Evening star., 1924-04-02
The Return to Reason.
From the New York Times.

4'Ai int -NtW 1OTk Times.
1t Is pleasant to notice an improve
ment in the intellectual and moral
health of the Senate. The democrat.
or most of them. seem TO have begin
! to understand that the mania of ,r
. Vestigauon has carried them too IA
The republicans are recovering fror,
ia state Of da2ed and abject panic
For too long time they have seemed
Dereft OF courage. intelligence and
Judgment, victims Of the herd instinct
! 5heS nave run like hares before the
qemocratIc hounds. Some of the
II iIoInas' Hushed with the chase, have
disposition to attack game too bic.
Iof them The country was gettinc
SICK OF the hunt. Fortunately, both
SideS are reNerting to common sense
INSPIRED by the wisdom of the late
Iom atson. who insisted two wears
ago that Mr.. Mellon was disoualified
pS Lne statute forbidding the Secrr-
/ tary OF the Treasury TO be 'coT
cerhed or interested in carrying
| on The business Of trade or con-
merce' and 50 forth, Mr.. MCKEE
lar OF Tennessee introduced a resoI,,-
tion last Friday calling on the indie
AIRY committee 10 inquire if Mr., Mel
| Ion was disqualified under that Stain.
OF ahother one ordering the dismissal
from ONCE or any internal revenue Of
| ncer engaged III the manufacfure ~
topacco or the distillation of spirits
! Other powerful democratic minds
/ We're Sald to be bent on the eytru
! sion of Mr.. Wallace and Mr.. Hoover
! from the cabinet Some persons
| never know when to stop some
where about this point, however, the
wiser democratic heads saw the
| danger OF excessive zeal and in
| Sensate proceedings. And the repub
| llcanS revived and rallied, hoping 10
catch their democratic friends in an
| enormous blunder.
On Monday Senator Reed Of Penn
| sylvania showed in detail with what
| painStaking care and under what ex-
! pert legal advice MIR. Mellon resigned
! from numerous directorates and cor
| poration posts, diVeSting himself OF
! the official connections Inevitable to
/ great man Of business. removing
! all the statutory disQualifcations be
| fore he became Secretary. Then the
, resolution, after Mr.. Mckellar had
| eXcised one detail of his misinfor-
| nation, was put TO sleep on the
] calendar. Progressive radicals, as
! well as sensible democrats, see the
! political danger of attacking Mr.
| ators on both sides who would like
! to have him go" He has long been
! an obstacle to the bonus grabbers.
| The unruffied calmneSS with which
, he stands for scientific tax reduction
| is maddening to the noble band of
| believers in taxation for politics only.
I But even the dense congressional l
| mind dimly apprehends behind him a
| mighty force of public opinion, the
| payers of federal taxes, the millions
burdened with state and local taxes,
| to whom he has offered a tightening
| of federal imposts and the means of
| quickening business, enlarglng mar
! ketS, lowering the cost OF living. He
| is a bad man 10 harry.
Far less important, but worth max
J ing, was Senator Wadworth'S de-
+, fense of the Assistant Seer retary OF
/ the Navy, against whom Mr.. Dill,
! a nondescript political lightweight
! aimed three whereaseS and one re-
solved. The Senate, however, has
! probably reached the conclusion by
= this time that it is none of it's buSi-
| ness to instruct the Executive about
/ removals from office. Mr.. Wads-
| worth's account of Mr.. Roosevelt g
! conduct was clear and satisfactory; !;
| but, after all, it was by means of in
| sinuation and unjust inference that
! Mr.. Dill attacked him. Some other
! democrats have shown a curious
malice against him. 1t would be idle
| to mention moral grounds in a year
of incandescent politics; but, polite
ally. the democrats will be wise to
| let Mr.. Roosevelt alone
| Without yielding too far to the de-
| lusions of hope or expecting an in
] stant recovery from n long disease,
| the country. moro than little weary
| of opera bouffe and the fakes prog
! ress, welcomes these indications at
| Washington of a determination TO
| break out of bedlam.