Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 April 1905 — WASHINGTON LETTER. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON LETTER.

I; (Political and General Gossip of the National Capitol. i Bpeclal Correspondence to The Democrat: H Governor Cummins came to //Washington Friday and expressed I some views on the tariff question | v which sent the cold shivers down | the backs of the stand-patters, es- ‘ pecially those in the house. The Governor sent word to Secretary | Shaw that he wanted to talk to : him about his wheat drawback * order and the secretary immedi- |. ately found that he had urgent I business in New York and would not be back until several days as- / ter the Governor was compelled I to leave Washington. Then the Governor consented to talk to your correspondent on the subi ject of tariff revision in general. I “It is not probable that Congress will revise tariff until the people demand it in terms bo emphatic that their determination to have ' it cannot be misunderstood,” said f the Governor when asked if he exr pected revision by the coming | Congress. ‘‘We must elect a I House of Representatives next | year which is in sympathy with revision,” he continued with emi phasis. ‘‘At present the House | is with the stand patters. I do | not want to be understood as criticizing the sincerity of its members, but it is obvious that the atr mospbere of Washington stimu- | lates the stand patters and stifles revisionists. It is evident that some of the members ought to be | given an opportunity to breathe the freer air of the country for a !; while.” The Governor said that \ a change in the Republican membership could be easily brought | about, “by nominating men who ■ Stand for the things the people |'are asking in legislation. If the I people want lower duties, Rnd I believe they do,” he said, “they f will see to it that their nominees next time are pledged to make the tariff schedules conform to our platform. Competition,” said the Governor in conclusion, “is the only means of keeping the prices down. The reasonable application of the protective tariff is to ; give the producer in this country | a duty equal to the in | the cost of producing* the same article abroad. But there are many articles upon which the duty is so much higher that it be- | comes a factor in creating a moll' nopoly. The result is that home I' manufacturers do not feel the competition of foreign countries until their prices are raised to the level of the unfair protection as- . forded by the tariff. This is in- ; defensible!”

, t 11 Governor Cummins is believed to be a candidate for the Senate to succeed Senator Dolliver whose term expires two years hence. When asked regarding the allegation he refused to affirm or deny it, but Senators Allison and Dolliver have no doubt as to the Governor’s intentions. He has become the beneficiary of a recent Supreme Court decision which has the effect extending his term for two years, which will keep him in office right up to the time of the Senatorial contest, although the \ Allison organization had hoped to retire him to the obscurity of private life a year in advance of that •vent. t t t Governor Cummins’ expectation that the next Congress will pay no heed to President Roosevelt’s recommendation or that the tariff be revised agrees entirely with a statement made recently to your correspondent by Senator Hansbrough. “The House is dominated by an oligarchy of stand patterß.” said the 'Senator, and he added, “Tariff readjustment is dead.” The situation is indeed a peculiar one. There is doubtless a majority in the Senate, including the Democratic membership, to pass a tariff bill providing for material readjustment, or revision, but as the Senator says, the house is dominated by the stand-patters. Under the de-

velopment of the pernicious Reed roles the House has lost its character as a deliberate body and must invariably aot under the whip and spur of party discipline. The committee on Rules, which consists of Speaker Cannon and Representatives Payne, Grosvenor, Dalzell, Williams, and Underwood, controls the actions of the House as absolutely as Ceasar ruled Rome. Cannon, Grosvenor and Dalzell are all ardent stand patters and the Democratic members of the committee, being in the minority, are mere ciphers. No member can Bpfeak on the floor of the House without permission of the Speaker of the committee on Rules. A member who desires to make a speech muet first consult the Speaker and explain what he wishes to speak on and only after such explanation will the Speaker consent to recognize him. As the Constitution gives the House the exclusive power to initiate revenue bills and as all tariff bills are revenue measures, the Senate is powerless in the face of opposition by the House. . y t t t The grave* mistake made by Governor Cummins and by Senator Hansbrough is their belief that tariff revision can ever be accomplished by a Republican house. The people must v elect a Democratic majority to the lower chamber of Congress and until they do there is little liklihood of any tariff revison, unless it be revision upwards to suit the protected interests. t t t If the Supreme Court discovers many more as serious legal blunders perpetrated by the Philippine government as that brought to light by the suit of Henry W. Peabody of Boston and Manila, the treasury deficit will begin to assume alarming proportions. The Court has just decided in this case that all the duties collected on goods brought from the United States to the Philippines, during the period of military occupation, from April 11, 1899, to March 8, 1901, were illegal and must be refunded to the importers. That means that the United States will have to pay back to the importers a sum estimated at $7,000,000, This money formed the revenue of the Philippines during that period and was expended for administrative expenses as fast as received and the United Stateß will now have to make good the loss. The Government will apply to the Court for a rehearing of the case which will postpone the day of payment, but little hope is expressed that that the Court will reverse itself on the presentation of any new evidence in possession of’ the Department of Justice. It may be that Congress will pass legislation which will compel “the little brown man” to pay the bill and if it does the “little brown man” will be afforded a new lesson in “the blessings of civilization.”