Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1919-02-12
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER


unable to take the job Of speaker of
the house.
This announcement comes just after
Mann's admission that he was given
a horse and a roast Of beef by Swift
& Co. at times when he was render
ing them very valuable service in
congress. The fact seems to be that
Mann's political health has been i'm
paired by his diet Of horse and beef.
Nick LongWorth has>also withdrawn
from the speakership race, leaving
| three candidates-Gillett of Massa-
chusetts, Fess of Ohio and Towner of
Iowa. All three represent the reg
ular organization. Gil1ett claims the
place by right of seniority, although
his hackers say that if he is elected
he will help to abolish the seniority
rule in selecting committee chairmen.
Tess claims it by reason of the fact
that he was chairman of the Repub-
lican congressional campaign commit
tee in the last election. TOwner wants
it because he comes from the region
where progressives are supposed to
be in the majority in the party, and
he has avoided all conflict with them.
0I11cIIc versus ocF8STs
Gillett's only campaign talk has
| been deficiency" and redhot desire
to declare vacant the seat of Victor
Berger, elected by 5000 majority from
the fifth Wisconsin district, and re-
Gently convicted with other Socialist
party officials of violating the provi-
sions of the espionage act. Now that
Gillett's election as speaker seems to
be assured by the informal action of
the Indiana and Pennsylvania dele
CATION, it appears that Gillett does
not hate the Socialists so much, after
ALL Berger's case will be given the
usual hearing, with argument in COM
mittee, debate on the floor and roll
call.
Possibly, too, the dangerous unem-
ployment situation in the big cities,
and the development Of the general
strike wave both in Great Britain and
in this country, has had some effect
upon the judgment of the congress-
man from Massachusetts,. There is
the eight-hour strike Of the textile
mill operatives, right in Massachu-
sets, involving scores of thousands of
excitable voters. This is bound to
make Gillett consider whether he
should pour oil on the fire by making
a new attack on Berger, who forced
the congressional investigation into
the famous Lawrence textile strike
some years ago.
Longworth, it seems, is ambitions
to supplant Joe Fordney Of Michigan
as chairman of the ways and means
committee. If the Republicans are to
amuse themselves, in the new con-
gress, with drafting tariff bill to be
vetoed by President Wilson, Nick be-
lieves the bill will be less unpopular
in the West if it is known as the
Longworth-Pe bill than if known
as the Fordney-Penrose bill. The
Longworth fortune was started cen
fury ago, in Cincinnati, when the In
dams of that region were eager to
buy bad whisky. The Fordney mil
lions were made in the past genera.
ton in the lumber business, both
North and South. You can take your
choice Fordney claims the job by
seniority, but Nick says it's time for
reform. Old Boss Cox Of Cincinnati
who put Longworth in congress, is
dead now.
Packers Work on Congress.
While the house Republicans are
fighting over the spoils, the Chicago
) packers are trying to head off all leg.
islation in both house and senate that
may impair their food and leather
monopoly. They have been pretty
successful with the house committee
on interstate commerce, thus far, in
making that committee treat Armour
and Swift and Veeder and Morris with
profound respect. If their crimes and
their arrogance were not so plain, and
their steady advance toward actual
dictation of the policy of the govern.
ment so evident, the childlike limo
cence of these congressman might be
understood by ordinary folks. But
after all the months of revelations of
lawbreaking by the packers that has
been furnished by the federal trade
commission and by the admission of
the packers themselves, the meek po-
likeness of this committee shows up
as nothing but flunky politics.
Swift Admits Charges.
| Over at the other end of the CAPT
toll there's different story. The sen.
ate committee on agriculture includes
Gore of Oklahoma, Norris of Nebras-
ka, Kenyon of Iowa, Gronna of North
Dakota and France of Maryland, at
least, who feel responsibility for
protecting the people of the United
States against the packers grating.
This week they have had Armour,
Swift, Levy Mayer and Judge Glas-
gov of the food administration on the
stand, and they have helped Francis
J. Heney to drive Swift over the
toughest going of Swift's career since
he was on trial for conspiracy in re.
straint OF trade. Swift admitted
everything that the federal trade
commission has charged with regard
to the packers, except one point: He
claimed that when, each of the Big
Five maintained a certain percentage
of the business, year after year, in
each market, that was not proof of
combination among them, but Of "com.
petition
At one point Swift and Veeder tried
to get the committee into a position
where, If it questioned them, the
packers could claim immunity from
prosecutions under the federal law.
Norris and Kenyon at once jumped on
that proposition, and Heney refused
to proceed until the packers definitely
waived all claim of immunity#
5; Who 10 "Diamond T."7 as@
One of the most sensational points
in the examination of Swift was reach.
ed when the Diamond T" letter was
read and Swift admitted that the
name Hurley written upan it "looks