all his power and In spread
ing control about the house the rules
committee lost a great deal of it's
prestige.
In the present house the committee
on rules will never know when Ii has
a majority behind 1t which will weaken
its power.
Belong to a Past Age.
read a complaint in one of our
papers about the neglect of a civil
war hero. 1t seemed that one of the
veterans had died and little mention
was made OF his %creditable civil war
record.
1t is not strange that ifty-two years
after the close of a great wal the
people should be comparatively little
interested In the men who took part
in the struggle. They belong to a past
age.
But they will be scarcely remembered
after we have had a few years of the
great wal In Europe. AS for the Span
ish war heroes, why, they will not be
remembered, at least only as partici-
pants I'm a minor scrimmage that
amounted to little.
Will Not Be Silsncsd.
Clyde ii. Tavenner of Illinois will
not be silenced because he is no longer
a member of the house. He has a
ready and facile pen and can turn out
a lot of reading matter. Before he was
elected to congress he had a large
newspaper audience. and he intends to
keep up the game.
"oS $3.50 AAAoNpt
paciist Is not a member Of this con
gress-W Warren Worth Bailey of Penn
sylvania. Bailey has a newspaper
through which he can express his
views and opinions.
Stone and the Papers.
1t Is doubtful whether any man II
public life was eve subjected to al
equal amount Of severe criticism al
was Senator Stone of Missouri follow
ing his action on the armed neutrality
bill at the close of the last session Of
congress.
Senator Stone is used to newspa
per criticism remarked Congressman
Borland OF Missouri. "He has had tn,
newspapers against him all his lif'
and has been successful politically.
don't suppose that Stone has been wcr
ried to any great extent by what thu
newspapers have been saying since BIZ
~rtinS,