Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1919-03-14
FRIDAY, MAR. II, 1919
Why Congress ! allied.

corrupt Unbushingly they fattened their purses by
cepting special privilege bribes would be shocked if
today forced to witness of the practices
that we're common then. But witha honor Lincoln
and the sterling patriots who stood with him. for in
spite of obstruconsts and other graftes the total
gain for good great.
So will another generation look back upon Wilson'S
administration But Wilson'S chief difficulty has been
the necessity of dealing with Congressional majority
that was neither bigminded nor keeD-minded And we
do not the term majority in any party sense
Mediocrity is not the liability of any one party.
In government there is substitute for brains no
substitute vision substitute leadership That
the impressive lesson of the Sixty Congress which
has just passed into history.
At other period of American history has the
try complete breakdown of the legislative
branch of the Government Nothing else like it has been
known under the Constitution. To find parallel
go back the political utilities of the Confedea
tion.
There are times in government mediocrity is in
itself crime. and the great oense of the Sixtyffth
Congress its hopeless mediocrty both in it's majority
and it's minority factions 1t is fair to in extenua
ton that other Congress charged with such
vast duties and such tremendous responsibilities but the
magnitude of the task only to the character
of the performance ptifuL
The Sixty-hth Congress was composed, for the most
part of rreproachably honest that term is COM
monty used 1t totally free from all the gross and
shameful corruption the Civil War Congresses when
Representatives enriched themselves at the
expense country 1t likewise patriotic Con-
gress The Copperhead element small as to be neg
ligibe. On whole, think it Congress that
wanted to do right Where it failed in lacking the
capacity anything except it guided and driven
by the Executive.
all long record of legislation few if any,
Of Importance military financial or industrial,
originated with Congress- All of them suggested by
the Executive and many of them could been
passed except under Executive Congress not
only contributed nothing of value but in most instances
in which independent action was undertaken its policies
would have crippled the warmaking of the Nation
grasp whatever the legislation that required only
few of it's members understood the measures which
they yotng and where there sharp differences
with the President it usually the President who
right as matter of principle and Congress that
wrong both to principle and practice
And when the Sixty fifth Congress ignobly died it had
completed its program of routine legislation 1t
has enacted CT the reconstruction legsa
tion Having complained for twentyone months of dicta
tion from the White House, during the three months
when free from such dctation it could only wrange 1t
What is still worse there grounds for hope
that the Sixtysixth Congress will be any
any representative than it's predecessor.
Composed practically of the same men, the committees
will by the Representatives and Sen
who controlled the committees of the Sixty-ffth
Congress. Republicans who failed mseraby as opposi-
tion leaders will take the places OF Democrats who failed
mseraby majority leaders, and Democrats who failed
majority leaders will take the places of Republicans
failed opposition leaders. The of that kind
Congress changes the it is CERTAIN to remain the
Nobody ever succeeded in making silk purse out of
sow's ear, and nobody will 1t cannot be done
with Congress either. third-rate lawyer remains
thirdrate lawyer He be turned into construc-
tive statesman by the magic of certificate of election
The American people have managed to get rid OF the
gross abuses Hannaism They have succeeded in
throwing the speciaprvege and corporation fayoritism
that controlled Congress for many years, but in de-
handing honesty they forgot to demand ability WE'LL
and they must pay for that oversight.
Congress filed with poor lawyers who, having
decent living professionally acclaim their failure
due the possession of superior virtues high ethics and
lot of other things they have not But when they have
succeeded in getting Indifferent people to put them in
$500 Congressional they fool themselves into be-
levng that they real men.
But we have no right to these shallow minded
Congressman this tragic comedy of government. If
they get the people to send them TO Congress
blame them for going.
Congress is always just what the people themselves
make The greatest danger that confronts
try today the League of Nations the lack of it
but the consummate indifference of the people them
selves as to the caiber of they into pub
lie office
In the days when special privilege played it's game
unmolested men of brains usually selected how
lacking they were in ethics.
If the people to advance their own interests their
just business not their separate selfish class
individual interests they must not be content with first
freeing Congress from the CRATER and then the special
privilege advocate. They must finish the reform by
bringing CHARACTER and CAPACITY back, to the
Senate and the House of representatives. Having
failed do this they find themselves in world crisis
with Congress that politically iterate as far as its
real problems of legislation concerned-WIscoNsN
STATE JOURNAL
1NrEREsr-sAvE
sTEink in Interest Saye'-the slogan of the War
Savings Stamp campaign tells the whole story of the
thrift habit The little savings up when regularly
made Get the habits don't live to regret.