Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1918-10-16
HfTLE INTEREST
IN THE ELECTION
PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY HAVE
NO SPECIAL CONCERN IN
POLITICS THIS FALL.
DIFFERENT IN THE CAPITAL
Control Of House and Senate the Prize
Congressman Deeker's Patriotic
outburst Silences the Partisan
Speakers in the House.
BY ARTHUR w nlNN

'"SHihSt ol.-lt Is quite likely tldI
politics which refuses to be adjourned
In Washington will interest people in
other PARTS of the country before the
campaign closes. but up to the present
time the people seem to take little in
terest in the coming elections. This
is shown generally in the primaries.
where such small proportion of the
people 90 TO the polls when the selec-
ton of party candidates is made. A
trip In any direction shows the apathy
or the people as to politics. They dis
cuss the war; the loans, the revenue
bills. and other vital matters of press
ing interest, but scarcely man ever
discusses the political situation or
seems to care which party will control
the next house of representatives.
Here in Washington the political
situation is of real interest. Nearly
every man in the house is candidate
for reelection. More than one-third of
the senators are personally interested
in the election of themselves. Then
there is the question of the political
control OF the two branches of con-
gress. Naturally the Democrats want
10 remain in control They like :he
power and patronage and prestige
which 90 with the majority. The Re
publicapS are seeking just as earnestly
to secure these advantages. Then
there is the feeling that the mid-term
congressional election Is sure indica-
ton of the pulse Of the people and in
dicates the election of a president. For
30 years the success Of a party at the
mid-term congressional els cti.o has
been followed by the election Of that
party's presidential candidat, two
years later With so much of a POI
lttlca! nature at stake, 1t is not sur
prising that men so vitality interested
refuse to adjourn politics at this time.
When the eagle has TO soar, then Is
young Congressman Decker of Nilsson
ri on the job. There had been
whirl Of political speeches. Democrats
and Republicans had said things about
each other. The greater issue of win.
ming the war seemed TO have been for
gotten. Leader Kitchin looked about
him and his face frightened. II yield
ten minutes to the gentleman from
Missouri. Mr.. Decker" he said. And
then Decker gave those fellows what
for He told them In q few we'll
chosen words to stop their political
pickering. and then he opened the
floodgates and oratOry was on tap.
There We're references to "Way Down
South I'm Dixie. Yankee Doodle" my
Country. 'Tis Of Thee" St0newall
Jackson and Robert f. Lee, Pap
Thomas and Ulysses S. Grant. Chicka-
mauga, Spottsylvania and Cold Har-
bor; and then something about the
North and the South, the East and the
West, and the grandsons of those who
wore the blue and the gray now In
Khaki on their way to Berlin. After
that those political orators felt rather
ashamed of themselves.
Congressman Hamilton Of Michigan
made . speech IL the house which
might be termed History Of the Hun
ia Paragraphs" but which he calls
THE House of Hohenzollern." Hamil-
ton always publishes his speeches in
paragraphs, two, three, or not more
than half-dozen lines each, making
them very attractive and very read
able But this speech is particularly
attractive and Interesting because 1t
gives the history Of the Hun leader
succinctly and with m accuracy
which shows that Hamilton gave the
matter careful study and research. II
IS not a very proud pedigree which Is
displayed Of the present Hun leader.
1t may be asked why there is so
much debate upon measures which
finally pass with practical unanimlty.
Possibly IL Is because men in CON
gress like to talk. but II Is also
true that many men in both senate and
house oppose certain features of a bill
but are willing TO support IT even If
they cannot amend II. Such is the
fact regarding revenue ard appropr.a-
tion bills and notably the recent draft
act which was fought on gnany points
but passed with only two opposing
votes. The new revenue bin IS far
from satisfactory; il was vigorously
asSaiied as TO some features by both
Democrats aud Republicans. but as p
whole II was supported by everybody.
All these war measures must be sup
ported. No man Of either party can
remain in public dfe and oppose meas
ures which the administration thinks
necessary to carry on the war. There
are criticisms, of course. and NO doubt
there are SOME very bad features in
corporateu IN various bills. hut as war
measure e. they go through with the
feeling that errors and mistakes can
be corrected after the war.
There was a real Western discus
sion in the senate short time ago. A
bill materially changing The mining
laws was passed and IL naturally
brought Western men into the debate.
Our mineral states could be traced by
noting the men who took all the time
~~--~-S~O~~-~~~~.~-~-0-->o
Pretty Chinese Leuend.
Canton Is one of the Oldest cities in
China. According 10 Chinese tradi-
ton. II was in existence more than
three thousand years ago, when 1t was
visited by five deified beings. each
mounted on a huge ram and carrying
an ear of corn, who pronounced their