The Washington times., 1922-07-07

out Of the conversation of Senator
Mccormick Of Illinois. Senator Nc
Cormick Of Illinois and Senat or
Moses of New Hampshire consti.
tue the French-speaking popula.
ton OF the Senate.
In any case the word bloc" is
pronounced block" The word
''c.oture" opens up larger oppor.
tunities for individuality in pro-
nunciation. A highly esteemed
pronunciation in Senate is "clo-
choor." The first syllable rhymes
with SHOW" and the last syllable
rhymes with poor" Other pro.
nunciations are permitted. The
Senate Is going to pronounce freely
even II II ceases to debate freely.
Senator Borah recently made a
speech criticizing the American
policy in a place which throughout
his speech he called "Hay.tye."
Senator Pomerene replied in a
speech devoted throughout to a place
which he called "Hye-tee." When
individuality has fled from every
other spot in the United States Il
will still be found In the Senate.
When all our clothes and all our
pronunciations are fixed by
Federal Bureau Of Hygiene and a
Federal Bureau of Correct Verbal
Usage. the Senate will still be free
and Senator Heflin will still wear a
magnificent double breasted white
waistcoat In summer time and each
Senator will say "Lenin" or LII.
neen" or "Lee.neen" or "Lin-nine"
just as he pleases and without being
influenced in the slightest degree by
any contrary pronunciations which
any OF his colleagues may year after
year offer to him in the course Of
debate on the floor or of conyersa.
ton in the cloak room.
When any Senator can have his
speech affected for him-in the way
OF improving It, or In the way Of
shortening it-by any other Senator
or by any combination of other
Senators. the Senate will have
ceased to be the Senate. The idea
OF "cloture" in the Senate is ap-
propriately represented by a foreign
word. The idea itself Is totally
foreign to the Senate. And the
Democrats claim that in trying to
apply II to a tariff bill the Repub-
licans have picked out exactly the
sort Of bill to which Il could not
properly be applied in any legisla.
tive body anywhere.
The Senate Is now debating
Schedule Seven" in the tariff bill.
This schedule is on Horticultural
Products and, Provisions" 1t con.
tains many hundreds of items and
Of rates. The Finance Committee
Of the Senate has had hearings on
them. These hearings on "Sched-
ule Seven" are now in print and
make a volume Of $50 pages. The
tariff commission has issued a vol.
ume entitled Summary Of Tariff
Information" In this volume the
information on Schedule Seven"
runs from page 626 to 825.
A Senator must also be provided
with certain long, narrow sheets
which in printed tabuiated form
give him the name of each item in
Schedule Seven" the rate on Il in
the tariff bill Of 1909, the rate row
proposed on II by the Senate FL
nance Committee. the equivalent
ad valorom" rate, the imports Of II
In 1910 and in 1914 and in 1921,
the exports Of 1t, and the amount
OF II produced in the United States.
On each Of these sheets there are
forty or fifty items, and there are
fourteen sheets. Each item repre-
sents an intricate private business,
which private business men spend
their whole lives trying TO under
stand. Behind each item--in sched-
ule seven-and in schedule one-and
In schedule fourteen-and in every
other schedule-there are invested
savings and invested lives. The &C.
ton on any item may help those lives
or may ruin them. 1t may spread
unwarranted and undeserved wealth
or It may inflict unwarranted and ar
bitrary destitution.
In a railroad bill or in a merchant
marine bill or in a water power bill,
the Senate Is dealing with one sub
ject. In a tariff bill It is dealing
with thousands OF subjects. In each
subject II may bring security-or II
may bring disaster-to thousands Of
men and women and children.
SO say the Democrats-with truth
And then they go on to another
phase of the matter. They say that
the Republicans should have begun
the Senatorial debate on this tariff
bill last year. They say that the Re.
publicans deliberately postponed the
Senatorial debate on this tariff bill
till this spring. They say that now
the Republicans wish to escape the
penalty for their procrastination by
flying to the foreign exit marked
"cloture." They claim that II the
Republicans were unable in present
industrial circumstances to frame a
tariff bill except after many months
Of prolonged debate In committee,
then those same circumstances re.
quire an opportunity for a similarly
prolonged debate by the Democrats
on the floor.
The Democrats will be happy IL
they defeat "cloture," and will be
happier IL they fail to defeat II. They
would like to call the tariff bill
gag bill as well as e bad bill. They
would like to add the word "cloture"
to the word "Newberry" In their
campaign this fall. II they win to.
n. n