THE : 
National Capital 
Events of Interest from the Seat of 
Government 
By J. E. Jones 
The Breeze Bureau 
Washington, Jan. 6, 1914 
Mark Hanna’s DAUGHTER, 
A new campaign manager has come 
to Washington, and she is at the head 
of the congressional committee of the 
National American Woman’s Suf- 
frage Association. The lady is Mrs. 
Medill McCormick of Chicago, 
daughter of the late Senator Mark 
Hanna. Medill McCormick has been 
somewhat of a politician on his own 
account, but there is more or less of 
a suspicion that his charming wife 
has urged him on. Mrs. McCormick 
has for several years been an active 
sutfragette, and she has established 
a wide reputation because of her 
work in behalf of votes for women. 
The suffragettes of Illinios give her 
a large part of the credit for the vic- 
tory of their cause in that state, Mrs, 
McCormick is splendidly adapted to 
national leadership, because of the 
strength she possesses in crcles where 
the laws of the country are hatched. 
STATISTICS ON DEATH. 
Uncle Sam has figured out that the 
death rate during the past year has 
been 13.9 per thousand population, 
showing that notwithstanding the 
high cost of living and the increased 
sporting proclivities of the American 
people, that they live longer than in 
1911, when the rate was 14.2 per 
thousand. In figuring out where one 
can reside, and live longest, the state 
of Washington seems to be the health 
zone, as the death rate recorded in 
that state was 8.7 per thousand. Min- 
nesota comes next, with 9.8 per 
thousand; while the mortality in 
Maryland, New York and Rhode Is- 
land exceeded 23 per thousand, Seat- 
tle, Washington, is the most health- 
ful city, according to its mortality 
statistics, of any city in the Union, 
for 9.1 per thousand is the death rate. 
Albany, New York, has a mortality of 
19.5 per thousand. 
THE EXPECTATIONS OF CHAMP 
CLARK. 
Champ Clark declares “there is a 
big business move coming on as sure 
as shooting.” Likewise the speaker 
pays his compliments to Colonel 
Roosevelt by saying that “if an ana- 
conda down in South America should 
swallow Colonel Roosevelt the Pro- 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
gressive party would lie down and 
die in about six weeks”. "This “hu- 
morous” remark is tollowed by the 
suggestion: “But I guess ‘Teddy will 
scare the anaconda out.” Speaker 
Clark finds a possible cure for panics 
through easy money for the small 
merchants and manufacturers of the 
country, resulting from the recent 
currency legislation, which he be- 
lieves is a panacea for all the bank- 
ing evils that haye existed since the 
days of shin plasters in Missouri. 
Iowa CONGRESSMAN TO BE ELECTED. 
lowa is to be the scene of a Con- 
gressional election in the district of 
the late Mr. Pepper. The Congres- 
sional Campaign committees of the 
old parties tind it extremely delight- 
ful to have an opportunity for act- 
ivity in single districts in off years, 
largely for the reason that their cam- 
paign revenues measure up to about 
that size. When it comes to general 
national campaigns these committees 
find their consolation in the wonder- 
ful memory of other wonderful days, 
when corporations and_ interests 
knocked the heads out of the barrel 
and spilt their money into the laps of 
the bosses. 
THE PROTECTION OF NIAGARA. 
The brake of legislation is about 
to be applied again to the attempts 
to “milk” the Niagara Falls through 
the use of such an amount of water 
for power as to materially affect its 
scenic beauty. Both the New York 
legislature and the National Congress 
have measures under way to prevent 
the extension of reckless water pow- 
er enterprises. . 
Lozpsyists WHO SUCCEED. 
While the talk of “lobbying” is 
heard mostly in connection with big 
bills, such as tariff and currency, that 
attract the attention of the whole 
country, the fact is, as nobody knows 
better than the lobbyists themselves, 
that their best chances for getting 
through bills are in connection with 
subjects that are not being generally 
discussed, In the intervals between 
important measures, when Senate 
and House are marking time and few 
Members are in their seats, is when 
the clever lobbyist gets in his work. 
In this manner was the Senate com- 
mitted in the dull days of October, 
after the adoption of the tariff bill 
and before the currency measures 
came out of the committee, On a day 
when only a few Senators were in 
their seats a request was made for 
“unanimous consent” to fix a date 
for voting on Senate bill 136. The 
“consent” was given and the bill went 
through. Probably very few mem- 
bers of the Senate could tell even 
the subject of the bill. As a matter 
of fact, it was the measure known as 
the Seaman’s Bill. As far back as 
most Washington newspaper men can 
remember there has been a _ lobby 
here representing the Seaman’s 
Union, trying to get through a bill 
that would practically compel all 
steamships sailing to or from Amer- 
ican ports to employ a certain number 
of members of their union. Of course 
that is not what the bill says, but it 
is rather clearly shown, as the re- 
sult of the hearings of the House 
Committee that this is the way it 
would work out, and it would mean, 
according to the statements of ship- 
ping experts who have examined it, 
that every big liner would have to 
carry from one to three hundred men 
on their decks, whose purpose would 
not be to help in the affairs of the- 
ship, but who, strange as it may 
seem, would have practically no 
duties ‘but to sit around and wait for 
an accident to happen. Some atten- 
tion has been drawn to these facts 
since the bill got into the House, but 
as the union which is backing it is 
affliated with the powerful Federa- 
tion of Labor, and as there is noth- 
ing that will make a Congressman 
jump so quickly as the threat that the 
“labor vote” will be used against 
him, it looks as though this particu- 
lar piece of lobbying might be crown- 
ed with success in spite of the as-- 
tonishingly glaring defects that have: 
been pointed out in the House hear- 
ings, wherein it is indicated that the 
passage of the bill in its present form 
will drive many American ships from 
the seas. 
BANKS FALLING IN LINE. 
It was predicted by some of the 
opponents of the currency legislation 
that the banks themselves would spoil 
the proposition by refusing to join 
in the movement, but the Washing- 
ton outlook dispels this as a “bum 
bet.” While every banker has a bet- 
ter way than his neighboring banker 
to handle financial matters, yet there 
are none of them that permit any of 
the benefits of government or state 
support to slide by. The result is 
that almost without exception bank- 
ing interests are joining in the cur- 
rency program. 
The bureau of entomology and the 
forest service, working together for 
the control of forest insects, last year 
covered more than 160,000 acres in 
their operations, 
Se 
