Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-03-26
CONGRESSMAN MOORE'S 8
LETTER
Philddelphians Interested in Rail-
road Legislation-Women Once
Had the Vote in Ne,U Jersey
Washington. March 26.

~ LAWS WARt1ELD, or Maryland,
~. is president of an organization called
the National Association Of Owners Of
Railroad Securities, the object of which
Is to protect and stabilize the securities
of the common carriers Of the country.
The association Is very much interested in
having the railroads returned to their own
ers and Mr.. Warfeld has evolved a plan
looking to a definite settlement Of railroad
questions during the next session Of Con-
gress. He thinks that rates should be
established in each Of the socalled rate
regions to yield a fixed percentage return
on the combined value of the property de-
voted by the railroads to public use, with
return to the government of a percentage
or the earnings in excess of the rate per
cent fixed for the region. The association
is fairly representative Of security holders
throughout the United States including A.
A. Jackson, George X. Johnson, J. r. Nc
Allister and c. Stuart Patterson, Of Phila-
delphia. 1t Is the feeling here that rail.
road legislation will be one of the first
problems to be considered at the extra ses.
sion.
TTNCLE JOE FORDNEY, chairman Of
~ the, new Committee on Ways and
Means-unless a group of western insur-
gents upset the Republican programmes
gone to California but he has left word
that he agrees with other members of the
committee that tariff bill should be one
of the early considerations of the new Con-
gress Since much has been said about
the alleged unfairness in the makeup Of
committees and the agricultural section
seems to demand more representatives. an
analysis Of the new revenue committee Is
in order. Let us see how 1t looks when.
brought down to brass tacks. The eastern
men, or at least those who come from the
great manufacturing and industrial dis
trict-and it is no slouch on agricultural
products, either-east of the Appalachian
chain, where we have more than onethird
the entire population and more than SO
per cent Of industrial activity, are Moore,
Of Pennsylvania: Treadway, Of Massachu-
sets; Mott, Of New York; Tison, of Con.
necticut; Bowers, of West Virginia, and
Bacharach. Of New Jersey, Several Of
these voted with the so-called WESTERN
"progressives" in the speakershp fight.
Those west of the Appalachian chain, some
of whom voted for Mann for Speaker and
some for Gillett, are Fordney, chairman,
Of Michigan; Green, Of Iowa. Longworth,
of Ohio Hawley, of Oregon; Copley. Of
Illinois; Frear, of Wisconsin; Hadley, of
Washington; Timberake Of Colorado, and
Young, of North Dakota. 1t would, there
fore. seem that the West has not been un-
fairly treated in the makeup Of the COM
mittee
FOLLOWING the departure of Jeanette
L Rankin, who would probably have been
at the head Of the committee, after the
selection of Mondell for floor leader. the
Craftsmanship Of the Woman Suffrage
Committee of the House weht begging.
Finally, having declined other honors,
the quondam Republican leader, Mann,
who left his sick bed to vote for woman
suffrage, accepted the place. He will figure
hereafter, therefore. chairman Of the
Committee on Woman Suffrage. One Of
his supporters will be Congressman Ed
monds, of the Brewerytown.G .Girard College
district. AS George will now be obliged to
brush up on this interesting but much
controverted theme, 1t might be well for
him to examine the history Of woman suf-
frage in New Jersey as Arthur c. Maclay
has developed it. 1t appears that the
women voted in New Jersey for about
thirty years prior to 1907, when the Legis-
lature found it we'll to limit the suffrage
ito free white male citizens" And thereby
hangs a tale-but why not let George
tell it?
TNHERE is one Democrat in Congress
L who agrees with some Republicans on
the tariff question-at least partially so.
He is Henry T. Rainey, of Illinois, who
ranks second to Kitchin on the Ways and
Means Committee He was formerly
others, contending that American goods
could be bought cheaper abroad than in
the United States Rainey never cared for
explanations, but went right along making
his charges, using American watches for
illustration. But here is what Rainey, one
Of the trainers Of the Kitchin revenue BILL
says now: I'VE all of us know that there
must be revision of the tariff; we know it
must come in the immediate future, and
n
| nations occurs tariff readjustments here
will , be necessary" Neither is Rainey
much in love with the present revenue
law. He opposes a tax on industries.
Taxing an industry" he says, ''is like
| hanging weights on the wheels of some
| great powerful and easily disturbed ma
chine 1t is awful thing to
injure industries with taxes" All Of which
! may be read with profit by such deep
thinking Philadelphia economists as Char
ley Donnelly, Michael ]. Ryan, Gordon
| Bromley, Michael Donohue and Cornelius
Haggerty.
| COLONEL JIM HALL, who publishes
~ what he is willing to swear is 1.-THE
oldest Republican newspaper in Pennsyl-
| vania," is developing into tripod. He
| has one foot in Washington, another in
| Overlook and a third in Atlantic City.
| Harrisburg and New York are also within
the range Of the Colonel's peregrinations.
His Washington connections are generally
| in the interest Of soldier boys seeking re-
| lease from the army. In addition, the
| Colonel is something Of a farmer, who tries
| to keep up to date on matters of seed and
| SOIL The Colonel observes that top soil
removed from his Overlook farm will
produce results If added in sufficient guam
tity to his alluvial deposits at the seashore
THERE are echoes in Washington of
l. Governor Sprouts surprise party for
Thomas B. Donaldson when he was named
to succeed Charles A. Amber as Com
missioner of the Pennsylvania Insurance
Department. Tom Donaldson can always
count on the backing Of Provost Smith,
| John c. Bell. Doc Kendrick and other