The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-06-18
DICKENS TYPES
IN OUR SENATE
Dreadful Examples, Too-Reed as JEFF
ferson Brick and Borah as
Elijah Pogram.

In Theodore Roosevelt's letters to his
children, one of the most delightful
of recent books, there are many re-
vealing passages. II is surprising to
| find him defending as accurate the
broad satires on American journalists
and politicians of the mid 10th cen
fury to be found in Dickens "Amer-
can Notes" and Martin Chuzzlewit.
He maintains that the types depicted
were not only true in Dickens time.
but have persisted in American poll
tics ever since, but he does censure
Dickens for his failure to discern the
idealistic elements in American life
which found expression in the long and
bloody campaign for the abolition of
slavery.
Dickens himself writing a year or
two before his death. dismissed the
characters and conditions he had ridi-
culed as a by-gone phase; consequent
~ Roosevelt's declaration to his boys
that Elijah Pogram and other carl
catures were types still active in the
present era is the most surprising. Re.
cent speeches in the United States Sen
ate on the peace treaty and the edi.
torials in the Hearst press prove Roose-
velt's contention up to the hilt II
the contingent starvation of women
and children in Europe did not i'm
part tragedy to the situation at Wash
ington, these speeches would he as
ludicrous as anything in Dickens.
For instance, we find Senator Borah
Of Idaho, still talking in fear and dis,
trust of the evil Vaccinations of "Eu-
ropean courts though it would puz-
gle any well-informed man TO name
any European court save possibly
that of the prince of Monaco, that
takes any direct part in the formula
tion of public policies or in the con
duct of international relations. New
ertheless. Senator Borsh finds it good
politics from his point of view to
adopt the traditional superstition
anent 'effete European monarchies"
which has much in common with the
ancient Chinese fear of outsiders as
foreign devils"
Senator Borah is mild. however, In
comparison with Senator Reed of Mis-
souri,, whose oratory bears all the car
marks of the types described by Dick
ems. The venerable Senator Hitchcock
of Nebraska the other day commit
ted the offense of stating that Great
Britain had become democracy, GIN
some cases more responsive TO public
opinion than is the government of
the United States" a rather obvious
assertion.
"The voice of the American has be
come the pulling, mewling. hooking
voice of sycophant of Great Britain,
retorted Senator Reed. and then pro
ceeded to describe Senator Hitchcock
as n brass monkey" and to draw
ludicrous picture of him walking down
the streets Of Omaha arm in arm with
the mikado of Japan, "the Siamese
twins of modern democracy Evident
" Senator Reeds ideas about the mi
kado have been CLEANED from Gilbert's
operetta. Could innate proyincialisin
90 farther than in such attacks on
the titular heads and governmental sys-
TENS of other nations? Verify the
Massachusetts, aristocrat. |
Senator Lodge, must be appalled, and
by the oratory of the politi- |
clans who have rallied TO his support |
in opposing the peace treaty.
A comforting fact for the better OF
der Of Americans is that talk Of this |
kind never gets a public man very far |
in the United States. One thing the |
majority of the American people in |
sist upon in their presidents and cab
met ministers is dignity of utterance
and bearing. For instance. it was not |
the fact that Lincoln had been a rail
splitter. but that he was a man of /
native dignity and lofty ut
tersnces which made him the idol Of |
his countrymen. They have sometimes
strongly supported men like Mckin-
lev. who had dignity and little else
TO offer. They rejected Roosevelt when
he started bull -moosing' and restored
him 20 favor when he recovered from
L. They rejected the vaudevillainy Of
Bryan and the pernicious brutality Of
Hearst. Millions Of them feel a good
zeal Of humiliation at Glowing in a
,risis Of extreme gravity. as prscticed
,v senators like Mr.. Reed.-From Tor