The Cordova daily times., 1920-12-30
C0NCRESSMEN
 AREPESTERED
 BY PERFORMERS
BY COL. WINFIELD JONES

Correspondence).- The beginning of the December session of congress was marked by the usual advent of the reformers, who have announced various schemes to correct this or that abuse Truth is members of con gress are becoming a trifle tired of the reformers and their plans, par ticularly so after the great reforms put through by the Anti-Saloon League and the National Wroman's Party. which resulted, respectively, in passage of the eighteenth and nine teenth constitutional amendment
 There are lot of "professional" reformers loose in Washington--chaps who draw fat salaries and make regu- lar business of reforming" just like a lawyer practices law or physi- elan medicine. The reformers prac- tice reforming" the same way Many of these men are former school teach CTS, ministers of the gospel, or lectur- CTS of various kinds. Most of them having failed at their chosen profes- sion have become reformers as a mat ter of business. It cannot be de- nied that some of them are as active and as pestfferous of the proverbial flea.
 At the same time there are a num- Der of zealots who honestly believe their mission on this earth is to re- form mankind and their principal duty under Heaven to correct the many vices which afflict their broth reformed or not Foreign countries and the heather are not exempt from 1 the activities of some of these men. They dearly love to try to keep the Chinese from his opium pipe. or the honest and hard working American of foreign birth from a glass of beer. The beer has already disappeared, and now the reformers are going to engage in a campaign to take away the opium pipe from the Oriental
 But do not believe that they are satisfied with abolishing the alcohol traffic in this country. Tobacco is the next victim marked for slaughter. While the Anti Saloon League denies that it is contemplating an anti-to- ] bacco crusade there are other or | ol, hnc iy, f. tempt to put the kibosh on Lady Nicotine. Coffee and tea, but princi- pally coffee. is also on the taboo list.
 All kinds of other reforms are on 1 the program, including more rigid enforcement of the white slave traf- fife, child labor exploitation, and many others too numerous to mention. It may be acknowledged that some of the proposals contain real merit, such as a tightening of the administra- tion of the white slave traffic laws and probably China would be more prosperous, if not happy and content ed, with opium gone. But the trouble with some of the reformers is that they are not content to agitate for really meritorious and moral reforms, but go so far in their reforming frenzy that some of their schemes become ridiculous to the citizen who has the ordinary sense that is the heritage of most Americans.
 In addition to the reforms men toned the reformers have adopted a most comprehensive program. This includes a "closed Sunday" in the ma tional capital, total prohibition of all race track and other gambling, fed eral censorship of all moving pictures (there will be good job for some body who becomes federal censor) prohibition of "redlight" districts by the federal government, uniform laws governing marriage and divorce, es- tablishment of regular institutions to teach the business of reforming traf- pertaining to a world wide crusade to make the globe better Some of the proposed reforms have real merit and will be, or should be, backed by every patriotic American citizen. 9th CT proposals are without the basis of ordinary sense and will receive scant consideration in congress.
 One of the greatest moral reforms needed in this country is undoubted ly uniform marriage and divorce law. Under present haphazard laws every state is a law unto itself, and hardly any two states agree in their statutes concerning the requirements | for either marriage or divorce. Sen 1 ator Sheppard, of Texas, has bill | pending for a uniform law of this 1 Ei uyI> ioI, ic ho1 11yy