The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-07
UNDERWOOD's ACHIEVEMENTS

ington, if MT. Rogers cared to ascertain it.
 UNDERwOOD'S ACHIEVEMENTS A correspondent says that, while he is not an Underwood man. he would support Mir. Underwood and believes that many others would do 50, if shown wherein our senior senator has achieved anything of public value during his long period of public service. It must be remembered, in the first place, that Mir. Underwood has belonged to the party that has been in the minority during great portion of his public career. In spite of that fact, the senator has been a conspicuous and an influential figure in the national councils at all times, regardless of party majorities That in itself is indication of his caliber and capacity. He always won the admiration of his political adversaries even when he went down before them in defeat; he retained their respect and their admiration when he trumphed over them. His influence in his own party and the esteem in which he has always been held are attested by his long leadership in both houses distinction that he shares only with Henry Clay.
 Mir. Underwood began his career in the house with advocacy of measures designed to revive the American merchant marine on the high seas, not only as the right arm of con- merce, but also as an indispensable adjunct of the navy in time of war. Failure to follow his leadership in this direction cost this country billions of dollars during the late war. At the same time, he was diligently ways as essential to the internal and indus trial expansion of the nation. Failure earlier to follow his leadership in this direction en- abled the railroads to assume menacing domi- by several decades the national enjoyment of the barge service. MT. Underwood, jointly with Senator Bankhead, was instrumental in having Muscle Shoals selected as the site of the government nitrate plants and in securing the first appropriations for the Wilson Dam.
 Early in his public career, Mir. Underwood's intelligent understanding of financial ques- tions was recognized and his membership on
  mately as chairman, is tangible evidence of that recognition. Mir. Underwood is author of the measure which redeemed the party pledge to revise the tariff downwards, and perity immediately following, and for the cleo tion of Woodrow Wilson for his first term Its replacement by the Fordney- -McCumber tariff was one of the outstanding mistakes of cratic view of tariff primarily for revenue was the foundation of the Underwood tariff Mir. Underwood was also the leader under whose able direction the Democratic party carried out. its principal platform blanks.
 In his capacity as acting, chairman of. the finance committee of the senate during most of the war period, Oscar Underwood had charge of the important revenue, finance and appropriation measures made necessary by the emergency, and the record is convincing evidence of his efficient administration of this trust. His sanity and clarity of vision en- abled him to lead his colleagues unerringly
 
 the achievements being the federal reserve act, which is credited by experts in finance with having saved our nation from the finan- cial disasters which overlook the other com batants after the war. Oscar Underwood has always championed the legitimate claims of Alabama on federal attention, including the appropriations for rivers and harbors, some of which were wrung forcibly from reluctant Republican majorities. He is credited with having saved | Muscle Shoals from being junked after the war and the Republican accession to office He has championed the Ford offer and it is | believed that his influence will be potent in | its final adoption. The public record of Alabama's distinguished son is replete with | acts and efforts consistently exerted in the | public behalf. It is written in the columns | of public achievement that Oscar Underwood has left an indelible and beneficial impression | upon the statutes of his country. As a result | of his vision there are still other items of public welfare that are later to be written into law when congress measures up to the opportunity he has so long beheld and pointed out. THOROITGH COAL INOTIJRV