The Coolidge examiner., 1940-04-04
ARIZONA
IN WASHINGTON
BY BOB MERKLEY


be, for it has only 90 members and
the entrance requirements are
enough to scare away all but the
boldest. In cold figures, the odds
are million-and-a-half to one
that the average person will never
be a member But on second
thought, even that Is an under
statement. The truth is that an
average person has no chance at
all. There are average Senators,
but no Senator is an average per-
son.
Thus we have 90 unusual peo-
ple in the Senate OF these there
are some who are unusual even
among their fellow Senators. One
is great for his oratory, one for
his learning. Another is known for
his manners and dress, and still
another for his personality. Any
one of these characteristics would
be a valuable contribution to a
mans success. Yet if | could be
willed the outstanding trait of any
of those illustrious lawmakers, |
would think a long time before |
turned down our own Senator
Ashurst's amazing ability to put
together the words of the English
language.
This is no new discovery. The
Senator's syntactic accomplish
ments were known far and wide
long before | first peered over the
edge of the Senate Gallery. Every
one in Washington's official life
is acquainted with his unique
reputation and at least one ma
tional magazine has devoted an
entire article to the "silvertongued
Senator" who was once at home on
the back of an Arizona broomtail.
Listen, the Senator has the floor
and he is talking about his reputa-
ton for being Inconsistent:
am willing that others
should have fun even at my ex-
pense; but let me say that most
of the truly great leaders of the
United States have been inconsist-
ent would not care to serve
here if an iron bed, procrustean
bed of fixity and consistency was
laid out for me to which | would
have to conform at all times, and
If. forsooth. I was too short for
the bed | must be stretched and
drawn out to the required length;
and too long for ii, that my head
or my feet would have to be lop-
ped off to fit such iron bed. Con-
sistency is a nice word. 1t rolls in
the mouth like a lollypop. l ask
Senators to look at their records
and see if they have been consist
ent. II they have been consistent
they have been extremely inactive,
and have not rendered full duty to
their states, for a problem comes
up today in one phase and the
same problem comes up tomorrow
in another phase. I hope the time
will come when men will be abash-
ed to be called consistent"
Senator Ashurst touches on
tariff:
81 came to the Senate to rip
snorting low-tariff man. For is
years over the country I split the
ears of groundlings and Illuminated
the sky and earth with arguments
for low tariff. But, 20 years ago,
having "seen the light"-having
toured Europe and other parts or
the world and given the matter
deep thought, I became high-pro-
tective-tariff advocate"
Then Senator speaks of reform:
"You remember the cowboy
song Get Along, Little Dogies.
What a wealth of common sense
and philosophy is contained in
that song. You never head the
Cowboys sing "Get along, you
longhorns," or Get along, you
stout and fat ones' The cowboy
knew that the longhorns and the
shout, fat ones would reach grass
and water without any trouble,
but he know that his herd could
progress and proceed only as fast
as the slowest, weakest members
of his herd could go and the dogies
were the poor and the weak and
the slow :. so it is with reforms
you must not get too far in
advance of the main herd. You
should go only as fast as the slow
est of the herd can co.
Do what you will, o Fate, with
the talents of 95 of those dis