The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1918-03-08
WASHINGTON NEWS LETTER
Minority Party in Congress on
Guard-Secretary Lane Says
Only Protection Can Save
Important Mining Industry

WASHINGTON, March 5.-(Spe-
cial Correspondence)- )-Seldom is
} measure more carefully reviewed
and dissected than in the treat
ment given the railroad bill by SEN
ator Charles E. Townsend of Mich
igan. Mr. Townsend took up the
bill page by page, line by line, and
word by word. The result of his
analysis shows the folly of accept
ing without question measures that
are prepared by the executive de
partments or the president him.
and sent to congress for appro
In his review the senator calico =.
tention to some of the crudest
rors, involving mistakes in gram
mar, ambiguity of meaning, and
contradictions between paragraphs,
many of which would have been
apparent to a school boy. Happily
the changes made by the committee
and senate acknowledge the sound
ness of many of Senator Townsed's
criticisms, and the bill has been
much improved over its original
form.
Senator Harry S. New of Indiana,
believes that much time co,'id be
saved in the training of the drafted
men of the national srmy if they
could be called FOR service before
they reach the age of 21. There is
now pending in the senate a reso-
lution authorizing the president to
Register all men who have attained
| the age of 21 since registration
| day, June 5, 1917. Mr.. New has
given notice that he will seek to
amend the resolution so that all
men may be registered when they
reach 10 years of age. Under Mr..
News proposal, however, they will
not be called to active service until
they have attained the age of 21.
The intervening two years are to
be utilized in military training in
accordance with regulations to be
prescribed by the president
The Lane That Turns
If Secretary of the Interior Lane
would pursue his facts and argu-
ments to their logical conclusion,
he would become a pronounced ad-
vocate of a protective tariff. In a
statement recently given to the
press he says that development of
American mines would supply B.
100000 tons of minerals now i'm
ported and allow the vessels to car
ry additional food and supplies to
our army in France"
Among the minerals we could
produce, he mentions nitrate, sui
phur, manganese, tin, graphite, mer
curry, potash, tungsten, antimony,
chromite, magnesite and mica.
"American mines can produce all
of these minerals, providing they
are given the necessary assistance
of the government"
| Assistance of the government"
Of course the democratic method is
an appropriation from the treasury.
The republican method has always
been an import duty which would
cover the difference in cost of pro-
duction here and abroad. Republi
cans have never asked for prohi-
bitory tariff, but one sufficient to
place the American producer on an
equality with the foreign competi-
tor who has the advantage of lower
wages.
But republicans do not confne
their encouragement of home pro
duction to minerals nor to war
times. We believe that America
should be at all times as nearly in
dependent industrially as it is DOS
sible for her to be, so that
war does come we sholl not be
barrassed as we were in 1914.
Lanes only point is the saving
ship space. Republicans go much
farther and advocate home produc
ton because by that means we not
only save the ocean freight but we
keep the money in this country to
pay American laborers, who, IN
turn, spend the money in the pur-
chase of the products of other
American workmen. We believe in
keeping the dollar in America,
where it will change hands ten or
twelve times a year, thus putting
ten dollars of activity into Ameri-
can bue;naSe for oxary dollar snent
here instead of abroad.
Mr.. Lane takes the republican
view to a considerable extent when
he intimates that neS mining in
dustries now developed may have
difficulty in surviving "after war
conditions" Republicans do not
limit their concern to mining. We
are apprehensive regarding the