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speakership amount to7" Th -question Is
"What will tho house ot rpreintatlvea amount
to, go far as concern ittf.-agenby for popular
government, unless one-mairpo weir is destroyed
undpr the , democratic party even as democrats
sought to destroy it under the republican party?"
' The Post. concludes in this way: "Wo must
insist that the democratic masses know nothing
whatever of tho rules, that tho members are
better qualified to judge of the rules that are
to govern the proceedings of the house than a
, ypter who has never road any set of house rules;
Tho people are directly concerned in the legisla
tion that the majority shall enact, and in noth-'
ing else . Tho Post believes with Representative
Burgess that the selection of the committee on
committees will result in log-rolling , and a
scramble for place that will greatly impair the
harmony of the majority. If tho majority will
, give the country the desired results, the country
is not going to trouble itself about tho rules
or tho personnel of the committees."
, The theory that the; members are better qual
ified to judge than tho "democratic masses" is
the doctrine of thrones. The representative is
; the servant rather than the master of the men
who elect him. And because the Cannon rules
of the house make it impossible for tho public
sontimont to be expressed in legislation the peo
ple are vitally concerned in house rules. If it
be true that there must be log-rolling in the
election of committees, then it is better that the
log-rolling take place in full view of the house
and of the country rather than in tho secret
chambers of the speaker, as was the case under
tho Cannon regime.,
"If the majority will give" the country the
deBired results," says the Post, "the country
is not going to trouble itself about the rules or
tho personnel of the committees." But "the
country" has learned through sad and costly ex
perience that the bam must be 'locked before
rather than after the horse has been stolen.
"The country" has learned that the way to se
cure "the desired results," whether it be under
democratic or republican rule, is to restore the
house to its representataive capacity, making it
impossible for one man or a coterie of men to
control, and making it probable that tho senti
ment of "tho country" would find reflection in
the action of the house. Paraphrasing the
Post's remarks, one may see how absurd its
proposition is in the American view: "If the
King will give the people the desired results,
the people are not going to trouble themselves
about the laws under which they live or the
personnel of the men who make and execute
those laws."
The simple. truth is that the democrats have
dinned into tho ears of the American people
the fact that through one-man power the house
of representatives has ceased to he of public
service, and now it, is an insult to public intel
ligence for any democrat to say that the exis
tence of an un-American power should be de
pendent upon the character of the men entrusted
with that ppwer-r-that the system which demo-
vcrats denounced as despotic under republican
control would be acceptable under democratic
authority.
Fremont (Neb.) Herald reproduces among its
own leading editorials the New York World'
"Bryan Socialism" editorial. .
Now let the Fremont Herald tell its readers
what it means by "Bryan Socialism."
Let the Fremont Herald tell its readers just
what advantage would be gained for the people
if tho democratic patty shall reverse, its position,
as described in the national platform of 190.8
and become the tool of the men. whoso business
it -Is to exploit government rather "than to pro-'
tect tho people. , -
The Fremont Herald will find It difficult to
deceive Nebraska democrats; Certain - politic
cians, posing as leaders, will commend the"
Herald's echo of the New York World's cry for
Wall Street; but Jhe rank and file of Nebraska
democrats will not be caught napping in the
future. They will not permit their' party to be
delivered for the use and benefit of the trust
magnates even as it was delivered, in the last
state convention for the use and benefit of the
liquor Interests,
IN NEBRASKA
It would not be wise from any consideration
to try to conceal the fact that the organized
effort to make the democratic party obedient
. . to the special interests includes Nebraska with
, , in its circle of operations. ,,
If the democrats of Nebraska desire that their
. party shall be the plutocratic phTty, that their
platform shall be written and their candidates
chqsen by the representatives of the special in
terests, then it is their duty, as It is their privi
lege, to make their wishes known.
, . Theyshonld not, however, be deceived and
, democrats -who believe that the party should
be preserved' as an effective agent for the public
welfare should have their own eyes opened and
should tmake It .their business to open the eyes
f others with respect to tho reorganization
movement now going on within the democratic
party, and under the leadership of those who
would make it useless bo far as concerns genuine
reforms.
The -Commoner intends to speak plainly be
, cause plain speaking is essential: to the party
protection and tho "public welfare.
The New York Worlds is the newspaper leader
bf the reorganization movement: The Com
moner has already referred to the World's edi
torial entitled "A New Democratic Party." That
editorial boastr that the democratic party "is
emancipated and master of its own destiny" be
cause "the Bryan socialism has followed silver
and the democratic slate is wiped clean." The
THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE)
'The president's "annual message is notable, for
its length. If Mr. Taft's sympathies with the
special interests had not already been made
known to the people the message would be
notable for its distinct leanings toward the
very system tho people are. seeking to regulate
the system against whose encroachments upon
popular government the people have but recent
ly rendered an explicit verdict. He pleads' for
tho ship subsidy, which Is in principle antago
nized by the progressive thought of all political
parties today. He recommend national Incor
poration, which would ultimately remove all
state control over corporations, centralizing that
control in the federal government and making
it more difficult 'than ever for the people to hold
corporation agents to account or obtain relief
from corporate impositions., He declares that
there should be no more .legislation with re
spect to corporation regulation, giving the laws
already on the statute books an opportunity to
demonstrate,, their usefulness. . It may not-.be
but of place, to, say xignt.h.ere that if the presi
dent -woUld. put the prestige of his high office
and the great power beholds behind the;crimi
nal clause of the Sherman law, enforcing that
clause against the chiefs of all the great trusts,
it is reasonable to believe that the people would
obtain immediate relief so far as exactions at
the hands of these trust magnates are concerned.
Mr. Taft is a particular friend of "government
by commission." . He would have the tariff bojird
made permanent, and then he would have
"experts" representing that board tefl the people
just what particular schedules should be re
vised, or to enter protest against .proposed re
vision when that course seemed impractical. He
would have our currency and banking laws re
vised by commission, and lid wonld have our
national policy with respect, to rivers and har
hors, Waterways and public buildings, as we.ll
as to tariff and" money and banking, arranged'
by boards of "experts."
The message indicates that Mr. Taft has failed
to make profitable study of the returns from the
- recent election. It shows that at any gathering
of royal standpatters Mr. Taft is entitled to a
seat at the head of the table. It proves beyond
reasonable doubt 'that he lsthe logical candidate
of tho republican party for the presidency . In
1912 because he stands unflinchingly for present-day
Hamiltonianism-? and present-day Ham
iltonianism out-HamHtohs Hamilton, for -it
would lead the' American people upon ground
so absurdly aristocratic that even Hamilton
would Have avoided it. ' :
A. COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES OF THE
HOUSE
It- is to be counted as rath'erv a- fortunate cir-,
cumstance, we think, that 'Representative Gar
dner of this atato has become not only an advo
cate, but a protagonist of the proposition to
take the power of fashioning committees from
the' speaker of: tho -house" of representatives."
For a good many of us the penalty of advo
cating a reform of any kind is to be called
a "mollycoddle," or, 1f the critic happen to be
of kindly. nature, jin idle dreamer 'We rather
incline to the opinion that no one will callMr.
Garner a mollycoddle or question the. tangibility
of his. ideas. Therefore he brings to the pro
paganda the kind of 'support of which it Is
peculiarly in need. His accession to the ranks,
if not, indeed, his bound into leadership, is a
fortunate reason of the vigor and pertinacity
Which characterize all of his activities. We
think the -cause of. this salutary reform 4s made
s , ' . !
to "look up" considerably by. the news Hhat
Mr. Garner ha "got into the game."
We are sanguine enough to believe that tho
merits of the proposition have' only to be pre
sented intelligently and persistently to assure; .
its adoption. The idea that an assemblage
that boasts as its chief virtue that it is a "reh-
jesentatlye' body should set up, a. boss, empower .
- single- individual- with an authority which
gives him "the power of a director, .whethfcr-'he .
so uses it or not is about one of the most
Incongruous bf the thing 'listed In 'our register
of freakish facts. And as if to emphasize the
anomaly of the matter, tho senate which makes
nor hoast bf being a-highly "representative"'
body, but which rather pretends, on the con
trary, to be somewhat above popular direction,
has stripped It presiding officer of all except
such authority as is needful to a mere modera'
tor of debate.- Though the creature of all the
people themselves, the president of the senate
is only its presiding officer, denied all .power
to direct, or even influence its proceedings. "Js
it not somewhat topsy-turvy-like, that "the so
called "representative" body should set up a
single individual as its boss, while "the body
which makes no boast of its representative
quality should leave itself free to exercise its
own judgments? And yet the speaker of the.
house, with all of his. immense power, is elected
by the people of a single district,, whereas the
president of, the senate is the choice of a ma-.
jority of the people of the whole United States.'
Even if there were no other consideration, a ."
decent regard for consistency ought -to impel
the house to enact this reform.
It will be a genuine feform, because it will
wonderfully facilitate the efforts of representa
tives to represent their constituents. As It is' '
now, the speaker can "frame, up" a committee
in a way that precludes practically all hope of
the passage bf a measure, even though ah over- '
whelming -majority of the house should beVi'n
favor of it. Committee-stuffing js not a theory-,
but a fact.-p-Dallas (Texas) Morning ttews.
J" ! .,
r .Representative Garner's" rilrin n na tniinwd
Strike but. the 'first 'paragraph! of : iule teViand, .
substitute. .the following: , t t ,'J'J;u J. l
I. At the! commencement of the. congress j un
less otherwise Bpeoially ordered by the" house,
the majority party of the house shall elect and
report to the house five members of a commit
tee on committees, and the minority 6f the house
shall elect and report three members of the same
committee. The speaker shall be ex officio a;
member of the committee, with all the powers
of an. elected member, and shall be the chair- "
man. No member of the committee on. com
mittees shall be appointed' chairman of any
other standing committee of the house or he -a
member of more than one other standing com
mittee. It shall be the duty of the committee
on committees to report to? the house for ; fts
approval th membership of the standing com-,
mlttees, the majority members of, the 'commit-'-,
tee designating 'the majority members of.' this
standing committees and the minority members''
the minorities of the standing committees.
THE BAJjLINGER WHITEWASH:
':
The Ballinger whitewash by the republican
members of the investigating committee was -jio
surprise to the public. Chairman Nelsoh
and several of the other gentlemen who signed
the report giving "Mr. Ballinger a clean bill
showed during the Investigation that they: were
inclined to be. his zealous partisan rathor than
hi fair judges. So far as any Influence' upon:
the public mind is concerned, the' Ballinger
whitewash report is not worth the paper upon
which it is written "You can fool some of the
people all of the time, and all of the people
some pf the time, but. you can't fool all of the
people all of the time!" And Abraham Lincoln
had a pretty good .idea, of the .people, Vol Yy:.t
. . . -WHL Wm YORK, RATIFY? . j, '
rVha NTor.r "Vtr TTr..-lJ tl Ai" .. . ' XV
2i. i A. if Tru! uni' awenuon to the'
facts. that the democratic state platform of that-. -state
endorsed the income tax amendment-.. Will '
Governor ODix recommend, the carrying .out bf ' "'
this plank? And will the democratic legislature
stand by. the platform? . If go, the country-will
he. greatly benefited by the victory, won by 'th ''
patty In New York. It will be remembered that :
Governor Hughes urged the rejection of the :
amendment and that ho had influence enough
to secure the rejection by a bar6 majority. Let
us hope that a democratic governor and a demo
cratic legislature will do better..
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