The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-08-26
WORRIES
STAND PAT
REPUBLICANS
Radical Senator Freu
the West Preparing
to Attack Spineless
Admins ton

Washington. Aug. s4.1e- 4.e-.eo Gust the
minute men of privilege from the
| committee OF education and labor
or I'll quit the chairmanships ps''..r.es.
! That is the substance OF an u1ti.
matum which Senator Borah. Rez
publican OF Indiana, has DELIVERED
to members OF the committee On
committees of the senate.
What prompts Senator Fsorah
to serve this notice on the Repub-
lican do-leaders of the senate
is the evidence OF deliberate pllr-
pose on their part to pack the
committee on education and labor
and keep it packed SO long as theEg
is any danger of its giving favor
able action to any progressive leg
islation, present or prospective.
The men who have been assigned
to this committee as so many JAN
ers Of forward looking measures az
fecting the interests of labor are
Senators du Pont, Of Delaware:
Phipps, OF Colorado; Warren, OF
Wyoming and Shortridge; OF CALI
fornia-all Republicans and all as
reaetionary as they are rich. They
are all eonseryators Of the. status
quo and prophets of things-as-they
are.
origiGally placed on the commit
tee aseexecutioners Of any progres-
sisism that might be Introduced
there by former Senator Kenyon o.
Iewa. they have remained to plague
Senator Berah. The latter has
furnished a veneer of Liberalism To
the committee. and thus made it
appear Ike q progressive insfita
ton from the outside while all he
time it was filed with axemen
ready to slaughter any little pro-
gressiye proposal that strayed
within its precincts.
Senator Borafts uftimatum is the
climax TO good many recent sue
cessful attempts on the part pf hiss
reaefionarg conSerees to ohstruc
and straRgle Some OF his leghIative
offspring. For instance, when he
songn weeks. ago 20 pro-
csire legislative sanction FOR a com
pfehensiye iavestigation OF fzthe coz5
industry, with the object OF ef-
feeting federal supervision of mines
and regulation of prices, the other
four Republican members OF the
COMMITTEES saw that it was snno,a-
cred.
Behind B6rah's hack the Re
publican leaders are pretending to-
regard him as suffering from q mild
type of communism which they
feign to regard as highly .on.
tagious Only the sort OF senasor
who has been successfully ilfi-
munized against his form OF eeS.
nonnic and political a..nte.-s =
thought q safe companion for Sea-
ator Borah in the close Quarters
Of the committee room. That is
why Senators du Pont. Phipos,
Warren and Shortridge have been
chosen as the men to be exposed.
They are in no peril Of .scatchiEs
anything OF a commnnistic nat1re
There is another consideration
which moves the bosses OF the:sen-
ate to save the committee from
even a chance of contagion. Taes
fear that there is remote pos
Sibility that some. near-Progressiye
like Brookheart of Iowa and Fra
zier OF North Dakota and a far
Progressive like Beveridge ef-Jn-
diana might be superadded TO
Borah and spread few germs OF
communism around the country yia
the Congressional Record. That
would start trouble for 1924, and
the Republicans now believe that
sufficient unto the day is, the seva
thereof ncluding the Fordney-
McCumber tariff. the soldiers bon
US and Mr.. Harding's indefensible
appointments.
Senator Borah's close friends
have been aware for some time af
his intention to open barrage or
the administration because Of its
wiggle at the capitol and its wabhle
at the White House. The presidents
message on the rail strike and the
coal strike promise to furnish Sem
ator Borah the opportunity and
occasion for which he has been
waiting. This attack is confident
ly expected by Senator Borah's
confidants TO prove really signif1-
cant event OF the present session OF
congress II this shouldn't be Sc
lected by him as the zero hour It
doesn't mean the assault isn't to
be forthcoming. II only means
that his store of ammunition ard
the intensity and duration Of his
gunfire will be all the greater for
the delay.
Borah.s plan for 4 federal COM
mission to Investigate the ccal M
dustry was appropriated by Presi-
dent Harding. This serves two pur-
poses. 1t deprives Senator Borah
of any part in its creation or credit
for authorship of the idea and at
the same. time it would help the
president give an impression OF ac-
tivity in the adjustment OF present
and the obviation of future indus
trial upheavals. In default OF a
real settlement OF the strikes a
! long and impressive inquiry into a
situation that could have been ln-