Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-12-01
CONGRESS, FOR THIS CITY,
CONSISTS OF NINE MEN
The Way to Get What We Want in
Washington Is to Persuade Them
to Give II to Us


to Give II to Us
CONGRESSMEN are not in the habit
~ of taking seriously any of the COM
mon talk about what the nation expects
the national Legislature to do. 1t is too
general. They are in the habit of de-
livering themselves of similar generali-
cations Which mean nothing. They talk
about patriotism and the duty of serving
the people and all that sort of thing, and
90 about their usual business of making
laws in the usual way. No one can
teach them anything about throwing
the bull"
But when any one INDUCES in the
argumentum ad hominem, as the Latin
phrase has it, or comes down to cases,
as the man in the street would say, and
talks. not about what Congress is going
to do but what a specific congressman
is going to do and pins him down for an
answer, then that congressman will sit
up and take notice.
As a matter of fact, what Congress
does is made up of what the individual
congressman do. and what they do is
Influenced. not by what "the nation ex-
poets of them" but by what the men to
whom they owe their election wish them
to do.
The Congress which meets in regular
session today will be made up of men
thinking earnestly of the primaries next
summer and the election next November.
If these men do not "play politics" for
the next six months they will be an
exception to rule of more than hun
dred years standing. IF they consider
solely on their merits the great ques
tions pressing for solution, they will
rise to standard of idealism never yet
reached in the history of legislative
bodies.
If anything worth while is done in
Washington this winter IL will be be-
cause the people in the various districts
insist that their individual congress
man forget himself for a moment or two
and think of the needs of the hour.
The metropolitan district of Philadel-
phia, including that part of New Jersey
Immediately across the Delaware river,
is represented in Washington by nine
men. What this metropolitan district
expects Congress to do must be done
with the assistance of these nine men,
if it is done at all.
Here are the names of the men and
the districts they represent:
William S. Ware First district, composed of
the First Seventh. Twenty sixth, Thrift
eth Thirty sixth Thirty ninth and For
ty eighth wards
George s. Graham, Second district, com
posed of the Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Thir
teenth. Fourteenth. Fifteenth, Twentieth
and Thirty seventh wards
j. Hampton Moore, Third district, com
posed of the Second. Third, Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth. Eleventh. Twelfth, Sixteenth, Sev
enteenth Eighteenth and Nineteenth
wards.
George w Edmonds, Fourth district com
posed of the Twenty eighth, Twenty
ninth, Thirty second, Thirty eighth and
Forty seventh wards.
Peter +. Costello. Fifth district composed
of the Twenty third, Twenty fifth, Thir
ty-first, Thirty third. Thirty fifth, Forty
first. Forty third and Forty fifth wards.
George S. Darrow. Sixth district composed
of the Twenty-frst, Twenty second,
Twenty fourth Twenty seventh, Thirty
fourth and Forty sixth wards.
Thomas s. Butler Seventh district. COM
posed of Chester and Delaware counties.
Henry NJ Wilson. Eighth District, com
posed of Bucks and Montgomery coun-
ties.
William j. Browning, First New Jersey
district composed of Camden, Gloucester
| and Salem counties.
Mr.. Moore, of the Third district, will
resign in the near future to become
| Mayor of this city. The other eight men
| will hold office until year from next
March. They are the men through whom
| the population of three or more millions
in metropolitan Philadelphia get their
| will in national legislation.
1t is doubtful if any one of them has
| any clear idea of what the will of this
great population is. Tens of thousands
| of voters do not know the name of the
man who represents them in Washington,
so how can that man have any knowledge
! of their point of view? The voters ac-
cept the situation in which candidates
for Congress are selected by the politi-
cal machine; and the candidates, under
.I | ODllRdJlOH W JIt iHdCHlHt, are more
deeply concerned with keeping on
friendly terms with the party leaders
than with finding out what the plain
people are interested in.
By the'plain people we mean the man
who is reading this article and his neigh
bors on both sides of him, across the
street and backing up to him at the
! rear.
These plain people delegate govern
ment to political machine and the ma
chine acts through the officers whom il
nominates and elects. And thus arise
all the abuses in democratic govern
ment which the pessimist has been wont
to describe as bossocracy.
When we think of what Congress will
! do This winter toward solVinp tho r,roh