The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1919-03-06
THE SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS,
AND OTHER THINGS.

THE SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS,
AND OTHER THINGS.
What other nation in the world
could afford a $6O,OOO,OO0,OO0 law
making body and not go into the
hands Of a receiver?
This huge amount is what the 65th
session of congress, divided into three
sessions, cost. Vast sums were need
ed of course to carry our own war
and to assist the Allied Nations in
financing their wars.
President Wilson had congress
made up of Democratic political
faith. In the dark days when vast
sums and real ability were needed to
carry out the nations war program it
was necessary for the Northern re-
publican congressman and senators
to come to the chief executives as
sistance in putting the war program
over. 1t was about this time that the
president announced with a flourish of
trumpets that "politics were ad-
journed." Just before the November
elections it was quite apparent that
the Hun could not hold out much
longer, and the President gave a
blanket Endorsement to all democratic
candidates for congress-loyalists,
pacifcists and ro-German, forgetting
the service loyal and far-sighted re-
publicans had rendered the world and
nation in standing shoulder to
shoulder with him in speeding up war
preparations.
This letter had the effect of unity
ing the Republican party-the domin-
ant party of the nation-and the peo-
pie answered Mr.. Wilson by returning
the republicans to control of both
branches of congress by larger ma
jority than even the most sanguine
prediction hopes of the republican
leaders.
Because of the hurried manner in
which Uncle Sam entered the world
war, utterly unprepared, in spite of
the advice of the late beloved Theo-
.dore Roosevelt and other leaders Of
wide vision, much time and money was
wasted. This was inevitable, of
course, as a number of the cabinet
officers, while able to rattle around
in peace times, were entirely too small
for the real mems sized jobs con-
fronting them after the declaration
of war.
These department heads have
essayed the management of the rail-
roads, telegraph, telephone and cables
and have given the people of the ma
ton a vivid example of the absolute
impracticability of government owner
ship of public utilities. Greatly in
creased cost and vastly inferior SER
vice has resulted.
1t costs money, too, to lease an en-
tire hotel in Paris for the use of the
President, his friends and retinue of
publicity men and other hangers on
and useless appendages.
1t also costs snug sum for Secre-
tary Baker to turn forth 113 slackers
who had refused to don Uncle Sans
uniform, each having about $500 of
good American money in his jeans,
while hundreds and thousands of the
boys overseas were not able to secure
their little old thirty dollars per
month.
One of the last acts of the 65th
congress was to pass bill empower
ing the secretary of the treasury to
float not more than $7,000,000,0 900
short time notes to clean up war ex-
penses. A number of the republicans
started a filibuster to kill the bill but
Senators, Lodge, Nelson, Kellogg and
other leaders were not in favor of
this and the measure was allowed to
pass.
Notwithstanding the .incompetency,
the waste, the inevitable graft and I'M
preparedness the United States sur
prised the entire world with the
speed in which the nation got on a
war footing.
4NotWieuStciiuIiS IlldI oil SAIId SCS-
sion of congress is sorely needed
President Wilson must take another
little jaunt to France and he absolute
ly refuses to call congress together
until his return. Of course he realizes
that in the future he will not have a
rubber stamp congress to do his bid
ding whenever he cracks the whip.
The next Congress will do it's own
.legislating.
The reconstruction legislation will
be in the hands of republican ma
jority, and it is fortunate it is so.
The American people will pay the
bills of the war, of course, and they
will pay them without great sacrifice.
Presidenting these United States is
quite a stable job and if the Herald
reads the signs Alright it will be some
moons before visionary school teach
er is elevated to this high office again.
"A. M. w.
Woodrow has been keeping Private
Sec. Tumulty quite busy of late deny