Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-02-17
Westerners in Leading places.

so much tor these two presiding gen.
tlemen.
Westerners in Leading Places.
Boies Penrose of Pennsylvania was
the chairman of the finance commit
tee of the senate, and of course was
power in shaping financial legisla-
ton. Penrose is dead and a North
Dakotan sits in mis- seat.
The leader of the Republican major
ity in the house of representatives Isl
Frank w. Mondell of Wyoming. Wyo-
ming is of the West, unless geography
has been turned upside down over
night Frances &. Warren, also Of
Wyoming, is the chairman of the SEN.
ate committee on appropriations. Wyo-
ming and North Dakota have seats in
the saddles of legislative power and
of political and legislative influence.
representative Philip p Campbell
of Kansas is the chairman of the
house committee on rules, most
powerful body. He has with him as
majority members of that committee a
Minnesotan, South DakOtan, an
Ohioan and an Illinoisan. If we grant
that Ohio is a middle western state,
Mr.. Campbell has a majority with
western affiliations with him. The
chairman of the senate committee on
rules is Charles Curtis of Kansas.
With him in majority membership are
Knute Nelson of Minnesota, Medill Nc
Cormick of Illinois and James e. Wat
son of Indiana. The only two east
ern Republicans are Hale of Maine and
Moses of New Hampshire.
Representative Martin B. Madden Of
Illinois is chairman of the house COM
mittee on appropriations. Joseph w.
Fordney of Michigan is the chairman
of the house ways and means commit
tee. The country west of the Allie
ghanies has, so to speak, in it's hands
the direction of virtually all the legis-
lation which can make or unmake
these United States of America. 1t has
been said that the West hasn't a look
in-and yet hasn't it a look in?
Men Count, Not Geography.
Now it must be said that in matters
of this kind it is not SO much geog-
raphy as the man that counts. The SEN
ators who are supposed to represent
the agricultural interests in the form
of what is called the bloc are with one
exception lawyers, and the exception
is not a farmer. OF course lawyers
are used to represent clients, and so
if the agricultural interests are not
by farmers, the bloc is
composed of men who hold retainer
votes from farmers, or at least in con-
siderable part from farmers.
1t must be said, however, that things
happen frequently to bring out latent
conservatism in men who have entered
upon course which may be called pro-
gressive or radical, according to the
1t must be admitted that
in the farmers bloc in the senate there
is a great deal of conservatism. The
agricultural interests, of course, are in
no danger from their representatives
provided their representatives con-
tinue to represent their constituents
and do not break away from constitu-
ent influence.
Now as for western and middle west
ern men who hold positions of power
in congress as chairmen of committees,
it must be said that many of
them are known as having held
the years views that are more
like those of the East than those of
the West, from which they spring.
there is peculiar situation.
The West dominates, so far as the
holding of places of political, eco
nomic and financial influence is con-
and yet the East looks to some
Of these westerners for sympathy for
some of its proposals which are coun-
ter to those which come from the ag-
ricultural interests.