The Colorado statesman., 1918-07-27

| tive document more filled with obscuri-
! ties. antiquities, and incomprehensi-
Bile sentences" Penrose said that he
felt deep regret In passing such rehec-
| tiOns upon his colleagues in the senate.
at has done no harm" blandly re-
piled Smith.
The president said. politics is ad-
Iourned." and so far as congress is
concerned politics has been pretty well
adjourned on all war measures. Any
way there have been few surface out
breaks of the political rash. and that
hClds good for both parties. But poll
tics has convened on the census bill.
BY no stretch of the most elastic con-
gressional imagination could that bill
he construed as war measure and 1t
contains provisions thar were made-to-
order for political mud-throwlng. The
Republicans. headed by Minority Lend
er Gillett and Congressman Walsh OF
Massachusetts. have made life more or
less miserable for Congressman Helm
of Kentucky. who has charge of the
bill, but Helm no doubt finds consola-
ton In the fact that the bill is going
through little at time, just ns 1t
was written. despite Republican efforts
to place 1t on politics adjourned"
basis with war legislation.
There was mention. In debate the
other day, of the Virgin Islands. Con-
gresham Mondeil of Wyoming saying
that the sundry civil bill provided mp
A IoS Sta 70 hn IN
Islands. For a moment people who
heard him had TO stop and think, and
inquire about these Virgin Islands. The
war has so overshadOwed everything
that we have almost forgotten we pur-
chased the Danish West Indian Islands
for S25, 100000 n short time ago. and
1t may be long while before we know
exactly what we want to do with
them.
President Wilson, being rather free
with his vetoes even when they
held up large government supply
bills, demonstrated that president
can do what it is claimed by some
he should have the constitutional
right to do, that is. veto items he
disapproves in appropriation bills. or
course there is no possibility of CIV
Ing the president any such right, as 1t
would mean that he could make an ap-
preparation bill practically to suit him
self. However. the veto power affords
him an opportunity to prevent the en-
actment of legislation in appropria-
tion bills which he does not approve.
If both houses of congress would live
TO hn hnx To
priation bills there would have been
no need of the presidential vetoes Of
supply bills. The pneumatic tube
proposition in the post office appro-
priation bill was legislation. just as
was the Borland amendment making
the government clerks work an extra
hour.
There was one feature Of the veto
of the Borland amendment which par
Its showing the position of the presi-
dent on the labor question. 1t has
been shown from the beginning Of the
war that the president has been very
anxious to propitiate and conciliate
labor at all times. Opposition to the
Borland amendment by organized la
Dor no doubt made an impression up
on the president.
There is n probability that the Bor-
land amendment will figure to some
extent in the coming political cam
paign. Congressman Borland of Kan
sas City, for whom the amendment
was named, has built up reputation
In congress almost exclusively on ac-
count of his persistent activity direct
ed against the District of Columbia in
one form or another. Sometimes 1t
has taken the course of fighting the
so-called half-and-half plan as d meth
cd of taxation in the national capital:
at other times of making the residents
of the District pay more taxes or re-
ceive less benefits from the govern
ment; and lastly the proposition to
increase the working hours of the de-
partment clerks. Congressman Bor-
land is not the only man that has
made reputation In fighting the Dis
trict of Columbia. but the District al
ways seems to have friends enough in
the senate to win a fair share of sue.
cess.
Anti-prohibitionists are trying to
make capital out of the fact that
"bootleggers'' continue to supply
Washington with whisky although the
Sheppard prohibition law is in full
force. 1t is true that great deal of
whisky is brought into Washington by
"bootleggers," although the term is
now n misnomer. as the supplies are
brought in by automobiles by trains.
by wagon. and in any other method
which will pass the District boun-
daries. In the olden days whisky was
carried on to Indian reservations in
the bootlegs of those who dealt in this
,u,.t. +-affic. hapca the nama hnntla1