AMERICAN POLITICS. WHAT CONGRESS DID NOT DO.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 89, 17 April 1911, Page 8

AMERICAN POLITICS. WHAT CONGRESS DID NOT DO.

NO SUBSIDY FOR SAN FRANCISCO MAILS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SAN FRANCISCO, 11th March. Somewhat melodramatic, utterly futile were the last days of the sixty-first Congress, which went out of existence last Saturday. In the closing session not a single measure of large popularity had been passed. Most of the important Bills bad dragged along through months in»an indecieiv© way till only a few hours remained for action. Then they were buried in an avalanche of idle -talk. One of the Bills snowed under was that providing subsidies for American vessels carrying oversea mails — the hope 'upon which the Oceanic Steamship Com-, pany relied in its plans for restoring a fast service between San Francisco, New Zealand, and Sydney. The company has repeatedly announced that it cannot possibly run this service without the increased subsidy that the Bill proposed to give. So the old Sonoma and Ventura will probably continue to rust in -San Francisco Bay, and the Sierra will serve .in_another trade, while the Union Company of New Zealand will be left with a practical monopoly of passenger (and mail traffic between the North .American Continent and Australasia. If the last Congress was hostile to ship subsidies, it is impossible to hope that the new body will even consider the matter seriously. The Democrats have replaced the Republicans as the ruling party, and the Democrats do not profess 'to favour subsidies as a party principle, .•as the Republicans do. As on several previous occasions, the Subsidy Bill passed one House of Legislature. The Senate approved it. It was sent to the House Committee on' Post Offices. This committee, by a Vote of 7 to 6, recommended it for pas•sag'e after striking out the provisions for services to China, Japan, and the Philippines, leaving only South America and Ibe Australasian colonies to receive the jjenefits... M BuJb.the^ Bill, did not_ come to a vote in the House. "- TARIFFS " AND ' RECIPROCITY. President Taft's pet schemes of tariff reform were among ihe> measures that «-ent under. The Canadian reciprocity ' treaty, after being approved by the House of Representatives, was left in the -lureh.~by--the-Senate.—- - - -The- -leaders -did ' ~n6r~*so much" as ~'troub*le'"t*o""placa~ v it before the members for discussion. The President, true to bis promise to ■■the Canadian statesmen with whom the agreement was negotiated, issued a call for an- extra session of tbe new Congress to consider the matter. He had warned :the Republicans repeatedly that he would ■take this extreme step — that he, a Republican President, would appeal to the Democrats to adopt his treaty if nis own party failed to do so. But many had considered his statement a mere bluff. However, not an hour had passed after the old Congress had adjourned without acting on the treaty before Mr. Tafb had called the new Congress to meet on 4th April. He considers himself certain of wanning approval for reciprocity now, and he is willing to risk, for the sakeof his promise to Canada, ike trouble- : that the Democrats threaten to make. It is said that they will reopen the whole question of lowering the Customs duties, and that, if they fo so, the President will fight them, even to the point of vetoing their Bills. Mr. Taft's proposal to institute a permanent board of erperts to advise Congress on the subject of tariff revision was defeated by a "filibuster," otherwise a stonewall, in the House. Howover, the temporary board appointed for this purpose will continue in existence for another year, Congress having passed ths necessary appropriation. "THE WHITEWASH TWINS." Two laige political scandals reared their heads iji the late Congress. Neither was dealt with in a way that could possibly satisfy the people. In fact the .legislators dodged taking issue at all with the scandal of Secretary of the In•terior, Richard Achilles Bauinger, who "was aeensed of using his office to help i his friends to gain possession of large tracts of valuable mineral lands in Alaska by shady means. Congress was ■> presented with two reports from mem'■bers of the committee that investigated [.the mattei'; the majority report condoned the Minister; the minority condemned him ; Congress simply left the question untouched. Ballinger tad declared he would never resign office until he was vindicated, but. t ; h© changed his mind. He offered his* resignation to the President in January, and, as-soon as Congress had broken up. .without- taking action on his case, he inisisted on retiring. He is going home';to Seattle to practice law. Perhaps he will return some day to hold an important office in the councils of the nation — -perhaps. Gifford Pinchot and the other leaders -of tha conservation movement who fought .Ba-lKnger have won the main issue. Though they did not succeed in' inducting the majority of the Investigating & Committee— men of Ballanger's owns .party faction — to declare the Minister ♦ corrupt, they won an expression of opinion even from this majority thats *the principle for which they had been, fighting ought to be adopted in the; ■ Government of. Alaska. The Government, * they declared, should" retain the freehold of the mineral lands and open them for leasing only. And it cannot be -doubted thai this leasehold policy will be adapted and adhered: to as long as the Taft administration lasts; for thehas appointed as successor to ißaflinger one oi the leaders' of the convsersratiori^moveinent — Walter L. Fisher, of Chicago. The popular conservation cause has. won, and Ballinger has retired. Bnt Congress has neither credit nor blame •for it. , THE LORIMER CASE. The second loud-toned scandal thatCongress failed to silence was that of Senator William L'orimer, of Illinois. It rwas-admitted that bribery had been used .in the Illinois legislature to bring about Lorimer'f, election, and the Senate at Washington discussed whether this was sufficient cause for unseating the member;- Lorinier, in an eloquent four-hour .appeal, declared he had known nothing of the corruption used in his behalf, and he was permitted to keep his ■plaoe. The Senate decided in accord.ance with the report of its investigating committ&B that, since Lorimer had a clear majority of the votes excluding thosa that were shown to have been cormpt, he could not be thrown out. It decided, as one czitic has said, that "a little bribery is all right, but not too much." Lorimer went home with -his office •'still in his grasp, and was given a triumphal reception in Chicago. He was cheered by 5000 people and was showered with flowers. REFORMING THE "LORDS." The Lorimer scandal has .given an im■■jjefcas to the movement for election of ?isena£ors i>y direct -rote of the people inistead: of by the State Legislatures. That •-these Legislatures -waste- an enormous of time and ajs frequently in(tfbienced by bribery and political patron-.age-in-ithfi .genatorial-electLDns is pus of

the chief arguments of those who advocate the reform. So Lorimer furnished them with a text. And the, cause has advanced this year nearer to success than at any time in the 88 years that it has been agitated. The Senate itself almost agreed to put the matter to a referendum of the people, but, as this would involve an amendment of the constitution of the United States, a twothirds majority was necessary, and this was narrowly missed. Lorimer, of course, was one of those that voted "No." He likes the old method of election. It is still possible that a plebiscite maj' be taken on the question; for an appeal from two-thirds of the State Legislatures would bring this about. It is thought probable that this appeal will be made. - NOT LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. Yet another failure : The Administration's proposal to increase the postage on , the advertising sections of the popular magazines was not acted upon by Congress. But that failure was | really a success ; it saved the legislators many kicks. Magazine reading is, perhaps, the most universal amusement in America (bar gum-chewing), and the people want their magazines cheap. If the price is raised on account of an increase in the postage rate, it is certain that those who fix the postage will become unpopular. They may argue that it is not right for the Government to carry this class of mail at a heavy loss ; they may point -out that the increased cost to the magazine publishers occasioned by the higher rate is negligible. But the man that chews gum will hardly listen. And, besides, the magazines can talk so much louder. They throw back the argument about carrying the magazines at a loss by charging tho Postal Department with inefficiency and waste, and they claim that the department really ' gains an indirect profit from this class of mail — for instance, through the many answers to advertisements that are sent through the Post Office. Even. if there is a loss, they say, the Government should hear it gladly for the sake of the instruction and enlightenment borne to the people by the magazines. And, lastly, they claim that the desire to raise the rates is inspired by corrupt millionaires, who. wish to destroy the magazines that have been exposing their misdeeds. For the present the magazines have won. ONE IMPORTANT MEASURE CARRIED. — A glance -at the positive actions of .the session reveals the decision to fortify the Panama Canal as the on© measure of momentous importance. An appropriation of £600,000 for the initial work on the forte was provided. Tbe matter has been the subject of much controversy in European and American magaaines, _ and its bearing upon the future- —of the world's commerce >and military power has been enlarged upon. The significance of the present decision on the part of the United States and Congress lies in the fact that it has committed the Republican Party almost irrevocably to the plan of fortifying tha canal, instead of relying on an anternational guarantee. The world knows that, once that £600,000 has been, spent, it will be- almost impossible under the exigencies of party politics, for the Republicans to reverse their policy, even, though they may be proved to be manifestly wrong. It is estimated by the Government that the total cost of the canal fortifications will be £2,500,000. Those who are opposed to the project say that £10,000,000 will be nearer the final figure. The rest of the doings of the session can be stated in very few words. Appropriations for two new battleships were made. Robert Peary was given the position of a retired rear-admiral as a reward for his reaching the North Pole. Recodification of the judicial code was decided upon — a measure designed to minimise the delays of the law thathave made a mockery of American justice.